The boppin' brook trout

Salvelinus fontinalis

Brook trout facts

Common Name: Brook Trout

Scientific Name: Salvelinus fontinalis, which means “little salmon living in streams”

Diet: Adults feed on worms, leeches, minnows, crayfish, amphibians, and insects. The young mostly feed on plankton.

Reproduction: Spawning occurs in the late summer. They travel upstream to find grounds with loose, clean gravel and a good supply of oxygen. The female prepares a nest along the shoreline and releases her eggs. The male fertilizes them as they are dropped. The female then buries the eggs in the gravel. The eggs stay there until early spring, when they then hatch. The new fries stay around the nesting spot until their yolk sac is absorbed and then proceed to find shallow water with food and protection.

brook trout, trout, fish

Salters

You’re most likely to find a brook trout in a clear, gravel stream. Many spend their entire lives in these streams. However, some adults migrate between freshwater and the ocean, coming inland each year to spawn. These brook trout are called “salters”.