How to distinguish sea trout or river fish. Trout - description

Rainbow trout is the most common salmon species on our ponds and lakes. The second name of this valuable and beautiful fish is mykiss. North America is considered its homeland, and it came to our waters at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Today, rainbow trout are a popular fishing target. She's being hunted different ways for artificial and natural baits. This fish is very athletic, so fishing for it is carried out everywhere. different levels competitions.

Mikizha is a strong and fast fish. Once hooked, she violently resists, makes unexpected jerks, trying to free herself. That is why it is so famous among sports fishermen. In addition, we must not forget about the gastronomic properties of rainbow trout.

Description

Rainbow trout has an elongated, slab-like body, laterally compressed. The head is small, truncated, with a medium-sized mouth and small eyes. In males, upon reaching puberty, the lower jaw becomes “hooked.” This so-called manifestation of dimorphism is observed in almost all species of salmon.

The body of the mykiss is covered with dense scales. There are two fins on the back. One is the main one, located strictly opposite the anal one. The second one is false or fatty, located closer to the tail.

The body color of mykiss may vary depending on the body of water. On a clean, hard bottom, the fish has light shades, for which it is often called white trout. In places with a rocky or earthen bottom, it acquires dark colors - the back becomes olive green and the belly dirty white.

The rainbow trout's body is literally strewn with small dark spots. They also cover the dorsal, anal, false and caudal fins. Along the lateral line of the fish there is an iridescent reddish stripe that stretches from the gill covers to the tail.

The described color is especially pronounced during the spawning period. In the wild, anadromous and lake trout, which are subspecies of rainbow trout, do not have such a pronounced “signature” stripe. They are lighter - silver with dark spots.

Biological features

In fish farms in cultivated reservoirs, rainbow trout grows up to 3–5 kg with a body length of 50–60 cm. Its wild form rarely reaches even 2 kg and does not exceed 40–50 cm. The anadromous and lake form of this salmon grows up to a meter and weighs up to 10 kg. Maximum size fish amounted to 22 kg, and it was grown on a specialized fish farm.

The lifespan of mykiss is 10–12 years, puberty females occur at 3–4 years of age. In males this usually happens a year earlier. On cultivated ponds, the spawning time varies and depends on temperature regime. There are reservoirs where trout can spawn all year round. But often this stage in the life of a fish occurs in the spring.

The average fertility of a female trout is 2000 eggs. Their color is yellowish-orange, their size is small - up to 6 mm in diameter, and their weight does not exceed 125 mg. The ripening time ranges from a month to a month and a half and depends on the water temperature.

IN wild conditions This type of trout goes to spawn when the water warms up to 6–7 degrees. In many reservoirs this happens at the end of March, and in the north - in April - early May. The mykiss lays its eggs in areas where the current slows down, preferring shallow places with a gravel bottom. Here the female uses her caudal fin to dig a hole where she lays eggs, which are subsequently fertilized by one or more males.

Nutrition

Mikizha is gluttonous and omnivorous predator, which attacks almost any moving objects that are suitable in size. Its food preferences depend on the time of year and food supply.

Throughout the warm period, wild rainbow river and brook trout mainly feed on near-water insects. In winter, it sinks to the bottom and looks for small crustaceans and invertebrates there. Can attack small fish that find themselves in the line of sight. Large individuals often attack baby mice and frogs that fall into the water.

Cultivated trout are not much different from their wild relatives. She is also an omnivore. Only in “home” conditions is it fed with special food, which includes cottage cheese, liver, spleen, bran, shrimp meal, etc.

Winter

Trout is a cautious and prudent fish. In winter, this quality is especially evident, since the water in the reservoir is clear and the slightest noise scares it away. However, this is not a reason to refuse ice fishing on a paid reservoir.

To catch mykiss in winter, sometimes you need to spend a lot of time persuading it to take the bait. Particularly difficult is the search for the horizon where the fish are located. During the day, it can either sink to the bottom or rise to the very ice. And given its lethargy and passivity, even after choosing the right fishing depth, it is not always possible to earn at least a bite.

Spring

During this period, mykiss begin to spawn, so hunting for them on many plats and wild rivers is prohibited. The trout season in cultivated reservoirs, as a rule, starts in May. At this time, the fish already rises to the upper horizons and begins to grab the first insects that appear from the surface.

Summer

Summer on paid ponds is considered the best period for fishing for this representative of salmon. Now a variety of methods work against this predator, and any beginner can catch it. The most common fishing directions in cultivated reservoirs are:

• spinning;
• float rod;
• feeder.

On wild rivers, rainbow brook trout are caught mainly by fly fishing or ultralight, using miniature baits that imitate insects and other small food items.

Autumn

As the weather gets colder, trout descend to the lower layers of water, but do not cease to be interested in spinning baits. It also actively bites on bottom gear, especially bait of animal origin.

Wild trout continue to be caught using fly lures. Only now it is advisable to use wet flies, which can be carried out at the very bottom or nymphs. Ultralight is also effective, but spinners and wobblers should be selected with smooth low-frequency play.

Fishing methods

Trout is a fairly versatile fish that can be caught in a variety of ways:

• feeder;
• fishing rod;
• fly fishing;
• spinning rod

All types of fishing, with the proper approach, are effective and allow you not only to catch fish, but also to fully enjoy the process of hunting trout.

Fly fishing and spinning

These two types of fishing are the most sporting, involving constant movement around the water area, selection of baits and methods of presenting them. For rainbow trout, light tackle is used, which allows the use of miniature wobblers and spoons, as well as weightless flies.

In ultralight there are entire trout directions:

• Catching rainbow brook mykiss. Hunting is carried out for wild varieties of trout in mountain streams, fast northern rivers and other bodies of water where this fish lives.
• Fishing on paid lakes and ponds. The classic domesticated form of trout is mainly caught here.

There are increased requirements for spinning gear for trout fishing. They should simultaneously allow you to work with weightless baits and catch powerful, sharp fish.

The invisibility of the gear also comes to the fore, so the use of the thinnest cords and monofilament lines is important. This means using high-quality reels with sensitive friction and soft fishing rods that effectively dampen fish jerks.

Donka and float rod

These methods are mainly used on paysites. Since they are not as dynamic as spinning and fly fishing, they are used more often by beginners who, in addition to spending time on the pond, also want to catch fish.

There is nothing special about the gear. If possible, you should use thinner equipment that does not alarm the fish. Of the baits, preference is given to the following:

• trout paste;
• shrimp or crayfish meat;
• red worm;
• insect larvae.

It is advisable to fish with bottom gear at long distances, but float gear is effective for short-range fishing.

Read about trout fishing on a feeder here.

Lures for rainbow trout

Considering the omnivorous nature of trout, it can be caught using a wide variety of baits of artificial and natural origin. Fish preferences change depending on the time of year, water temperature and other natural factors.

The following baits are used in trout spinning:

• Microoscillators. Today the most popular baits, especially on cultivated reservoirs.
• "Silicone". Passive “rubber” of small size is more often used. Relevant when fish feed at the bottom.
• Wobblers. Universal baits that work both in rivers and in closed reservoirs.
• Rotating spinners. Today they are rarely used and only by beginners.

The following nozzles and baits are used in the bottom and float directions:

• earthworm;
• bloodworm;
• larvae of semi-aquatic insects;
• trout paste;
• canned corn;
• shrimp and other small crustaceans;
• maggot;
• caddisfly

There are more specific baits, but they are in demand in rare cases on individual bodies of water. They are used by experienced fishermen who have well studied the habits of local trout.

Trout

Trout fish. Pestelka, pied trout, pied trout, trout, in Narva - crumb; according to Pallas, also - troshnitsa, penny; on the river Tikshe and Sarka, flowing into the Oyat: the big ones are tarpinki, the small ones are bluefish... The mottled one is very beautiful, and this name is given to it very well: it is all dotted with red, black and white specks, so in general it is much more colorful than the taimen.

In addition, it is built noticeably more densely and seems wider and flatter than the latter; her nose is blunt, and only in very large males, distinguished by their more elongated snout and brighter body color, a small cartilaginous hook is formed at the tip of the lower jaw; the paired fins are noticeably more rounded than those of taimen, and the scales always have a roundish shape.

