One of the many relatives of salmon is the brown trout - a fish that is a representative of the fauna of many seas: the Baltic, Caspian, Aral, White and Black, as well as mountain streams of many countries, and lives in the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Amu Darya.
One of the many relatives of salmon is the brown trout.
This species is characterized by enormous diversity, so that even scientists do not have time to classify subtypes. And all because this fish adapts well to environment, be it the sea or another body of water, and easily mutates(changes). This is actively facilitated by its relocation by humans to various reservoirs for breeding and increasing the number of livestock.
Depending on the habitat, the color of the fish varies from very light, dark gray to almost black, and along the body there are dark spots with a light halo (sometimes they are red).
Migratory (one that lives in the sea) brown trout lives in swimming pools large rivers, since to spawn it needs to rise from the waters of the sea into a freshwater river. The individuals that live in lakes are trout. Those living in the river have a brown color on the back and a silver tint on the sides. Those found in large lakes are predominantly silver in color.
The lifespan of this fish can be long. Individuals were observed whose age was 19 years (for the anadromous one) and 20 years (for the lake one).
Brown trout goes to spawn (video)
Gallery: trout fish (25 photos)
Spawning process
Trout differs from many salmon relatives in that it can spawn more than once in its entire life (up to 10). She does not starve before spawning (on the contrary, she feeds heavily) and does not die after it, returning to her usual habitat. Spawns in shallow water, laying eggs under stones or burying them in the sand. At one time, the female lays up to 4 thousand eggs of quite large sizes - 5 mm. After 1.5-2 months, young animals will appear. The size of the hatched fry is 6 mm.
At first, babies live in the place where they were born. They spend from 2 to 7 years of their life in the river. They feed on various insects and larvae. When their size increases to 20 cm, the fish descend into the sea. Their diet expands: frogs, invertebrates and fry of other fish. Over 4 years of life at sea, the size of individuals increases to 60 cm.
Depending on the habitat, the color of brown trout varies from very light, dark gray to almost black, and along the body there are dark spots with a light halo
Adults feed on small schooling fish, large crustaceans, and insects flying over the water. In some lakes, two types of trout live together: a predatory one (weighing up to 10 kg) and a small silver fish that feeds exclusively on vegetation.
The size of brown trout varies greatly and depends on the body of water in which it lives. In small rivers, trout reaches a size of 25 cm, in large lakes the size of the fish increases to 1 m, and the weight increases to 8-13 kg, in the seas - up to 1.5 m. If we compare the size and weight of some types of sea trout, the largest has a Caspian ( Weight Limit– 51 kg, although such specimens are not caught now, usually 12-13 kg). The brown trout, which lives in the Baltic Sea (Baltic subspecies), grows up to 30-70 cm, and weighs from 1 to 5 kg (it was also heaviest weight in history – 23.5 kg). Cis-Caucasian trout weighs from 2 to 7 kg.
Value and benefits of fish
Trout meat has beneficial properties, is very tender and tasty. It is absorbed by the human body easier and faster than meat. This fish cannot be called fatty, although there are layers of fat between the muscles of its body in certain places. The average calorie content of all types of brown trout in its raw form is 100-105 kcal/100 g of meat. The product is also valued for the fact that it contains valuable fats for humans, which are very useful for strengthening the cardiovascular system and preventing heart attacks and strokes. It is also a storehouse of vitamins (A, group B, E, PP, D) and minerals: magnesium, zinc phosphorus, selenium, fluorine, potassium, calcium, iron, manganese. Plus 17 amino acids. Trout is salted, boiled, fried. All these processes are simple, and the fish is prepared quickly and easily.
Brown trout (video)
Fishing methods and subtleties
I would like to catch a bigger trophy - and this is a predatory brown trout. You can catch it using different gear: spinning rod, float rod, track and fly. In this case, you need to take into account her habits. This fish loves deep parts of the reservoir and rifts, but can go into shallow water in search of food.
