Trout Fishing Tips

Utah is one of those Southwestern states that provides anglers with many trout fishing opportunities and species of trout. And Utah trout fishing is excellent in some spots right now - especially in Weber River, Long Park Reservoir, and Fish Lake!

In Utah, anglers can catch rainbow trout, brown trout, brook trout, cutthroat trout, lake trout, tiger trout, and splake trout.

Utah also has an extensive urban fishing program (referred to as community fishing). These lakes and ponds give families a place to spend the day together without a lot of planning and effort. For many kids, these lakes are withing walking or riding a bike distance. Some of these lakes and ponds are designated kids and handicap fishing only.

Want to know where the current hot fishing spots are in Utah? Now you can find out on Utah's Division of Wildlife web site. They have a cool interactive map that pinpoints hot fishing spots in Utah!

On January 1st, 2007 some of the fishing regulations changed in Utah - so be sure to check them out before you go fishing.

Labels: hot fishing spots in Utah, splake trout, Tiger Trout, trout fishing in Utah, Utah, Utah trout fishing

Tiger trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are a hybrid species that occur when a brown and brook trout mate. These trout get their name because of their tiger-like markings. You can see a really good photo of a Tiger trout by clicking here.

Tiger aggressive predators who like to eat smaller fish. And since they're known for putting up a good fight, anglers enjoy catching them.

Many fish hatcheries have started breeding Tiger trout in an effort to help control some of the competition (like chubs) faced by some game fish. Due to their aggressive nature and willingness to hunt prey in shallow waters, it's thought that Tiger trout might survive better than other species.

However, Tiger trout are sterile and unable to reproduce. Thus it's up to hatcheries to keep reproducing them.


Tiger trout can be found in many states and other countries including:

• Pennsylvania
• Nevada
• Utah
• Colorado
  
• New Jersey
• Ohio
• Montana
• Wyoming
  
• Washington
• Connecticut
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• West Virginia
• South Dakota
• Saskatchewan
• England
• Australia
• New Zealand

When fishing for tiger trout, follow the same trout fishing tips used for other species. Lure, artificial flies, worms and PowerBait are all effective bait sources. Remember that tiger trout like to eat smaller fish, so using jigging techniques with flashy lures often work well.

When ice fishing for tiger trout, try using an ice fly tipped with a piece of mealworm or nightcrawler. Many anglers like to fish using two hooks (each with different bait) until they figure out what works best.

Labels: Hybrid Trout, Tiger Trout

Most people are familiar with Rainbow, Brown and Brook trout. You may even have heard of Steelhead, Golden, and Lake trout. But have you ever heard of Splake or Brake trout?

These are hybrid trout. When more than one species of trout exists in the same body of water, they sometimes interbreed. The offspring are hybrids.

Some common hybrid trout include:

1. Brownbow - which is cross between a male Brown trout and and female Rainbow trout


2. Splake - which is cross between a male Speckled (Brook) trout and a female Lake trout


3. Brookinaw - which is cross between a female Brook trout and a male Lake trout (Lake trout are also called Mackinaw trout)


4. Brake- which is cross between a female Brown trout and a male Lake trout


5. Tiger - which is cross between a Brown and Brook trout

Many of these hybrids are produced in fish hatcheries. Splake trout, for example, have only been successfully produced in hatcheries. They've been around since the 1870's.

Splake trout are primarily stocked in Canada and northern U.S. states. These trout are very similar in appearance to Brook trout. The primary difference is that the tail in Splake trout is more forked than in Brook trout.

Brake trout have been produced in Utah hatcheries since 1993. But due to difficulties in the program and low success rates this hybrid program was terminated.

Brownbow trout are also very prevalent in Utah. It's been rumored that these trout may be blind due to cataracts on their eyes.

While it does happen, hybridization is not always a good thing. You can read more about this in my next post.

Labels: brake trout, brookinaw, brownbow, Hybrid Trout, splake, Tiger Trout