Finally, the moth never loses, lives constantly in rivers and, despite countless changes in color, is always darker than taimen: its back is mostly brown or brownish-green, the sides of the body are yellow or yellowish, the fins are yellowish-gray, red spots on the body is most often located along the lateral line or on its sides and often has a blue border.

However, it sometimes happens that there are no red spots at all or, conversely, there are no black spots and only red specks remain. The dorsal fin is also almost always dotted with black and red spots. This fish is much more widespread in European Russia than the previous species.

However, the distribution of trout is noticeably narrowing: the growing population is gradually replacing it, and it has already disappeared from many rivers, where not so long ago it was quite common, or has retreated to the very upper reaches. In general, the color of trout is very dependent on the color of water and soil, food and even the time of year, since during spawning it is much darker.

It has been noticed that in calcareous water trout are always lighter and more silvery*, and in rivers flowing along a muddy or peaty bottom they are very dark in color. The first are known among the Germans as stone trout (Steinforelle); This variety includes, for example, the famous Gatchina trout (from the Izhora River), light, almost completely silver, with a light brown back and a white, slightly yellowish belly.

The meat of these trout is almost completely white, only the large ones are light pink, while the Yamburg ones are dark, and the small ones are pink. Yamburg trout is much darker in color, and there are fewer spots on it, and they are located incorrectly. According to the observations of English fish farmers, trout that feed on insects have reddish fins and more red spots, and trout that feed on small fish, - more black spots.

It is also considered a rule that the more nourishing the trout, the more uniform in color it is, the spots are less noticeable, the back becomes thicker, the head is smaller, and the meat takes on a yellowish or reddish tint. It is known from experiments that the meat of trout turns red as the amount of oxygen in the water decreases. In one of the peaty Scottish lakes there are even trout with dark red meat.

Males differ from females in the relative size of their heads and the large number of teeth; in old males the end of the lower jaw sometimes bends upward, like in salmon. In addition, females are always comparatively larger. In some streams of Central Europe, partly flowing underground, even completely colorless trout were seen.

As for the size of trout, although the latter never reaches the size of salmon and talmen, under exceptionally favorable conditions it grows to 1 1/2 arshin length and 30, even more, pounds of weight. At the same time, in many mountain rivers and streams flowing at high altitudes, trout are no more than 20 cm tall, so there is hardly another breed of fish with such significant fluctuations in growth.

In most cases, trout are about 6-8 inches long and weigh 1-2 pounds. In general, the size of a trout depends on the size of the basin it inhabits, which determines the abundance of food. In Western Europe, the largest trout are found in the mountain lakes of Switzerland and Tyrol (up to 15 kilograms) and in England - in the Thames (up to 7? kilograms).

Here in Russia, large moths have been spotted in Ropshinsky ponds, near St. Petersburg (up to 10 pounds), where I caught them more than 30 years ago on pieces of meat; in Izhora (8-10 ft. and about an arshin in length), in the tributaries of the Kama (for example, in the Ireni River, which flows into the Sylva - up to 15 ft. and in one of the rivers of Bugulminsky district - up to 1 1/2 arshins in height ), as well as in the tributaries of the Kuban (up to 18 versh. length).

The lifespan of this fish must be very significant, since there is a reliable case of one trout living for more than 60 years. Under favorable conditions, i.e., with an abundance of food, trout grows very quickly and reaches sexual maturity in 2 years. The native habitat of trout is Western Europe. Here it is found almost everywhere, except for large rivers.

In our country, trout has a relatively very limited distribution and is found, one might say, sporadically, that is, in places. It is most common in Northwestern Russia, in spring rivers of the Baltic Sea basin; in the Black Sea basin it is found in a few streams of the Podolsk and Volyn provinces (for example, in the stream flowing into the Ushitsa River near the village of Kuzhelev) and in all Crimean and Caucasian rivers.

In the Caspian basin (except for the Caucasian and Persian rivers), trout are best known in the tributaries of the Kama and are very rare in the tributaries of the Volga proper. IN Northern Russia, that is, in the rivers flowing into the White and Arctic Seas, as well as throughout Siberia, there are no trout at all, and they appear only in Central Asia, starting from the upper reaches of the Amu Darya.

Trout is found in many rivers and flowing lakes in Finland, St. Petersburg province, specifically in the vicinity of Gatchina (Izhora, Oredezh, Vereva rivers) and in the rivers of Yamburg district; in pp. Tiksha and Sarna, flowing into the Oyat, in the Olonets province. (and in some others), in many rivers of Novgorod province, in pp. Belaya and Shcheberikha Tver lips.

Trout is quite common in the Baltic and northwestern provinces, for example, in the Kovno province. (Telyievsky district, the Bobrunka and Miniya rivers, for example), Grodno (Slonim and Kobrin districts). The same, apparently, in Vitebsk (Dalysitsa river, Nevelskaya). It seems to be found in the forest rivers of the Poshekhonsky district of the Yaroslavl province, in the small tributaries of Kostroma, in the Nerekha river of the Vladimir province, and, undoubtedly, is found in the spring forest rivers of the Kazan province, flowing into the Kama, in the upper reaches of some tributaries of the Sviyaga, in Sengileevsky district.

In Gorodishchensky district Penza province, in the river. Ayva and Vishnyanga and other rivers of the upper reaches of the Sura; in Ardatovsky district, in the river. Zheltushka, where is her name? king fish, also in the upper reaches of the Syzran tributaries and in other rivers flowing into the Volga from the right side, in Simbirsk and Sengileevsky districts; finally, in the river Khmelevka, Saratov province. In the basins of the Oka, Dnieper and Don, trout were hardly found before.

I know of only two areas in which trout live, bred there in very recent times. This is the key pond in the village. Bobrikakh, Tula lips. (near the upper reaches of the Don) and ponds on the estate of Count Orlov-Davydov near the station. Lopasni, Serpukhov district, Moscow province. The way of life of trout, due to its importance for fish farming and fishing, as well as the transparency of the waters it inhabits, has been quite well studied.

In winter, after spawning, trout rolls down and stays near springs, in deep places rivers are in the bogs, at the very bottom, and, apparently, feeds more on small fish, namely minnows, its constant companions, along with char and sculpin. However, small trout that have not reached a pound weight are rarely predatory and, it seems, like individuals that have not reached maturity, feed on eggs swept by adult fish, looking for them in the cartilage, on the riffles.

Spring muddy water, as well as floods, force trout to stick to the steep bank and even hide under it; at this time its main food is earthworms, washed out of the soil by streams. But as soon as the forest becomes clothed, winged insects appear and trout take their summer places. The largest specimens are kept under waterfalls, in whirlpools, under mill wheels or in whirlpools lying at the bends of the river, where the current hits the bank, forming a whirlpool, also near the confluence of streams.

These trout live here sedentary, sometimes until late autumn, and alone and feed mainly on small fish, waiting for them under some kind of cover: snags, stones, under tree roots. Small trout stick to the rocky rifts, standing here in small schools; they constantly wander from one place to another, mostly going upstream, especially after heavy rain and therefore flooding. In order not to get tired, the trout sometimes stands here behind a large stone, where the current is less strong.

The reason for the limited distribution of trout in Russia, in my opinion, is that trout, strictly speaking, is a resident of mountain, and almost ice-free rivers with cold water, where no other predators can live, with which it cannot compete in any way. Our Russian rivers and rivers flow slowly, their waters are muddy and in the spring they spill over a vast area, carrying away the hatched, not yet strong young fish, and in the winter, when the trout are just beginning to spawn, they are covered with ice.

Burbot and pike are found almost in our streams, so that for trout only the very upper reaches of a few pure spring, never freezing rivers, where there are no pikes and perches, remain. Trout cannot fight for existence with such prolific predators. And since we have very few waters where there are no pike, burbot and perch, this should be kept in mind and not get too carried away with trout culture, that is, do not breed it in vain, as expensive food for cheap fish.

Although Western European fish farmers claim that trout are completely insensitive to water turbidity, they can even live in spring pits filled with slurry, which they tolerate very warm water(up to 26°R), but nevertheless, perhaps due to the mentioned competition, this fish can live here either in the upper reaches of spring rivers, or in spring ponds dug specially for it.