When using float tackle, you should use a fishing rod no longer than 5 m. This is convenient when moving along a bank heavily overgrown with bushes, so as not to get caught and tear the tackle. You can use a worm or maggot as bait. The tackle should be cast downstream to the place where trout are expected to live.
It is important to remember that during the feeding period this fish can be at any depth.
The sizes of brown trout are very different and depend on the body of water in which the fish lives. If fishing is done with a spinning rod, then you need to take into account the time of year to choose gear. In summer, brown trout hunt near the surface of the reservoir and at shallow depths. Therefore, you need to use small rotating spoons as bait. Wobblers are used in spring and autumn. Retrieving when fishing with a spinning rod must be done slowly and smoothly. It is important to know that the time when fishing is most successful is morning. To have success, don't be afraid to experiment with your bait.
Fishing on artificial front sight- this is the use of overlap and a high probability of catching a large specimen.
But hooking a fish is half the battle; you still need to pull it out of the water, and this is not easy and requires skill, patience and special equipment.
A reasonable fisherman will not catch trout returning after spawning, since they are weakened at this time, and after a certain period of active feeding the fish will gain weight.
Brook trout is also an object of recreational and sport fishing. This fish is very careful and timid, as it has good eyesight and sees what is happening on the shore. Catching a large specimen weighing up to 2 or 4 kg, which strongly resists, jumps out of the water, spins on a hook, and sharply rushes from side to side, as practice shows, is very difficult. An experienced fisherman can do this. But a smaller variety of brook trout - speckled trout - usually weighs around 1 kg. This fish is also careful, and you need to use knowledge and dexterity to catch it, but this is easier to do compared to large specimens.
Today, trout fish is an endangered species and is listed in the Red Book. Therefore, a license is required to catch it and fishing can be done in areas permitted for fishing.
Pacific salmon (pink salmon, chum salmon, coho salmon, sockeye salmon, masu salmon, chinook salmon), Pacific trout and char. Brown trout live in the Barents Sea basin and the Pechora River basin. There are also species of brown trout that live in the Aral, Baltic and Caspian seas, in the lakes of Dagestan and even in the Mediterranean Sea. Such a wide habitat of brown trout is due to the fact that it is a very ecologically flexible species of salmon. By and large, brown trout is a trout that lives not in the river, but in the ocean. There are known cases when brown trout fry, settled in streams and small rivers, turned into... ordinary trout.
It is extremely difficult to speak in a single key about the morphology and appearance of brown trout, because it is very plastic and changeable. It all depends on the habitat of the fish, the food supply and the climate of the reservoir. But there are still some signs that distinguish brown trout from the same salmon: for example, unlike salmon, brown trout have fewer scales in the transverse row. Like trout, brown trout's body above and below the lateral line is covered with numerous black spots with a light halo around it. There are also red spots on the sides. In rivers, the color is brownish on the back with a silvery tint on the sides. In large lakes, brown trout have a predominant silver color, as in the ocean. The size of the fish strongly depends on the habitat conditions: in small rivers, resident brown trout (trout) rarely reaches a length of more than 25 centimeters, in large lakes it reaches 1 meter with a weight of up to 8-13 kg. Migratory brown trout are already much larger - up to one and a half meters. Caspian trout is a giant among salmon, reaching a weight of 51 kg, but today it does not exceed 12-13 kg. Due to its enormous size and weight, as well as its great resemblance to salmon, taxonomists considered the Caspian trout to be a unique subspecies of salmon. Only recently (1980s) was it established that this is a form of brown trout that has greatly changed in the process of evolution. Migratory trout live a maximum of 19 years, lake trout live a little longer - up to 20 years.
Young trout are planktivores, i.e. feeds on small crustaceans and insect larvae. This diet is maintained until the age of 3-4 years (sometimes more). It lives at sea for 2-3 years, but sometimes returns after a year. In the sea, brown trout prefer to prey, i.e. eats small fish(vendace, pied, gerbil) and large crustaceans. Residential forms in lakes (i.e. trout) also often switch to a predatory lifestyle. In search of food, brown trout swims in the water column, adhering upper layers.
