Distribution in the Local
Area:
Aide Lake, Baldcoot Lake, Big
Lighthouse Lake, Cannon Lake, Card Lake, Diamond Lake,
Echo Lake, Egan Lake, Faraday Lake, Hicks Lake, Hound
Lake, Inright Lake, Jimmies Lake, Johnson Lake, Lake
St. Peter, Lavellee Lake, Leatherroot Lake, Ledyard
Lake, Little Birch Lake, Little Coot Lake, Littl Lighthouse
Lake, Mawson Lake, McCauley Lake, Meach Lake, Mink Lake,
Mitchel Lake, North Chainy Lake, Potash Lake, Pritchard
Lake, Ragged Lake, Rock Lake, Swordfingal Lake, Watt
Lake, Weslemkoon Lake, Whiteduck Lake, Wollaston Lake,
Yuill Lake
Taxonomy:
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata,
Subphylum Vertebrata,
Superclass Osteichthyes, bony fishes
Class Actinopterygii, ray-finned and spiny rayed fishes
Subclass Neopterygii
Infraclass Teleostei
Superorder Protacanthopterygii
Order Salmoniformes, salmon and trout
Family Salmonidae, salmon and trout
Genus Salvelinus, the chars
Description:
The native trout of northern streams
Length:
averages 10"-12"
can be up to 21"
Weight:
typically 11 oz to 2 lbs
can weigh 4-6 lbs
Coloration:
olive-green to dark brown on the back
lighter on sides
silvery white on underside
pale spotting; blue halos surround small red spots on
the sides
worm-like markings (vermiculation) on the back and dorsal
fin are lacking in other salmonids.
edges of the lower fins have white margins
All colors intensify at spawning time.
Body:
tail fin slightly forked
Head:
hook at the front of the lower jaw in breeding males
Lifespan on average is five years
Habitat:
Brook trout are found within
some 30 lakes and several streams and rivers in the
area.
Typically in the smallest, highest, and coldest streams
and lakes.
These lakes are maintained through stocking with exception
of a few natural brook trout lakes. The brook trout
is the only native trout, rainbow and brown trout were
introduced.
There are many small unsurveyed brook trout streams
scattered throughout the area. Brook trout often found
in waters 12°C - 18°C temperature range along
the edge of rocky drop offs or under suitable log or
hung tree cover.
Water temperatures as high as 77.5º F. will kill
Brook Trout in a few hours.
They are most active in the morning and late afternoon.
At night they can be found under banks, boulders, logs,
and other shelters.
Food:
Carnivorous, generalized feeders,
consuming most insects and other small invertebrates.
Aquatic and terrestrial insects, crayfish, fish, and
anything else they can catch
Known to eat their own eggs at spawning time and even
their own young.
History:
World Record: 14 lbs, 8 oz.,
from the Nipigon River in Ontario, in July 1916 by Dr.
W.J. Cook.
Minnesota Record: 6 lbs, 4 oz, from High Lake (St. Louis
County)
Uses:
Among the easiest trout to catch,
though often not as popular with anglers as the other
trout species because of their small size.
Highly regarded as table fare by many anglers, with
a sweet and delicate meat said to rival that of Whitefish
and Walleye.
Reproduction:
Spawns in late summer or autumn
in gravel beds in the shallows of headwaters of streams.
The female digs the redd (nest) where she lays 100-5000
eggs, depending on her size. They hatch 50-100 days
later.
Can breed with Lake Trout producing a hybrid called
Splake.
Mature at age 1 or 2
Similar species:
Lake trout
The key identifying charaters are light wormlike markings
and spots on dark background, some red and blue; square
tail; white leading edge on lower fins, set off by black
line.
Comments:
Brook Trout are the only stream-dwelling
trout native to the Great Lakes. In search of clear,
cool, and well-oxygenated water, they often move out
of streams and into the estuaries and bays of the Great
Lakes. Those Brook Trout that move into such areas are
called "coasters." Coasters weigh on average
2-3 lbs and are usually heavier than stream-dwelling
Brook Trout.
Rainbow and brown trout compete with brook trout for
space
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