In the same way, everyone abroad knows that trout is more abundant in a given river, the more abundant the latter is in springs; therefore, rivers flowing in chalk and calcareous formations, characterized by the richness of groundwater, are always richer in trout; According to the observations of English fishermen, only in such rivers is a decrease in trout not noticed. Very cold water, containing little food, namely worms and insects, however, greatly retards the growth of trout, but at least they are completely safe here.

American fish farmers consider a (summer) temperature of 9° unfavorable for the growth of trout, and the most favorable for it is a temperature up to 16° and not more than 18°. In any case, trout does not like sudden changes in temperature, and this, together with the length of our winters, is one of the reasons for its rarity in Russian waters. Early winter forces trout to spawn earlier than in Western Europe - in October, even September, so that the development of eggs slows down greatly and the percentage of successfully hatched juveniles inevitably decreases.

The main food of trout are winged insects: midges, various beetles, flies and grasshoppers that fall into the water, as well as larvae. The agility and dexterity with which they catch insects is amazing: they often grab them in flight before they fall into the water. This fishing continues almost all day, except in the middle of the day and middle of the night. Trout feed mainly in the early morning and in the evening, or rather, at this time they are the hungriest.

The most abundant food is supplied to them by the wind, which shakes off a mass of insects from coastal trees and bushes. For the same reason, trout, which usually stay half-water, always swim on the surface during a thunderstorm. Only hail makes it go into the depths, lie down on the bottom and not leave its shelter for several hours after the hail cloud has passed. For trout, more than for any other fish, it is necessary that the river does not flow in bare banks, especially since trees provide them with much-needed shade and coolness.

In extreme heat, if the water heats up above 15°, all trout stay near springs, springs and at the mouths of small streams, or hide under roots, stones, in holes, falling into a kind of stupor. At this time, it is not difficult to catch them with your hands, like burbot and other fish; they even say that she loves to be stroked by hand and does not make any attempts to escape.

In such weather the trout apparently do not eat anything: it is said that they also do not wander or feed on moonlit nights, but this remains to be confirmed. In the Caucasian mountain rivers flowing into the Black Sea, trout, according to Mr. Glushanin, feeds mainly on some special type of water grasshopper (?) living in the water between the stones; The color of this grasshopper is dark gray, the hind legs are longer than the front ones, it runs quite fast, but jumps rather weakly.

Caucasian trout, apparently, very rarely feeds on fish. At least no one here catches it with live bait, although it catches excellent fish on bird guts and various meats. In general, it eats almost all year round and can be considered one of the most voracious and fast-growing fish with the fastest digestion. One of the idle French fish farmers calculated, by some unknown method, that in order to reach a weight of one kilogram, a trout must eat 10 kg of small fish.

Meanwhile, it is reliably known that trout, under favorable conditions, eats an amount of food per day equal to 2/3 of its body weight. During the spawning season of minnows, trout eat them in such abundance that they appear to be stuffed with them. Jourdeuil says that he caught a trout with a minnow, a little more than half a pound, in the stomach of which they found 47, some of them already digested, minnows!

Recent studies by American fish farmers have shown, however, that the fastest-growing trout are those that feed in abundance on flies and generally flying insects, and not on fish. Towards the end of summer, and in intense heat when the water heats up, and in Petrovka, trout, especially small ones, begin to gradually rise higher and higher along the river. In the tributaries of the Kuban, the beginning of the rise apparently coincides with the grouping of trout into schools in mid-August.

They lead a social life here until mid-October, i.e., probably until the end of spawning. When rising, these strong fish easily overcome obstacles and rapids that are completely beyond the capabilities of any other fish except salmon and taimen. They make jumps up to 2 arshins; bending in an arc and resting its tail on a stone or some other solid object, the trout, in several steps, choosing a quieter place on the side, climbs waterfalls up to 2 fathoms high, with a fall of 45°.

At the same time, they show amazing persistence and, if an attempt fails, they resume it several times. At this time, they are so busy with their task that they lose their usual caution and are easily caught with a simple net. Spawning time varies depending on the latitude of the area, absolute altitude above sea level and water temperature. In general, the further north the area and the colder the water, the earlier spawning begins, sometimes in mid-September.

In Western Europe it sometimes slows down until winter, until the end of January, even (in France) until the end of February (new style). Our trout spawn in the tributaries of the Kuban b. hours in October; in St. Petersburg province. so-called Gatchina trout spawn from mid-September to the end of October, while Yamburg trout spawn much later - in December and until mid-January (Lieberich).

In the same specific area, all trout, both small and large, spawn over the course of a little over a month, and each individual spawns in several stages over 7-8 or more days. It has been noticed that trout rub mainly from sunset until complete darkness, then in the morning before dawn, but not so vigorously. According to some observations, trout prefer moonlit nights for spawning.

Sexual maturity is usually achieved by trout upon reaching 3 years of age, but very often two-year-old males contain mature milk; Eggs of this age are found only under extremely favorable growth and nutritional conditions. Recent studies have shown that parrots spawn not annually, as previously thought, but every other year; Apparently, unmarried milkweeds are found less frequently than unmarried egg spawners.

Single trout should not be mixed with sterile ones, i.e. barren ones, which are distinguished by a greatly shortened body and a small head. The amount of caviar in trout is relatively small and only reaches several thousand in very large specimens. An ordinary 2-pound, i.e. 4-5 year old, egg spawner contains up to 1000 eggs; 3-year-old - about 500; 2-year-old - 200.

In mountain rivers with little food, located at high altitudes, there are trout, probably 3 years old, 12 centimeters in length and with 80 eggs. During spawning and, it seems, before its onset, pieds lose their beauty to a significant extent; they acquire a dark, dirty gray color, not excluding the belly, and the red spots lose their brightness and in others even completely disappear.

The spawning itself takes place on the rifts, sometimes so shallow that the backs of the rubbing fish are visible, but not at the guard itself, but where the current is weaker, that is, mostly closer to the shore. In this case, trout choose riffles with a rocky bottom, strewn with gravel - pebbles from a hazelnut to a chicken egg; They spawn less often in large stones or flagstones, also on a cartilaginous, and even more so on a fine sandy bottom. The most full information about burbot fish is here.

This preference for gravel is determined by the very method of spawning, almost the same as that of salmon. The female, using her tail and partly her pectoral fins, first digs a shallow oblong hole, raking pebbles to the side; along with this turning, it cleanses the latter from dirt and algae that are harmful to the eggs. In rivers with a flagstone bottom, the female’s job consists only of this cleaning of grass and mold.

In the Izhora River, for example, the trout spawning site is therefore recognizable by great white spot, 2 arshin in diameter, stands out sharply against a dark background. Where there are no pebbles, also in order to avoid the long rise of fish to places more convenient for spawning, it is useful to dump several loads of pebbles on the rifts, thus arranging artificial spawning, without spending money on various devices, apparatus and devices for artificial hatching of eggs.

Although each female is followed by several males, generally more numerous, and whole schools of these fish are seen in places convenient for spawning, fertilization is always carried out by one milkfish with the most mature reproductive products, and the other males are driven away. As soon as the female lays several dozen eggs, the male fertilizes them; after this, the female fills up the hole, or rather, the rut, with pebbles, covering the eggs with them, which protects the latter from predators and from the danger of being carried away by the current.

It is remarkable that at first the testicles stick tightly to the bottom and lose their stickiness after 30 minutes, that is, when they are covered. Their size is very significant - about the size of a small pea, which they also resemble in color. However, trout with reddish meat have eggs that are orange or reddish in color. Even though the eggs are so well protected, most of them go to waste.

It is mainly destroyed by fish, which diligently search for it; its most dangerous enemies are burbot and grayling, as well as the trout themselves, mostly young ones that have not yet reached adulthood; although spawning trout do not take any food at all (i.e., for about a week), fish that have not yet spawned or have already spawned eggs also willingly pick up the eggs of other trout, often raking up the pebbles that cover them.

The most destructive thing is the duration of development of eggs, from which the young hatch no earlier than after 40 days, and sometimes after 2, even 3 months. In addition, a young trout, burdened with a huge yolk sac, which replaces its lack of food in early spring, hardly moves for 3-5 weeks and avoids danger only by hiding between stones.