In general, if we talk about brown trout itself (i.e., separating it from trout), then we must say that it is a strictly migratory fish that only spawns in rivers. The spawning process of brown trout is similar to the spawning of salmon. Depending on the distribution areas, spawning dates vary from September to February. Spawning occurs in shallow and rapids areas of rivers; eggs are either spawned on stones and coarse sand, or buried in holes. The average fertility of brown trout is 7-12 thousand eggs; caviar orange color, large, reaches 5-6 mm in diameter. Spawning grounds are located both in the upper reaches of rivers and in the middle reaches. The spawning location depends on the river’s abundance, because brown trout are not able to overcome large and long rapids, therefore, they stop before the first large one. Often, precisely because of this, brown trout spawn not in the upper reaches of rivers, but at the mouth or in the estuary area. Brown trout spawn 5 to 10 times in their life. However, the spawning of brown trout has a serious difference from the spawning of salmon - during the spawning run, the brown trout does not stop feeding. A fast but “calm” current, bordering on a stormy stream, in the presence of large stones and with sufficient depth (up to 2 - 2.5 m) is an excellent place for catching brown trout using spinning or fly fishing.
The bite of brown trout is quite sharp. After hooking, the angler should evaluate the catch, since haste can lead to the loss of the trophy. But, having tired the fish, bringing it ashore becomes quite simple, and in the case of winter fishing for trout, it becomes easy to introduce it into the hole. In general, without a large supply of fishing line, it is impossible to pull out a trout weighing 3-5 kg. Fishing for trout is always hard work.
The type of baits, spinners, their equipment, and the technique for catching brown trout do not differ from those used when fishing for salmon. Due to the fact that brown trout are somewhat smaller than salmon, it is possible to lighten the spinning/fly fishing tackle. The strength of the fishing line or cord can be reduced to 7 - 8 kg, and its length reduced to 100 - 120 m. If fishing for trout takes place on the sea coast, then you need to have a landing net with you. On the sea coast, brown trout bite well on spoons. Elongated, narrow oscillating spoons (so-called “willow leaves”) that imitate gerbils work very well. Gerbil and vendace are the favorite prey of brown trout. Small wobblers are quite catchy. The spinner or wobbler must be cast slowly. When reeling in the fishing line, pause periodically.
It is quite difficult to describe the appearance and characteristics of trout fish. This fish, which most ichthyologists classify as a species of noble salmon, exhibits so-called ecological plasticity - it is constantly changing, evolving, mutating, etc. Brown trout have many first and second cousins in different seas and oceans, but they also live well in fresh water - this is where this fish spawns.
Salmo trutta: brown trout - lake and brook trout
Externally different types brown trout are very different from each other: they are confused not only by amateur fishermen, but also by specialists involved in the production of fish products. For example, brown trout is called trout, and this is true: some of its subspecies living in streams and fresh lakes really belong to trout, but there are many species and subspecies of trout in the world.
Freshwater trout from the passage brown trout, living in the seas and oceans, is smaller in size, but in some cold lakes located in the mountains, it can gain up to 10 kg of weight. Scientists sometimes classify such fish as separate species, and again confusion arises.
But on the American continent brown trout it didn’t exist before: people brought it there, and it acclimatized perfectly and multiplied, forming more than 30 species, which, in turn, also changed and continue to change - scientists even call these fish “trout-trout”. For example, a freshwater trout can turn into an anadromous fish, and vice versa - and this process does not end.
In Russia, many people call trout salmon-taimen, and its “relatives” are considered to be lenok, chum salmon, chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, etc.
This fish is not found in the east of the country - it is common in European seas, from Spain to our Pechora River.
