By Rolland Meigs
The native range Brook trout originally covered the eastern 2/5 of Canada. Northward to the Arctic Circle, the New England states and southward through Pennsylvania along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains to North Eastern Georgia, western limits included Manitoba southward through the great lakes. Environment changes such as pollution, siltation and streams warming due to deforestation have caused reduction in the original range. Ever since the late 19th century Brook trout have been introduced into the western provinces of Canada and a great many different states in the USA.
Brook trout inhabit large lakes, large rivers, ponds and small headwater streams. They seem to strive best in a cold temperate climate, cool spring-fed groundwater with moderate precipitation. Rivers that the Brook trout lived in can be characterized by clear, cool spring-fed water, a silt free rocky bottom where there is also slow deep water sections with vegetated stream banks.
Cover is one of the basic and essential components of a trout stream. I love streams that have a lot of overhanging bushes and also undercut banks. Tall trees and vegetation around the stream keeps the stream well shaded, which in turn helps keep the water temperature cooler.
When brown and rainbow are introduced to a stream the Brook trout appear to disappear. Brook on the other hand has been known to displace cutthroat and Grayling in the headwaters of western streams. Brook have been hybridized artificially with lake trout to produce what is the known as splake trout. They have been crossed also with rainbows and brown trout. In some rare cases the Brook and brown trout will cross naturally and streams. These are called Tiger trout.
As far as the Brook trout's longevity that seems to be broken up into two groups. The first group is between 3 to 4 years, which consists of smaller Brook trout that typically live in the smaller cold streams. The second group lives between 8 to 10 years and they inhabit the larger rivers and lakes.
Sexual maturity of Brook trout varies among different populations. The males of the species usually mature before the females. Males have been known to mature in their first year, size of the male doesn't seem to matter when they can become mature. In some cases as small as 3.5 inches long.
Spawning may begin in late summer in the northern regions to early winter in the southern part of the range. Springs that are located in the lakes rivers or streams seem to be their favorite spots for spawning grounds. They prefer temperatures ranging from 4.5 to 10° c. The female will clean off spaces amongst the stream gravel to lay her eggs, these are called redds. Clean and well oxygenated areas seem to have an affect on the spawning success. They are typically streams spawners, but spawning commonly occurs in gravels surrounding spring upwelling areas of lakes and ponds.
The native range Brook trout originally covered the eastern 2/5 of Canada. Northward to the Arctic Circle, the New England states and southward through Pennsylvania along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains to North Eastern Georgia, western limits included Manitoba southward through the great lakes. Environment changes such as pollution, siltation and streams warming due to deforestation have caused reduction in the original range. Ever since the late 19th century Brook trout have been introduced into the western provinces of Canada and a great many different states in the USA.
Brook trout inhabit large lakes, large rivers, ponds and small headwater streams. They seem to strive best in a cold temperate climate, cool spring-fed groundwater with moderate precipitation. Rivers that the Brook trout lived in can be characterized by clear, cool spring-fed water, a silt free rocky bottom where there is also slow deep water sections with vegetated stream banks.
Cover is one of the basic and essential components of a trout stream. I love streams that have a lot of overhanging bushes and also undercut banks. Tall trees and vegetation around the stream keeps the stream well shaded, which in turn helps keep the water temperature cooler.
When brown and rainbow are introduced to a stream the Brook trout appear to disappear. Brook on the other hand has been known to displace cutthroat and Grayling in the headwaters of western streams. Brook have been hybridized artificially with lake trout to produce what is the known as splake trout. They have been crossed also with rainbows and brown trout. In some rare cases the Brook and brown trout will cross naturally and streams. These are called Tiger trout.
As far as the Brook trout's longevity that seems to be broken up into two groups. The first group is between 3 to 4 years, which consists of smaller Brook trout that typically live in the smaller cold streams. The second group lives between 8 to 10 years and they inhabit the larger rivers and lakes.
Sexual maturity of Brook trout varies among different populations. The males of the species usually mature before the females. Males have been known to mature in their first year, size of the male doesn't seem to matter when they can become mature. In some cases as small as 3.5 inches long.
Spawning may begin in late summer in the northern regions to early winter in the southern part of the range. Springs that are located in the lakes rivers or streams seem to be their favorite spots for spawning grounds. They prefer temperatures ranging from 4.5 to 10° c. The female will clean off spaces amongst the stream gravel to lay her eggs, these are called redds. Clean and well oxygenated areas seem to have an affect on the spawning success. They are typically streams spawners, but spawning commonly occurs in gravels surrounding spring upwelling areas of lakes and ponds.
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