The juveniles leave their shelters only after they have become somewhat stronger; it seems that in the middle or at the end of spring it rolls down to more feeding and quiet places. Its food consists mainly of mosquitoes falling into the water, small larvae and then mayflies. Under favorable conditions, trout in late autumn grows to l-2/3-2 vershok, and in a year, i.e., by spring, 2-3 vershok, sometimes five-versh two-year-old trout are caught.

Nevertheless, the latter will never acquire full citizenship rights from us and will never be as necessary as abroad, primarily because trout and salmon are rare and are found in few places; secondly, because large fish in our country are generally less afraid and live in strong places where fishing with a reel is unthinkable without clearing. Thirdly, because good tackle English sample roads and difficult to get.

The bad ones are only capable of strengthening the prejudice of the majority of Russian fishermen in their complete unsuitability and inexpediency. The main purpose of the reel is at that critical moment, when the line is close to breaking, to give the fish at least a few arshins - in most cases, this is done with a flexible natural fishing rod, a hair line, which, if it is fresh, has at least ten times greater elongation than non-resined ones, especially the resinous silk fishing lines, exclusively used for fishing with a reel.

And Moskvoretsky fishermen, perhaps the most skillful in Russia, with their improved Russian gear with excellent hair lines, catch four-hair fish, for example, shereshperov, up to 8, even 10 pounds in weight, i.e., one that could break off the low-extensibility silk fishing line that can withstand three times bigger dead weight.

Silk lines are certainly indispensable only when reeling; when fishing without it, they are good when they are very strong and do not get tangled; For night bottom fishing with a short fishing rod, well and correctly twisted or woven, and therefore non-twisting, hair lines are undoubtedly more suitable than silk ones. Trout, relative to its size, is undoubtedly the strongest and most lively of our freshwater fish, and therefore fishing for it requires great art and skill.

It can be positively said that the strength and caution of this fish, caution, depending, however, on the transparency of the waters inhabited by trout, served to the invention of fishing with a reel and, in general, to all the many improvements in the sport of fishing. There is no doubt that large and even medium-sized trout cannot be caught on a fly and an insect except on a thin fishing line, conditioned by a reel, which makes it possible, with more or less resistance, to release to the fish an amount of line-line sufficient to tire it.

But with other methods of fishing, which require somewhat coarser and stronger gear, the reel is also not useless. That is why, where trout and salmon are common fish, the reel, although sometimes in a very simplified form, is used not only by intelligent hunters and fishermen, but also by commoners. The Finns, for example, catch salmon, and sometimes trout, by attaching a wooden reel to a solid (birch) rod with rings.

Here, in Russia itself, it also cannot be said that the reel was not known at all and was certainly rejected by ordinary fishermen, since the blocks attached to the boat (on the Don) for catching large catfish are the same reel. Regardless of the high quality of the hair lines we use, we have another, very ingenious, device that partly replaces the reel and is remarkable in its simplicity and expediency and is still awaiting development - this is the zherlitsa, or rather, the zherlitsa flyer, which is completely unknown in Western Europe. Europe.

Although a real flyer is not yet used for fishing, its principle has already been applied in moths - short winter fishing rods, when fishing under the ice in a plumb line. As we have seen, the fisherman, if he has caught a large fish, gradually releases a supply of fishing line wound in a figure eight from the hooks of the moth. All known methods Trout fishing can be divided into three main types: 1) fishing for worms, 2) fishing for fish and, finally, 3) fishing for insects.

Fishing for a worm is the easiest, most convenient and, in our country in particular, the most common method. Depending on the circumstances, they fish with a float, but more often without it, since for the most part they have to fish in shallow and fast places. Worm fishing, where the river does not freeze, can be carried out almost throughout the whole year, except for spawning time, but it is most successful in cold weather, in spring and autumn.

In the summer, trout take a worm well only in muddy water, after rains, but not when the water arrives, but when it begins to clear and sell out. But before we move on to the description of fishing for trout with a worm, let’s look at the gear used. The rod can be solid, natural or folding, but in any case it must be strong and flexible with little weight (no more than a pound), since you have to throw the bait every minute.

Therefore, they try to avoid long rods, using them only as a last resort, for example, when fishing in wider rivers with open banks. In France, they usually fish with solid reed rods, from 5 to 9 arshins in length, which are covered with very thin tape for greater strength and to protect against longitudinal cracks.

It is better, of course, if the fishing rod, solid or folding, is equipped with rings and a device for attaching a reel, but if there are no large trout in the area, then you can do without these improvements and complications. When fishing from behind trees and bushes, it is enough if the fishing rod is 3-4 arshins long. In any case, it should not be liquid, and whip-shaped fishing rods, used for fly fishing for the same trout, are not suitable here at all.

When fishing without a reel, the fishing line usually, for ease of casting, should not greatly exceed the length of the rod and can be hairline, but abroad only silk is used, mostly braided, very thin when fishing with a reel and quite thick when fishing without it. A leash with a hook tied to it is tied to the fishing line in the usual way.

This leash is made from one vein, sometimes a thick, selected one, the so-called. family,. and where there are large trout and they are caught without a reel, even with three; it is better, sometimes even necessary, for it to be colored to match the color of the water, that is, blue-gray when it is transparent. The sizes of hooks usually depend on the size of the fish and the bait; in this regard, as in the shape of the hooks, there is great disagreement: some advise using large (No. 00) Kirby hooks, while others recommend using medium (No. 5 and 6) Limerick hooks without a bend, which are considered the first to be unsuitable.

Recently, tinned (or silver plated) and bronzed hooks, which are less noticeable in clear water than ordinary ones, have been used for trout fishing. In all likelihood, large hooks are most appropriate when fishing with a crawler, and medium ones when fishing with a dung worm. Not so long ago in England they began to catch trout using the so-called. Stuart tackle of 2 small hooks (No. 9-10), tied on one leash, at a short distance from one another.

A Basque leash, despite the toothiness of the trout, is completely unnecessary, since these teeth, due to their size, cannot bite through, or rather grind, the leash. The float, as said, is convenient only in deeper and calm water or in whirlpools, under locks. In any case, given the caution of the trout and the transparency of the water, it should not be large and colored bright colors; It is better if it is a piece of cork with rounded corners or even reeds and sticks than a beautiful commercial float.

In all likelihood, trout in the riffles can be caught with great success with a self-loading float, like chub (see below), or (especially in very rocky places, where without a float the hook will constantly touch) with a very light float, almost without weight (see "Ide", fishing with a cork), so that the bait goes along the bottom far ahead of the float.

During ordinary fishing, the float is positioned in such a way that the bait, i.e., the worm, floats slightly above the bottom; in deep places, where the trout stays half-water, sometimes a yard away from it. The sinker can be of varying weight, depending on how it is caught, and according to the depth of the water and the strength of the current. When fishing with a float, it must, of course, correspond to the latter.

If fishing is done in shallow and fast places, and therefore without a float, then, as it seems, it is most convenient to fish with a small weight on a sandy, cartilaginous or small rocky bed and with a heavy through (a bullet or an ordinary olive-shaped drilled sinker), when at the bottom There are large stones and general obstacles that do not allow fishing with a moving bait. Worms for bait are selected depending on the area.

Sometimes trout take better on a small worm, sometimes on a large one, but in general it should be noted that in remote rivers it is better to fish with an ordinary earthworm, which lives right there in the banks and is well known to the fish, which here does not know the red dung worm at all, much less the large one. worms (worms, worms, crawlers, worms, dewworms, earthworms), which are found mainly in gardens and vegetable gardens.

There are areas where almost no fish can crawl out. The worm is attached to hooks of the appropriate size, large ones on No. 0 or 1-2, and simple earthen and dung ones - on 3-6 No., below the head, letting go of a long tail if the trout does not eat the worm. In the latter case, it is more convenient to attach the worm to a Stuart rig of 2-3 small hooks. The worm is preferably cleaned, that is, stale and with empty insides, since this sits more firmly on the hook and the fish is more willing to take it.