Brown trout - features and character
Like many salmon, brown trout have many small dark spots on their bodies, and they feed on crustaceans and small fish. There are also brown trout in the Black, Aral and Caspian Seas - in the latter case, they can grow to enormous sizes and weigh about 50 kg. Brown trout are considered valuable commercial fish, and it is constantly bred and resettled - these human actions also make a significant contribution to changing its types and forms.
Trout is a fish with its own character. It differs from the salmon we know in that it can spawn not just once, but several times. It is known that almost all species of salmon die after spawning, but after spawning, they return to the sea and continue to live. By the way, in the river, rising to the spawning grounds, brown trout continue to actively feed - this also distinguishes them from other salmon, for which the days before spawning become last days life.
Returning to the sea, the fish completely recovers, and in subsequent years can produce offspring 3 or 4 more times. And brown trout live for quite a long time - up to 18-20 years. And here fishermen and fishermen need to be more careful: there is no need to catch brown trout when they return to the sea in a weakened state. Even if these fish are accidentally caught in nets, they should be released: after a couple of months, their weight will double or triple and they will be able to reproduce again in the future.
For now, unfortunately, try this one delicious fish Not all residents of Russia can, and this is due to irrational mining. In the 2nd half of the 20th century, the brown trout population declined greatly: forests were cut down, logs were floated down rivers, dams were built, lands in water protection zones were plowed up, etc. Today, the number of brown trout has begun to increase, and the ban on catching it has played a significant role - one can hope that in the near future there will be much more of this fish.
Composition and nutritional value of brown trout
Adult brown trout large sizes usually do not grow: on average they are 30-70 cm long and weigh 1-5 kg. Of course, thanks to our beneficial properties And taste qualities, brown trout is highly revered in cooking. Some indicators of it nutritional value so high that experts place it above meat, and besides, it is absorbed by the body much easier and faster - this is an important advantage. Between the muscles of the trout's body, in different parts, there are delicate layers of fat, although this fish cannot be called fatty: for example, salmon is fatter, but in terms of taste, trout is almost as good as it.
100 g of trout contain approximately 100-105 kcal– this is the average if we consider all types of this fish in its raw form. Trout is rich in protein and healthy fats; vitamins – A, PP and group B (6 vitamins); minerals - potassium, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, calcium. Other minerals: iron, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium.
How to cook trout deliciously
Cooking trout different ways like any fish. Light and medium salted trout is considered an incredibly tasty delicacy.
Salting trout is easy. The fish must be washed, cleaned and gutted, it is advisable to separate large bones; rinse the carcass again cold water and rub the inside with a 2:1 mixture of coarse salt and sugar. Can add Bay leaf, herbs, allspice, etc. The same mixture is sprinkled on top of the fish - you can sprinkle the carcass with a little lemon juice - wrapped in a clean linen napkin, placed in a convenient non-metallic container, closed and put in the refrigerator. You can add more salt: trout cannot be over-salted - it will not take too much.
In about two days, the fish will be evenly saturated with fat and will be completely cooked. Many fans eat it within a day, garnished with herbs and lemon slices, although it can be eaten in any way you like - for example, like regular herring, with onions, vegetable oil and vinegar. Salted trout can be added to various salads and snacks - it is an excellent ingredient.
Boiled trout is even easier to prepare. It is better to choose large fish and fattier pieces: pieces of the same size are poured with salted water and placed on low heat. You can put chopped carrots and onions, a piece of leek and pepper to taste in the water. After 30-40 minutes of cooking over low heat, the fish will be ready - it will turn out unusually tender and tasty. When serving, you can sprinkle it with finely chopped parsley or dill. Boiled trout is delicious hot or cold, with baked potatoes or green salad, With fried mushrooms, grated horseradish and lemon juice.
Trout on a spit is a gourmet dish. They eat it with fresh green onions - an excellent combination. The prepared fish carcass is cut into identical, fairly large pieces, sprinkled with salt and ground black or allspice, skewered and fried over hot coals or in the oven, periodically pouring melted butter over them.
