Field guide · 5 species
Five trout and chars cover most of what North American anglers catch in cold water. Rainbow and cutthroat trout are native to the West, brook trout and lake trout are chars native to the North and East, and the brown trout was brought over from Europe in the 1880s. All of them need cold, clean, well-oxygenated water, which makes trout a living gauge of a healthy stream.
The quickest IDs: a pink side stripe and spotted tail on a rainbow, black and red spots with pale halos on a brown, worm-like markings and white-edged fins on a brook trout, a red slash under the jaw on a cutthroat, and a deeply forked tail on a lake trout.
| Fish | Family | Water | Region | Body shape | Max length | Max weight | Diet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Trout | Salmon & trout | Both | Nationwide | Streamlined | 48 in | 56 lb | Carnivore |
| Brown Trout | Salmon & trout | Both | Nationwide | Streamlined | 42 in | 44 lb | Carnivore |
| Brook Trout | Salmon & trout | Both | Northern lakes & rivers | Streamlined | 34 in | 18 lb | Carnivore |
| Cutthroat Trout | Salmon & trout | Both | Pacific Coast | Streamlined | 39 in | 41 lb | Carnivore |
| Lake Trout | Salmon & trout | Freshwater | Northern lakes & rivers | Streamlined | 59 in | 72 lb | Carnivore |
The rainbow trout is the most widely stocked game fish on the planet: a hard-fighting, acrobatic trout native to the Pacific slope that now swims in at least 45 countries. The same species runs to the ocean as the steelhead, so a 10-inch hatchery rainbow in a park pond and a 15-pound chrome steelhead in a coastal river are, genetically, the same fish.
Read the full guide →The brown trout is a European native that has become one of North America's most prized game fish since its arrival in the 1880s. Browns are wary, long-lived and willing to eat almost anything, including other fish and mice, which is why the biggest trout in many rivers and Great Lakes harbors are browns.
Read the full guide →The brook trout is the native trout of eastern North America and, strictly speaking, not a trout at all but a char, a cousin of the lake trout and Arctic char. Its jewel-like colors and its need for cold, clean water have made it the state fish of ten states, including Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and a living measure of stream health.
Read the full guide →The cutthroat trout is the native trout of the American West, named for the red-orange slash under its jaw. It is the state fish of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, and regional forms carry the title in Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, so for many anglers catching a cutthroat in its home water is the point of the trip.
Read the full guide →The lake trout is the giant char of cold northern lakes: a slow-growing, long-lived predator that can top 50 pounds and live for decades. It is the fish behind the fly-in trips to Great Bear and Great Slave lakes, a mainstay of Great Lakes trolling fleets, and a favorite target through the ice from Maine to Alberta.
Read the full guide →Think you could name them from a few clues? A new mystery fish drops every day.
Play the daily fish game