In muddy water, however, according to many foreign authors, it is better to attach a fresh, uncleaned and smellier worm, because the trout can smell it further. The sense of smell in fish is generally much more developed than is usually thought. Here in Russia, most of the trout are caught with a worm and only a small part with a fly. In the Caucasus, precisely in the tributaries of the Kuban, as well as almost along the entire Black Sea coast, the Cossacks catch trout mainly with chicken intestines (or various game), usually in muddy water, almost due to a lack of worms.

Intestines can probably serve as a good bait in other places. In Western Europe, in some places, precisely where trout are fed (in trout ponds) with all sorts of things, these fish become as omnivorous as carp or barbel, and are excellent for potatoes, lard, etc. Lately in Germany and Belgium, one species of American trout, the so-called, is rapidly spreading. rainbow (arc-en-ciel), which, getting along well in warm pond water, prefers plant food to worms and insects and is excellently caught on various grains.

The general rules for catching trout with a worm are the same as for fishing with a fly. The main thing is to try to hide behind bushes or some kind of protection, in any case, avoid brightly colored suits and not stand in such a way that the shadow falls on the water, i.e. with your back to the sun, and also do not knock or make noise while walking along the shore. We must always keep in mind that any fish hears the noise of footsteps better through the shaking of the shore than a voice or other noise.

It is clear that when the water is very muddy, there is no such need to hide, and in windy weather there is no need to maintain absolute silence. Since trout is a shy fish and does not school, then, having caught several pieces, sometimes 2-3, in one place, it is necessary to move to another place, so this fishing is almost the same as fly fishing: surprisingly, a well-known area in all directions, if there are no bites, you need to go down the river.

They are almost always caught from the shore, almost never from a boat and rarely from bridges or sluice dams, under which trout, however, love to stay and are most numerous. You should always cast the bait a little higher than the place where the presence of fish is noticed or suspected. Strictly speaking, there are three ways to catch trout with a worm: without a float with a light sinker, so that the bait drags along the bottom or floats close to it.

Without a float, lowering and raising the nozzle, and with a float. The first method is used on rapids, the other two - in deeper and quieter water - in holes, under sluices and in whirlpools in the meanders of the river. When fishing from the shore and in shallow places, cast the worm with a wave of the hand, holding the hook with the nozzle with the fingers of the left hand, slightly above the place where they stand; Plumb fishing is mostly done from behind bushes (see “Chub”) and in small rivers or even streams.

In lakes, it is not worth catching trout with a worm (with a float), since for successful fishing you need to cast it very far from the shore. As for fishing time, here in Russia trout fish on worms almost all year round, except for the period of spawning and opening of rivers. Abroad, on the contrary, the trout's bite on the worm in the summer almost everywhere completely stops, and at this time it is caught only with a fly (natural or artificial).

The best time for trout to catch worms is in April and May, then in late autumn after spawning. In St. Petersburg province. At the end of August, trout gather in fights, on riffles, and stop taking fish. In some places, trout can be caught well in winter, from ice holes (in pits), but winter fishing is little known and rarely used. It seems that it is better caught at night, with a flashlight, vertically and from the bottom. In England, trout is caught in late autumn and winter using salmon eggs attached to a small hook.

In early spring and late autumn, trout also take better from the bottom and in deeper and quieter places, which is why it is more convenient to catch it with a float. As you would expect, best time For fishing trout with a worm, we have early morning before sunrise and twilight after sunset. Abroad and in the south in general, where summer twilight is very short, the evening fishing is short and begins about two hours before sunset; in the same way, the morning bite sometimes lasts until 10 o’clock. p.m.

In northern Russia in May and June, trout seem to be present all night except midnight. Weather and water conditions, as always, have a very important when fishing for trout. It is most successful on cloudy, quiet days, as well as after rains, but when the turbidity has already begun to pass. In general, in muddy water you can only fish with a worm or a fish, and you should not fish with a fly on top. During heavy rain, when the water is very cloudy, the trout stays close to the shore, in the backwaters, and catches poorly.

When it's hailing, she falls into a stupor, hides in holes and under stones, and can be caught with her hands. It is very possible that this happens to it even during very strong thunderclaps, but I note by the way that during a thunderstorm it mostly floats on the surface, having a bountiful harvest of insects blown to the water by the wind. According to the observations of Western European fishermen, trout stays on the bottom in dry and cold winds, and on the surface in wet and warm winds.

The bite of trout on a worm is transmitted differently, depending on the area and time of year. On riffles and rapids, also where the trout is not scared and hungry, it grabs the worm right away, drowning the float, and when fishing without it, it gives a rather strong push to the hand; therefore it must be cut now. With a more sluggish bite, the hand is first given a more or less sharp push, then 2-3 blows and a pull follow; with the first push, the rod must be pushed forward or lowered; It’s better to hook without waiting for the pull, because the latter means that the trout has completely swallowed the worm.

When fishing with a Stuart rig, you need to hook at the first bite. Well-fed and frightened trout, especially in river whirlpools and ponds, take it much more carefully than in rapids, and grab the bait from the side, often, especially with a heavy float, eating it. Then it is best to hook as soon as the float shakes. The hook when fishing with a float should be quite energetic; when fishing without a float, especially in rapids, a small movement of the wrist is enough, and with a sharper hook, even a strong fishing line can be torn off.

It should not be forgotten that trout is the strongest of our fish and that even a half-pound minnow offers very strong resistance. Some believe that a half-pound trout moves on a fishing rod as quickly as a 3-pound grayling, i.e., a fish six times stronger is also not a weak one. The hooked trout rushes quickly in the opposite direction and jumps out of the water. These maneuvers are especially dangerous on riffles, and therefore catching even a medium-sized trout, about a pound, in fast water, without a reel, requires great skill and dexterity.

You often have to replace the reel with your feet, that is, run after the fish, and sometimes even enter the water. Often, in addition, the caught trout gets stuck under a stone or gets tangled in the grass, and then there is even more trouble with it. When fishing on rocky rapids, the hook, touching the stones, becomes dull very quickly, and therefore it is necessary to sharpen it from time to time and to do this, take with you the smallest file (watch) or a block, the width of a pencil, made of slate.

Fishing for salmon eggs is very prey and is now apparently banned in England. This method was most commonly used in Scotland. Stoddart (and von dem Borne in the extract) has a very detailed description of trout fishing with salmon eggs. The author advises preparing salmon caviar in advance and for future use (salting it), cutting it out of female salmon in the fall shortly before spawning and clearing it of membranes.

A kind of dough is also made from crushed caviar, for which trout goes very well, partly due to the salt content, which all fish love very much. This mixture also serves as an excellent bait, which trout come to from very long distances. This dough (the size of a horse bean) is placed on a small hook (No. 6-8), and since it does not hold well on it, it must be thrown very carefully.

Fishing for live fish, especially artificial ones, is perhaps even less common in our country than fly fishing for insects. In addition, trout do not take this bait everywhere. Small trout are rarely predatory, and large trout are not found everywhere and are always rare. But where there are many of them and little food, for example, in the Ropshinsky ponds, they take excellent food even on pieces of fish.

Trout is caught on artificial or dead fish even less often and only if the bait is in a strong rotational or oscillatory movement, i.e. or in a very strong current, for example. under the locks, or when they throw it far away from themselves at depth and then attract it to themselves with light pushes, i.e., in the method called spinning, described above (see “Salmon”).

Fishing for trout with artificial metal fish from the locks is done in the same way as fishing for sherespers (see “Sheresper”). Therefore, I will only add that in most cases, trout are caught on artificial fish in spring and autumn (late and, moreover, either in muddy water, or when it is completely dark, even at night). In addition, trout take only small artificial fish, no more than 2 inches, and it’s better for light ones than for metal ones.

Most greedily she grabs mottled silky fish that resemble minnows. According to old St. Petersburg hunters and fishermen, trout in the river. Izhora does not go for artificial fish at all, whereas in the river. Oredezhe takes excellently. The most successful trout fishing with artificial fish is in the vicinity of Imatra and Lake Saimaa, in the river. Box.

The best time to catch trout here is in winter, after spawning, in December and January, and many local residents engage in this fishing. Their artificial fish is sewn from a variegated calico rag and has the appearance of a large worm, a little more than an inch long; the hook (single) protrudes from the rear third of the fish. Fishing for it is always carried out on a boat, together, with one casting and the other steering the boat, which in the rapids requires enormous skill.

