Trout
Brown trout (Salmo trutta) are an iconic British fish and widespread in our rivers. They are golden-brown with a dark back and a soft-yellow belly with dark, red spots with pale borders on their back and sides. They are a medium to large fish measuring around 40-80cm and weighing up to 14kg.
They live in fast-flowing, stoney or gravelly rivers and are powerful predators feeding on insect larvae, crustaceans, small fish and flying insects.
Here in Cumbria trout generally spawn in November-January. Females release their eggs above a pre-made nest on the gravely riverbed. The male trout fertilises the eggs as they are being laid and before they are buried in the gravel. The young ‘fry’ then hatch, and feed on their yolk sac before moving on to feed on invertebrates.
Did you know?
Sea trout and brown trout are the same species. Sea trout spend most of their life at sea only returning to fresh water to spawn; brown trout spend all their life in fresh water. When the juveniles reach the adolescent stage, some trout decide to head to sea for the better feeding grounds and opportunities, whilst others decide to stay as resident brown trout. The exact reason for this choice to stay or go is still a bit of a mystery!
