The Prettiest Trout?

[Webfly]

I felt like a little Leprechaun when catching magical golden trout in high mountain lakes. The little ones were beauties and the big ones, yes, up to 20”, were hard fightin’ and had the looks to go with it.

[GerardH]

There have been times I've caught a brown trout in September from a western Wisconsin stream in its buttery fall coloration and the red markings are the color of blood and I think: this is as pretty as a trout can be.

I have caught high country cutts in water so clear it looks like window glass because of its clarity and I think: this as beautiful as a trout can be.

Then I go back home to my northern tannic-stained freestone streams and I catch a native brook trout from a stream that I've been fishing for 50 years and then I think: I've been wrong, those other trout are certainly beautiful, but this is absolute perfection.

Edit: Photos added, taken with a 12 y/o point & shoot on a gloomy rainy June day...

[JMQ4]

Brook trout without a pause for me. Ive caught some pretty nice cutthroat too, but brook trout in spawning colors are it for me.

[flyfishingpastor]

For me it has to be one of the several Cutthroat species. Gorgeous.

Pat

[red 1]

I like these



Because they grow into these

[CMcDowell]

Here's some Lahontan Cutthroats from Oregon.

[ctwhite]

Brook Trout

IMG_9113 by Craig White, on Flickr

[OldCane]

Canadians call the brook trout a speckled trout and you all can see why. I still remember my first small stream speckled trout (see my avatar) I caught as a kid up in Ontario. It plus a few wild, and hopeful native sub-species, rainbows caught on the wild trout portion of S. California's Piru Creek. I say hopefully since the California powers that be claimed they no longer were pure native species since they've been dumping hatchery fish into the creek for decades. But I've never seen a hatchery rubber rainbow have par marks well into adulthood.

But any wild trout that grew up where it is found is a beautiful fish.

IMHO, every bookshelf should have a copy of "Sierra Trout Guide" by Ralph Cutter plus "Trout - An Illustrated History" by James Possek to glance trough on a cold winter's night.

[Bee]

[dder]

cutthroat from Flathead drainage SE BC

[dder]

Cutthroat from my small local stream. Love the way the colours match the streams.

[Drossi]

I love Brookies but have a real soft spot Browns as well.

[Brian K. Shaffer]

[Brian K. Shaffer]

Those pre-fishes shown above are all grown up now...
perhaps I have a photo of one of them around here somewhere...

[JabaliHunter]

I saw an article in Gray’s years ago about cherry trout in South Korea, and I’ve been wanting to fish there (or Japan) ever since…

[Srock]

Plus 1 for the brook trout, but I have caught some really nicely colored browns in the fall.

[flyroder72]

I have to agree with flyrod. All trout are pretty. I'll add an Earstern Sierra Brookie, an American River Steelhead and a Lahontan Cutthroat.

[Bud]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wiesent]

Posted this picture of this beautiful brownie already related to another topic. Caught in early spring last year in southern germany.

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[hatch]