Fried trout is often served with potatoes, boiled in their jackets, with fresh cucumbers and tomatoes. The sauce for potatoes is prepared simply: in a frying pan in any vegetable oil fried sliced onion, add black pepper, salt, lemon juice and mix. Pour the sauce over peeled and sliced potatoes, and sprinkle with chopped dill on top. Cucumbers and tomatoes are cut into a separate dish.
At the same time, pre-chopped trout, salted and sprinkled with lemon juice, are fried in a hot frying pan in oil. This recipe is simple, does not require large expenditures and almost complies with the rules of a healthy diet.
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Trout or otherwise kemzha is a freshwater, migratory fish belonging to the family Salmon. There are many varieties of trout fish, which are both appearance, and sizes are very different from each other. Brown trout is considered a large fish; its size can vary from 30 to 70 centimeters with a weight ranging from 1-5 kilograms. They also meet especially big fish, which reach a length of 110 centimeters and weigh more than 20 kilograms.
Trout fish is an ecologically flexible species and due to this fact, its habitat is very large: the basin of the Barents Sea and the Pechora River; Caspian, Aral, Baltic and Mediterranean Sea and even the lakes of Dagestan. Roughly speaking, brown trout are animals that live in the ocean, not in the river. There are known cases of brown trout fry turning into regular brown trout when the former are introduced into small rivers.
In its nutritional and culinary characteristics, brown trout meat is not inferior to animal meat, and sometimes even better than the latter. The advantage of brown trout is determined by the content of valuable, easily digestible protein in the fish meat.
Calorie content of brown trout
The calorie content of this product is only 104 kcal per 100 grams of meat.
Composition of brown trout
Brown trout is valuable object fishing, and it is also often artificially bred. Getting into different conditions habitats and different bodies of water, it is capable of changing the color of the body and its shape.
Useful properties of brown trout
Frequent consumption of this fish prevents and protects against atherosclerosis and heart attack, promotes good digestion and normalization of metabolism.
Brown trout in cooking
The presence of intermuscular layers of fat in fish meat makes it very tender, while the location and quantity of these layers depends on the age and life period of the trout. It is worth noting that trout meat is less fatty than meat, but it still differs in its extraordinary taste and popular in the cuisines of many countries. Trout served in various ways preparation, it can be fried on a grill or frying pan, boiled, steamed, as well as salted, smoked and canned.
Types of fishing: float fishing, spinning
Type of fish: predatory
Fish: brown trout
Federal District: Northwestern Federal District, Southern Federal District, Siberian Federal District
Type of bait: spinners, wobblers, artificial flies
Fishing season: in open water
Type of reservoir: rivers, lakes, ponds, reservoirs, seas
Local: marine, freshwater
Family: salmonids
Type of spinner: wavering
Trout is one of the most typical and widespread representatives of the salmon family, and among fishermen and in the literature there is often confusion about the names of this fish. The fact is that this salmon comes in two types: migratory and freshwater, and the latter is often called trout. In addition, in nature there are quite a few forms of brown trout, which differ from each other both in appearance and in habits. There are five main subspecies, and ichthyologists generally believe that five migratory and one lake variety of brown trout live on our territory.
The most curious thing is that the exact taxonomy of brown trout is generally devoid of practical meaning: this fish completely denies Linnaeus’ theory and, under certain conditions, one form spontaneously transforms into another. This fact is not a hypothesis, but reliable information confirmed by the experience of acclimatization and breeding of trout in artificial conditions. That is why trout and brown trout have ceased to be considered separate fish species, and now the fact of the transformation of anadromous brown trout and freshwater lake trout into each other has been precisely proven.
The color of brown trout, its size and shape, as well as other biological indicators vary greatly depending on the habitat of the fish. You can find an almost black specimen, and a very light one, with a short body, and a very elongated one, etc. The sides are most often covered with numerous red spots and black spots with a light halo.