Geneva fishermen have an original method of fishing, somewhat reminiscent of sheresper fishing from locks: they fish from a bridge (probably at the source of the Rhone from Lake Geneva), having only a large block on which 300-400 meters are reeled (i.e. up to 560 arshins) ) twine. The bait (artificial fish or live bait) is lowered downstream, then the string is reeled in, etc. In all likelihood, they are caught with a float. However, Geneva trout differ from ordinary brook trout in their enormous size and other features.

Trout is the collective name for three genera of fish belonging to the salmon family. This is perhaps the most valuable catch for a fisherman: tender red meat and a belly filled with red nutritious caviar will not leave anyone indifferent. Just one photo of a trout dish will whet your appetite.

Description of appearance

Trout has a laterally flattened body, which is why the fish looks slightly flattened, as in the photo. Its muzzle is short and truncated. Trout is a small fish, the length of which varies in the range of 25–35 centimeters, while the weight ranges from 200–500 grams. Individual specimens can gain up to 1 or 2 kilograms, but for this to happen, rivers and streams must have abundant food resources. The record belongs to an individual weighing 5 kilograms.

The trout on the vomer has two rows of teeth on the palatal surface, and 3 or 4 teeth are located behind the anterior triangular plate. The dorsal fin at the base is covered with dots, like on the body of a fish. The ventral fins are yellow at the base. Trout has a variety of body colors, which depend on living conditions.

Usually from the back the fish is colored olive with green tint, and its sides are painted yellow, which is clearly visible in the photo. Spots colored white, black or red are clearly visible on the sides. Sometimes the spots have a bluish border. The belly of the fish is white with gray tint, sometimes casts copper. Sometimes one tone is dominant, so one trout is dark and the other is light.

The color of the fish’s body depends on many reasons: the food used, the state of the water, the season and even the color of the bottom. If the water is calcareous, then the trout is painted in light silvery shades, and if the bottom is muddy or peaty, then the fish is dark. Its nutrition affects spotting: well-fed individuals have no spots. If a trout is moved from one pond to another, spots and stripes may disappear or appear on the body.

Females differ from males in body size: females are somewhat larger, they have fewer teeth and a smaller head. Males have a small body, a large head, and many teeth. The lower jaw in males is sometimes curved upward: in females this feature is not observed. The fish has red, yellow or white meat, the color of which does not depend on the gender of the individual.

Varieties

Since trout represents three genera of fish, several varieties are distinguished. The following types of trout belong to the genus of loaches:

• Silver loach;
• Ozerny;
• Bigheaded;
• American trout - palia.

The genus of Pacific salmon includes:

• Rainbow trout, its photo is presented below;
• Gila Trout;
• Golden sea trout;
• Kvakazskaya;
• Sea trout Biwa;
• Apache salmon.

Noble salmon include trout:

• Marble;
• Ohrid trout;
• Amur Darya;
• Sevan;
• Brown trout;
• Flathead trout;
• Adriatic.

Fish live both in the seas and in freshwater lakes and rivers. Some species are anadromous. Usually individuals easily change from one form to another. Some varieties of these salmon fish are shown in the photo.

Distribution and habitats

Trout are mostly found in the United States, where there is active sport fishing for them. In Norway, where trout is found in no less quantities, special fishing centers have been created for tourists, where only trout fishing is carried out. Fish is widespread in countries where many mountain rivers flow. But fish live not only in rivers.

Trout gets along well in lakes, for example, in Ladoga, in the Karelian lakes, in Onega and in deep-water reservoirs located on the Kola Peninsula. Brook trout is found in forest and mountain streams, the waters of which are rich in oxygen. The bottom of such streams should be sandy. They usually have the purest cold water. The fish also lives in rivers flowing in the Baltic region.

Diet

Trout is very unpretentious in its diet: everything is eaten, so this type of salmon gains weight very quickly. The fish forages for insect larvae and catches insects by jumping out of the water. She especially loves to eat bloodworms in the period after spawning. Therefore, in May and June, trout constantly jump out of the water in search of food to fatten up.

When the fry reach a sufficiently large size, they begin to switch to feeding on fish. Trout becomes a predator that hunts young fish and frogs. Some individuals engage in cannibalism. But the basis of nutrition is still fish, beetles, tadpoles, mollusks, crustaceans, insects and their larvae. The predator rushes at meat waste and fish offal.

Reproduction

Trout spawning usually occurs in the spring or fall. The spawning period occurs once a year, and its timing depends on the habitat and local climate. As spawning grounds, fish choose shallow waters with fast currents and a bottom covered with stones and pebbles. The diameter of live eggs can reach 5 millimeters; they are colored yellow or red, as in the photo.

Scientists note one peculiarity in trout fish species. During the development of eggs, only trout exhibit so many deformities. Scientists consider albinism and hermaphroditism as deformities. There are cases where fish hatched with two heads.

Thus, trout occupies a special position among all fish species. Trout will never cease to be valuable due to the fact that as a result of its active fishing, fish populations are significantly reduced. If overfished, there will be a threat of its extinction.

Brook trout or "pied trout" (Salmo trutta fario) is a freshwater form of "brown trout" belonging to the salmon family.

The term “trout” is a general term for many different species of fish of the salmon family, consisting of three genera. The large number of species of this family that are externally similar and close to each other creates confusion in the systematization of these animals.

The confusion regarding the relationship of brook, lake and anadromous (sea) trout was resolved only in last years. It has been established that all three forms belong to the same species - brown trout. Moreover, they easily move from one to another.
Brook trout acclimatized to the lower reaches sea ​​rivers, can easily slide into the sea, degenerating over time into anadromous trout, and also easily adapts to lake-type reservoirs.

Living conditions and sizes of trout

The maximum length of adult variegates ranges from 20 cm to 70 cm, with a weight from 300 grams to 6-7 kg, respectively, and a life expectancy of no more than 15-18 years. The size of brook trout depends on the size of the reservoir it inhabits and the food supply in it.

Thus, in small mountain streams that have not had time to merge together, trout rarely grows more than 25 cm, but in the foothills, where they carry their waters in a single stream, its size reaches 70 cm.

Brook trout belongs to the inhabitants of cold rivers, originating on the slopes of mountains and fed by glaciers and spring waters.

It is in such cold and flowing water, saturated with oxygen, that this very beautiful and strong fish lives, capable of withstanding a stormy current and even climbing waterfalls. The optimal water temperature for its normal functioning lies in the range from 5 to 12˚C.

Body structure

The special physique of the pied fish provides it with ideal hydrodynamics, allowing the predator to exist where other fish could not live for even an hour.
An important role is played by the torpedo-shaped hull, which helps our heroine overcome the resistance of a dense water environment and develop high speed. This is also facilitated by a well-developed caudal peduncle, endowed with solid and rigid plumage.
The narrow and elongated dorsal ridge, together with an almost identical anal fin, serve as upper and lower keels, reliably stabilizing the fish’s body in any position.

The required number and combination of hard and soft rays in the fins of a river predator provide them with the proper rigidity, making it easier to control the body in the frantic flow of mountain rivers.

Behind the dorsal crest there is a small fold of skin called an adipose fin, the purpose of which is not yet fully understood. The head is small, proportional to the body, the snout is truncated, the mouth is terminal, and small bristly teeth are located in a dense layer on the jaws, tongue and palate.

River trout coloring

Coloring river trout very variable and largely depends on the composition of water, soil, food supply, time of year and other factors.

The colors in the pied fish's outfit are more varied and rich on a bright sunny day; during spawning, the fish darken, briefly losing their beauty.

The back of river trout is most often greenish-brown, the sides are slightly yellowish with a slight copper tint, sometimes acquiring purple and bright pink tones. The grayish-white belly of the fish, closer to the tail, has a lemon color. Only it remains untouched by a scattering of multi-colored dots, surrounded by a light halo, covering the entire body, head and fins of the fish.

The color of the spots on the body of a trout is not typical; they can be either monochromatic or multi-colored: red, black, purple, etc.

How does trout see?

The large eyes of the river predator have very sharp focal vision, and the sensitive cells of the retina allow them to see well in the dark, although only in black and white and to distinguish ultraviolet light.

