Game Fish
The current British record for a Brown Trout is 31lbs 12ozs 00 drms (14kg 401gm) and was established in 2002.
Trout vary in colour, depending on their habitat, from silver through shades of brown with reddish-orange spots on the flanks. The tail is hardly forked at all. Trout in fresh water grow up to 40" long. The trout with migrate to sea can grow to over 55" in length.
Trout feed mainly on invertebrates and small fish. Their small but numerous teeth enable the trout to grip very active prey.
RAINBOW TROUT. (Oncorhynchus mykiss).
The current British record for a Rainbow Trout is 33lbs 04ozs 00 drams and was established in 2003.
BROOK TROUT. (Salvelinus fontinalis).
The current British record for a Brook Trout is 8lbs 3ozs (3kg 713gm) and was established in 1998.
The current British record for a Sea Trout is 28lbs 5ozs 4dms (12kg 850gm) and was established in 1992.
The current British record for a Salmon is 64lbs (29kg 29gm) and was established in 1922.
Large salmon may reach a weight of over 64 lb and may reach a length of over four feet. They are essentially a clear, fresh water fish but some can be found in land locked lakes.
The salmon arrives in the fresh water rivers at the end of winter is silver and sleekly plump from a diet of sand eels and small herrings. It does not eat again until the autumn spawning is finished, but will strike at small items in the river - including flies and anglers bait. The journey to the freshwaters is strenuous, often through rapids and up waterfalls. Large salmon can leap heights up to 10 feet, jumping best from deep water. A salmon can loose almost half its weight from these exertions.
During this journey the salmons skin becomes thicker and rough and develops a pink tinge. The flush fades after spawning and males gradually lose the kype (hook) on the lower jaw. Salmon which survive spawning to return to the sea become silvery again, with a sprinkling of black spots. They will then grow quickly and are ready for spawning again after a year or two.
The salmon eggs will hatch in the spring but will stay in the gravel for up to six weeks, living off the yoke sack. After leaving the gravel, the fry feed on insect larvae, worms and other small animals. The fry become parr at about 4"long when the characteristic dark spots mark their flanks.
Between two and four years after hatching, the fish are ready to migrate to the sea as smolts. They are about 7" long and silver, marked with a few black spots.
