Rainbow or Brook Trout
- Thread starter mike243
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LB FANATIC
Well-Known Member
looks like a brook to me
Diehard Hunter
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Rainbow, Brookies have a white line on their fins.
Rainbow
Yep & thanks,went & looked at some other pictures,have caught longer ones there but the color was washed out & the jaws were not as hooked,Lot of fun watching it swin off no worse off than before I caught it lol
Crosshairy
Well-Known Member
Nicer than any rainbow I've ever caught. Very cool looking!
He obviously didn't come out of the hatchery yesterday...
He obviously didn't come out of the hatchery yesterday...
CountryBoy053
Well-Known Member
Nice looking fish whered ya get him at. Very cool lookin rainbow. Definatly not a stocker
Beautiful fish. I suspect he is in his spawning colors.
No question .......rainbow
Out of the Clinch? Some say there are no native fish on the Clinch , others say there are some. Personally I doubt it.
Nice bow however.
Out of the Clinch? Some say there are no native fish on the Clinch , others say there are some. Personally I doubt it.
Nice bow however.
Model70Man
Well-Known Member
I have a picture of the Brook trout you caught when you floated the Clinch with me. I will post it up if you want. It was the first year they released them into the Clinch.
Here's you a brook trout....
Another bow with lots of spots
Another bow with lots of spots
My go-to characteristic to look for is a Brook has a dark background with light squiggly markings, while a Rainbow has lighter background with fearless round spots. Your fish is darker than most rainbows, but it's sides are definitely lighter than the spots. Rainbows darken up quite a bit when they turn into Steelheads after moving into the rivers from the big lakes or ocean.
I didn't mean "fearless". Darn cellphone spell check!
gil1
Well-Known Member
Beautiful rainbow. Sometimes they're just all gussied up like that.
Here's a pretty one I caught on the Watauga a few years ago.
Here's a pretty one I caught on the Watauga a few years ago.
Model70Man yes thanks,loved the colors on it,it was above the weir dam.Been a long time since I fished the clinch this time of year but the colors were just awesome,no other folks fishing other than 1 guy piddling with a fly rod 50y up the creek.
CountryBoy053
Well-Known Member
Very nice mike, and that is a heck of a brookie as well!
I gotta get back up there and fish the clinch soon. And try my hand at piddling with my new fly rods.
I gotta get back up there and fish the clinch soon. And try my hand at piddling with my new fly rods.
That big brookie is from Maine where they are native.
Model70Man
Well-Known Member
Here is your Brook Trout that you caught that day Mike. Those Brook trout were introduced into the Clinch earlier that year. That was a very memorable float. That was when Gramps came down to float the river with us. I'll never forget it. Had a great time.
drrxnupe
Well-Known Member
Rainbow in "Let's Get It On" colors. Brookies have light splotches.
Outdoor life
Well-Known Member
Nice Rainbow for sure!!!! Those are also some very nice pics you others have posted. Love that Brookie 7mm08 as well, but they are a native fish here in TN as well.
Timber Ghost
Well-Known Member
Rainbow
stik
Well-Known Member
7mm08 said:
brookies are the only trout,actually a char, native to tennessee.
i have caught many wild, stream-bred trout from the clinch.
True dat on he "native trout/char" for TN. QUESTION is , how do you know they where native/ stream born bows in the Clinch. I've seen the redds for years up along Miller's Island and above the weir but I figured those eggs would just get flushed. You think Mike's fish is native or just like everyone of us.....an individual? Any specific markings on the natives?
Outdoor life said:
You and Stik are right regarding native.....I was thinking the Clinch when I wrote that. I rarely fish the park anymore. Too many round boulders and rocks on my arthritic feet. I use to wear out the Little above Elkmount when you could drive past the old cabins up there.
Mike243,
Getting back to your fish. Do you like the slot limits? Do you think they are producing a better fishing experience.....bigger, trophy fish when you go? Again nice bow.
Getting back to your fish. Do you like the slot limits? Do you think they are producing a better fishing experience.....bigger, trophy fish when you go? Again nice bow.
The slot limit is making a difference on size from what little I have seen.went a 3-4 times last summer & caught a nice brown trout also.I havent took any home in a lot of years as I prefer other fish .Theres nothing wrong with keeping any size but if you look at the amount of pressure on them you could be lucky to even catch 1 over the size of what had been stocked.The fishing guide lists no stocking dates for the clinch that I could find,twra is saving $ by not having to replenish the river every week & its a win win for them & us as the $ can be used else where.
stik
Well-Known Member
7mm08 said:
if all the fins are intact, it's a stream-bred fish. hatchery fish's tails are rounded off from wear in the hatchery raceways. and normally one of the pectoral fins will be clipped.
Diehard Hunter
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stik said:
Wild rainbows will have a red tip on their dorsal fin. Hatchery trout will not. I don't know why that is, but the fisheries biologist for Cherokee national forest pointed that out to me last year. A hatchery trout will never get that red spot, no matter how long they are in the river.
Stik. you know they are throwing in a 3-4" fish now into the clinch. I know what you are saying about the fins, but don't you think those small ones probably haven't been swimming in the concrete tanks long enough to wear down the fins?
I know there are native browns on the S. Holston. I would love to think there is some native reproduction on the Clinch as well.
I know there are native browns on the S. Holston. I would love to think there is some native reproduction on the Clinch as well.