They perceive the green spectrum worst of all, and the blue spectrum better than others, providing especially accurate color rendering in good lighting ─ on sunny days.
In bad weather, color fades in the eyes of trout, which use night vision in low light, turning undersea world into the black and white kingdom.

Geography of distribution

The main area of ​​the brook trout's habitat is concentrated in Western Europe. The water bodies of this part of the continent are inhabited by it everywhere, with the exception of large, slow-flowing rivers.

The harsh climate of most regions of Russia limits the spread of brook trout, which are unadapted to sudden temperature changes.

Premature and prolonged freeze-up of Russian water bodies in the middle and northern latitudes, prevents its reproduction, which occurs in late autumn and early winter.

In addition, the abundance of prolific river predators in them, such as burbot, pike and perch, which constitute serious food competition for trout, will not allow it to survive in their vicinity.

For these reasons, brook trout in Russia is found only in certain regions: in key rivers of the Baltic Sea basin, in mountain rivers Black Sea and Caspian basins.

The highest numbers of this predatory fish are observed in non-freezing flowing water bodies of the Caucasus and Crimea.

Spawning

Reproductive functions in brook trout appear in the 3rd year of life. It spawns once every two years at a water temperature of 5─7˚C; in the southernmost latitudes, spawning begins in the second ten days of November and continues for 35-40 days, in other areas 1-1.5 months earlier. To spawn, trout rise upstream, choosing shallow areas with weak currents and rocky soil on the rifts.

Its preference for rocky bottoms is no coincidence; it can be explained in an unusual way spawning
The trout, with the help of its tail and paired fins, digs a hole in the soil into which it spawns.
After the male fertilizes her, she covers the clutch with pebbles, thereby protecting the eggs, which quickly lose their stickiness, from being washed away and eaten by other fish.

Trout spawning, which at first glance seems to be a group spawning due to the large number of males surrounding the eggs, is actually a pair spawning.

Only one male takes part in the fertilization process, which, before the most crucial moment, drives away all the other contenders for the “main role.”

Despite all precautions, most of the eggs die, becoming prey for representatives of the same species and other fish that are constantly experiencing a feeling of hunger associated with a lack of food at this time.

Making considerable efforts, hungry fish manage to look for and dig up trout nests, eat eggs, long term development ─ from 1.5 to 3 months, contributes to such a sad scenario.

The few offspring of brook trout, emerging from the surviving eggs, remain in the larval stage for a month, leading an almost motionless lifestyle, hiding under stones and other shelters.

All this time they feed on the mother's yolk, enclosed in a pouch on their tiny body. In the spring, the stronger fry slide downstream, settling in places with calm water that are convenient for self-feeding on small living organisms.

Where and what do common trout feed on?

The main food of small and medium-sized trout are insects and their larvae: beetles, grasshoppers, flies, caddis flies, amphipods, dragonflies, etc., which randomly fall into the water and also live in it.

Once brook trout reaches sexual maturity, it becomes a real predator. Now its main food is the minnow, a genus of small freshwater fish, as well as juveniles of other and its own species, and insects and worms supplement the diet.

The main source of food for our heroine is coastal bushes and trees, especially during strong winds. For this reason, trout tries to stay in river areas whose banks are rich in greenery, as well as near whirlpools that attract all the food floating downstream.

The pestle feeds most actively in the morning and evening hours - the time when it experiences a heightened feeling of hunger.

On hot days, when the water temperature is more than 15˚C, the pied almost does not eat, hides in shaded places and rises to the springs.

In general, brook trout feed all year round, with the exception of the spawning season, and are considered one of the most voracious fish in freshwater bodies.

Trout is a name that combines several forms and species of freshwater fish that belong to the Salmonidae family. Trout are included in three of the seven currently active genera of the family: char (Salvelinus), salmon (Salmo) and Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus).

Description of trout

Trout are characterized by several common characteristics. On a tenth of their relatively large body, located under the lateral line and in front of the vertical, which is lowered from the dorsal fin, there are 15-24 scales. The total number of scales above the anal fin varies from thirteen to nineteen. The body of the fish is laterally compressed to varying degrees, and the short snout has a characteristic truncation. There are numerous teeth on the vomer.

Appearance

The appearance of trout directly depends on whether this fish belongs to a certain species:

• Brook trout- a fish that can grow in length by more than half a meter, and at the age of ten the individual reaches a weight of twelve kilograms. This rather large representative of the family is characterized by the presence of an elongated body, covered with very small but quite dense scales. Brown trout have small fins and a large mouth lined with numerous teeth;
• lake trout- a fish characterized by a stronger body compared to brook trout. The head is compressed, so the lateral line is clearly visible. The color is distinguished by a red-brown back, as well as silvery sides and belly. Sometimes lake trout have numerous black spots on their scales;
• Rainbow trout – freshwater fish, characterized by a rather long body. The average weight of an adult fish is approximately six kilograms. The body is covered with very small and relatively dense scales. The main difference from its counterparts is the presence of a pronounced pink stripe on the belly.

Different types of trout differ in color, depending on living conditions, but the dark olive color of the back with a greenish tint is considered classic.

This is interesting! According to some observations, well-fed trout are always more uniform in color with a minimum number of spots, but the change in color is most likely caused by the movement of fish from a natural reservoir to artificial waters or vice versa.

Character and lifestyle

Each type of trout has its own individual habits, but the character and behavior of this fish also directly depends on weather conditions, habitat, as well as characteristics of the time of year. For example, many representatives of the so-called brown “native” trout species are capable of active migrations. The fish does not move very globally compared to sea trout, but may constantly move up or downstream during the spawning season, when feeding or searching for habitat. Lake trout are also quite capable of making such migrations.

In winter, spawned trout move lower and also prefer to stay near springs or in the deepest places of rivers, as close as possible to the bottom of the reservoir. Muddy spring waters and floods very often force such fish to stay close to steep banks, but with the onset of summer, trout actively move under waterfalls, into whirlpools and to river bends, where whirlpools are formed by the current. In such places, trout live sedentary and solitary until late autumn.

How long does trout live?

The average life expectancy of trout living in lake water is noticeably longer than that of any river counterparts. As a rule, lake trout live for several decades, but for river inhabitants the maximum is only seven years.

This is interesting! On the scales of trout there are growth rings that form as the fish grows and look like new hard tissue growing along the edges. Using these growth rings, the age of the trout is calculated.

Sexual dimorphism

Adult males according to some external signs differ from sexually mature females. As a rule, the male has a smaller body size, a larger head and more teeth. In addition, at the end of the lower jaw of old males there is often a noticeable upward bend.

Trout species

The main species and subspecies of trout belonging to different genera of representatives of the Salmon family:

• The genus Salmo includes: Adriatic trout (Salmo obtusirostris); Brook, lake trout or brown trout (Salmo trutta); Turkish flathead trout (Salmo platycephalus), Summer trout (Salmo letnica); Marbled trout (Salmo trutta marmoratus) and Amu Darya trout (Salmo trutta oxianus), as well as Sevan trout (Salmo ischchan);
• The genus Oncorhynchus includes: Arizona trout (Oncorhynchus apache); Clark's salmon (Oncorhynchus clarki); Biwa trout (Oncorhynchus masou rhodurus); Gil trout (Oncorhynchus gilae); Golden trout (Oncorhynchus aguabonita) and mykiss (Oncorhynchus mykiss);
• The genus Salvelinus (Loaches) includes: Salvelinus fontinalis timagamiensis; American palya (Salvelinus fontinalis); Bighead loach (Salvelinus confluentus); Malmo (Salvelinus malma) and Lake charr (Salvelinus namaycush), as well as the extinct Silver charr (Salvelinus fontinalis agassizi).

From a genetic point of view, lake trout are the most heterogeneous among all vertebrates. For example, the British population of wild brown trout contains variations that are incomparably greater than those of all the people on our planet combined.

This is interesting! Lake trout and rainbow trout are classified in the salmon family (Salmonidae), but are representatives of different genera and species with the same ancestors, which several million years ago divided into a couple of groups.