Trout is a very common fish. Only on site former USSR The following main types are found:
- migratory brown trout and freshwater trout, which live in large quantities in the river basins of the Baltic, White, Barents and other northern seas;
- Caspian trout, which, as the name suggests, is found in the Caspian Sea. The fish go to the river to spawn. Kuru, and part of it remains there, turning into freshwater trout;
- Black Sea salmon living in the basins of the Black and Azov Seas.
This list is not exhaustive, and many more forms can be added to it, for example, the Eisenam trout living in Dagestan, which lives in the lake of the same name, etc.
Thus, there are quite a lot of places for catching trout.
Size and weight
The size of fish varies depending on habitat conditions: in small rivers, residential brown trout (trout) can be no more than 25 cm, in large lakes - up to 1 m, weighing up to 8-13 kg. Migratory trout are larger - up to 1.4 m. Baltic trout usually measure 30-70 cm and weigh 1-5 kg, although there is evidence of catching trout that weighed 23.6 kg. Cis-Caucasian trout is much smaller - 1.9-7 kg. Caspian trout is a giant among salmon, reaching a weight of 51 kg, but now it does not exceed 12-13 kg.
The maximum known age for anadromous brown trout is 19 years, for lake trout - 20 years. An anadromous and freshwater species, widely inhabits rivers of northern Eurasia and lakes with cold water. The juveniles feed on small crustaceans and insect larvae and usually spend 3-4 years (sometimes more) in the river. It lives in the sea for 2-3 years, but sometimes returns after a year. In the sea it feeds on fish and large crustaceans. Residential forms in lakes (trout) also often switch to a predatory lifestyle.
Lifestyle
Typically, brown trout are classified as predators, but this is not entirely accurate, and it is more correct to consider it a fish with a wide range of nutrition. Any fisherman will tell you that in her stomach you can find anything - from fry to larvae and beetles. However, the passion for hunting generally determines its way of life, and most of the time the brown trout loiters in the water column, mainly preferring the upper layers, where there are a lot of young smelt, vendace, herring, etc.
However, this behavior is not a dogma and it happens that versatility in nutrition leads to a change in shape. An interesting example is Lake Ohrid, which is located on the border of Macedonia and Albania, where two forms of lake trout are found at once. One of them is large and predatory, reaching 10 kilograms in weight, the other is a small silver fish that feeds on crustaceans and plankton. These fish are so different from each other that they are considered as different kinds. But, nevertheless, this is the same breed!
Most often, brown trout are migratory fish that live in salt water, but go to rivers to spawn, much like Atlantic salmon do. Depending on the specific habitat, spawning occurs between September and February. Females spawn eggs in shallow and rapids areas of rivers, where there are suitable stones or coarse sand, where orange eggs sometimes burrow. There are few of them, on average from 7 to 12 thousand, but the sizes can reach 6 millimeters in diameter.
Each female spawns eggs from 4 to 11 times in her life, and if she has come to the spawning ground, this does not mean that she is ready to spawn, since the condition of the eggs may be such that she will spawn them only the next year. During spawning, brown trout, unlike some others, salmon fish, does not stop eating. The hatched fry grow in the river where the spawning took place until they are 7-10 years old, after which the matured fry slide back into the sea.
Fishing methods
From the right choice The success of fishing as a whole depends on the location. The first thing to do is to carefully examine the coastline, noting all headlands and protruding areas. It is in such places that trout can most often be caught, which is quite natural - here they find the most food.
It is preferable to catch trout in the spring, when the fish are actively hunting. At this time, you can use relatively large baits that will bite big fish. However, you can fish both in summer and autumn, although smaller gear should be used. From November to February, it is best to choose baits that rotate intensively with a slow retrieve. It is worth trying large oscillating spoons, as well as special wobblers for coastal fishing. Baits with yellow and bright scarlet spots, as well as fluorescent baits, give a good effect. The basis of everything is variety; it happens that you just have to tease the trout.