Photo by Brett Wilson ©
Physical Characteristics

It is a very hardy trout that competes well with other fish and endures marginal water qualities better than most trouts. It generally has golden brown hues with yellow under parts. The males during spawning are often brilliantly splashed with crimson spots circled with blue halos. Its upper body is usually profusely dappled with large, irregular, dark chocolate spots. It is carnivorous and sports a stronger, sharper set of teeth than most trout. Brown trout often grow to considerable size.

Life Expectancy

Brown trout may live for several years although, as with the Atlantic salmon, there is a high proportion of death of males after spawning and probably fewer than 20% of female kelts recover from spawning. The migratory forms grow to significantly larger sizes and may live longer.

Habitat and Range

Brown Trout migrate from lakes into rivers or streams to spawn, although there is some evidence of stocks that spawn on wind-swept shorelines of lakes. S. trutta morpha fario form stream-resident populations, typically in alpine streams but sometimes in larger rivers.

Feeding

Brown trout are active both by day and by night and are opportunistic feeders. While in fresh water, the diet will frequently include invertebrates from the streambed, small fish, frogs, and insects flying near the water's surface. The high dietary reliance upon insect larvae, pupae, nymphs and adults is what allows trout to be a favoured target for fly fishing.

Spawning

The spawning behaviour of brown trout is similar to that of the closely related Atlantic salmon. A typical female produces about 2,000 eggs per kilogram (900 eggs per pound) of body weight at spawning. Brown trout rarely form hybrids, almost invariably infertile, with other species. One such example is the tiger trout, a hybrid with the brook trout.