Range, habitats

The habitat of different species of trout is very extensive.. Representatives of the family are found almost everywhere where there are lakes with clean water, mountain rivers or streams. A significant number lives in fresh water bodies in the Mediterranean and Western Europe. In America and Norway, trout is a very popular sport fishing object.

Lake trout inhabit exceptionally clean and cool waters, where they often unite in schools and settle on great depth. Brook trout belongs to the category of anadromous species, as it is able to live not only in salt water, but also in fresh waters, where several individuals unite in not too numerous flocks. This type of trout prefers areas with an influx of clean water enriched with a sufficient amount of oxygen.

Representatives of the Rainbow Trout species are found along the Pacific coast, as well as near the North American continent in fresh water bodies. Relatively recently, representatives of the species were artificially transferred to the waters of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Madagascar and South Africa, where they took root quite successfully. Rainbow trout do not like excess sunlight, so during the daytime they try to hide among snags or stones.

In Russia, representatives of the Salmon family are found on the territory of the Kola Peninsula, in the waters of the Baltic, Caspian, Azov, White and Black Seas, as well as in the Crimean and Kuban rivers, in the waters of Lakes Onega, Ladoga, Ilmen and Peipsi. Trout is also incredibly popular in modern fish farming and is grown artificially on a very large industrial scale.

Trout diet

Trout is a typical representative of aquatic predators. Such fish feed on a wide variety of insects and their larvae, and are also quite capable of devouring small relatives or eggs, tadpoles, beetles, mollusks and even crustaceans. During spring flood the fish tries to stay close to the steep banks, where high water actively washes out numerous worms and larvae from the coastal soil, which are used by the fish as food.

In the summer, trout choose deep pools or river bends, as well as areas of waterfalls and places where water creates whirlpools, allowing the fish to hunt effectively. Trout feed in the morning or late in the evening. During severe thunderstorm Schools of fish are able to rise closer to the surface. In terms of nutrition, juvenile trout of any species are completely unpretentious, and for this reason they grow extremely quickly. In spring and summer, such fish eat flying “feed”, which allows them to gain a sufficient amount of fat.

Reproduction and offspring

The spawning time for trout in different natural habitats is different, depending on the latitude and temperature regime of the water, as well as the altitude above sea level. Early spawning is observed in northern areas with cold water. In Western Europe, spawning sometimes occurs in winter, until the last ten days of January, and in the tributaries of the Kuban - in October. Yamburg trout goes to spawn in December. According to some observations, fish most often choose moonlit nights for spawning, but the main peak of spawning occurs in the time period from sunset to complete darkness, as well as in the predawn hours.

Trout reach sexual maturity at about three years, but even two-year-old males very often have completely mature milk. Adult trout do not spawn annually, but every other year. The number of eggs in the largest individuals is several thousand. As a rule, four- or five-year-old females carry about one thousand eggs, and three-year-old individuals typically have 500 eggs. During spawning, trout acquire a dirty gray color, and the reddish spots become less bright or disappear completely.

For spawning, trout choose rifts that have a rocky bottom and are strewn with not too large pebbles. Sometimes fish are able to spawn on fairly large stones, in conditions of a gristly and fine-sandy bottom. Just before spawning, females use their tails to dig an oblong and shallow hole, clearing the gravel of algae and dirt. One female is most often followed by several males at once, but the eggs are fertilized by one male with the most mature milk.

This is interesting! Trout is able to choose a partner based on olfactory and visual characteristics, which allows representatives of the Salmon family to produce offspring with the desired characteristics, including resistance to diseases and adverse natural factors.

Trout caviar is quite large in size, orange or reddish in color. The appearance of lake trout fry is facilitated by washing the eggs with clean and cold water saturated with a sufficient amount of oxygen. When favorable external conditions The fry grow very actively, and the food of the juveniles includes daphnia, chironomids and oligochaetes.

Trout is a generalized name for several species of salmon fish that inhabit various bodies of water and are found throughout our country. It is of commercial value, as well as of interest to amateur fishermen and athletes. It is considered a noble underwater inhabitant, the catching of which is not easy and requires considerable skill and experience.

This representative of salmon has the highest culinary value. Its meat contains many vitamins and microelements that promote health. You can cook a wide variety of dishes from it. This fish is smoked, fried, stewed, salted, boiled and even eaten raw. Its caviar is considered a delicacy. In some regions, so-called amber trout baked in the oven is popular.

Types of fish

In our conditions, there are three main types of this fish:

• Karelian trout or lake trout;
• stream;
• rainbow.

Karelian trout inhabits mainly deep reservoirs with cold water in Karelia and the Kola Peninsula, and is found en masse in Lake Ladoga and Onega. This is a large schooling fish that can live at depths of up to 100 meters. Grows up to a meter in length.

Brook trout is a freshwater form of sea trout, which is an anadromous fish. But unlike her, she leads a sedentary lifestyle, prefers streams and rivers with cold, clear water and a strong flow. It usually grows up to 1–2 kg, but there is information about individuals weighing 10–12 kg.

Rainbow trout are considered a freshwater form of Pacific steelhead. The most common type in our country. Many fish farms are engaged in its targeted breeding. This predator is stocked in paid ponds, where fishing with a spinning rod is especially popular.

Description of the fish

All trout species have a similar body shape. It is slightly elongated, laterally compressed. The head is medium-sized, truncated. The mouth is medium, the eyes are small. Males are slightly smaller than females, but have more teeth. As they age, their lower jaw may curve upward.

Trout is covered with dense small scales. There are two fins on the back - the main and false, which are also called adipose. This is common to all salmon. The abdominal, pectoral, anal and tail are of medium size.

The color of this fish is very variable and depends on the habitat and the specific species. On a light bottom, trout often have a silver body with small black spots and a light olive back. On muddy or peaty soil it is darker. The predator also changes color before spawning, its colors become more saturated.

Brook trout is brownish in color; its head and back may even be black. Numerous black and red spots are randomly located on the body. Sometimes it is called a pestle. Rainbow - lighter. It has a violet-red stripe along its lateral line. Thanks to her, this species got its name.

Spawning

Trout spawn differently depending on the species and specific bodies of water. Ozernaya spawns twice a year: December–February and June–August. This process takes place at a considerable depth, sometimes up to 100 meters, and therefore has been little studied by ichthyologists. The female lays up to 1500 larvae, from which a fry up to 15 mm in size then hatches.

Brook trout reaches sexual maturity at 3–4 years of age. It spawns between November and December, when the water temperature is about 6 degrees. Eggs are laid in shallow rocky and pebble areas with fast currents. The female lays from 200 to 5000 eggs at a time. The fry hatch only in early spring.

Rainbow trout begin to spawn at 3–4 years of age. Under natural conditions, this process takes place in March–April. Large bottom caviar, up to 4.5–6.0 mm in diameter, matures in about two months. The fertility of the fish is about 2000 eggs.

Rainbow trout grow faster than brook trout. In addition, it tolerates increases in water temperature up to 20 degrees. Therefore, this particular species is bred in paid ponds and fish farms, since there is no need to create special conditions for content.

What does it eat?

Trout is a predatory fish. At the beginning of life, its juveniles feed mainly on plankton, but as they grow older, they switch to a more varied diet, which consists of:

• small benthic invertebrates (molluscs and worms);
• crustaceans;
• larvae of semi-aquatic insects;
• frogs;
• beetles, butterflies, grasshoppers and other insects falling into the water;
• small fish.

Large individuals even attack small mammals that carelessly swim across a body of water. Trout can also eat plant foods. On many paid ponds it is caught using canned corn, dough, bread and others.

Where does it live?

Brook trout loves cool places, so they try to stick to places where there are springs and the water temperature does not rise. It can stand behind various shelters on riffles, as well as in areas with slow currents: before or after them.

IN summer time the predator prefers local pits with a slow flow under overhanging tree crowns or bushes.

The behavior of rainbow trout differs little from the lifestyle of brook trout. She likes to stand in the area of ​​some kind of shelter. These could be large stones or driftwood at the bottom, or various uneven terrain. On sunny days, the fish is usually inactive, but with the onset of cloudy weather its behavior changes dramatically, and the predator becomes active.

Lake trout inhabits deep lakes, where they stay at depths of 50–100 meters. The fish may be at the bottom or moving through the water column. In summer, it often approaches the coastal zone.