Brown Trout (Salmo trutta)
Other Common Names
English brown trout, German
brown trout, European trout
Identification
Colors vary widely. Natural wild
browns are olivebrown on the
back, lighter on the sides,
brilliant yellow-gold on their
underside, with yellowish-green,
unspotted fins. They have
numerous black or dark brown
spots on their sides, along with
a sprinkling of red spots
encircled with light blue rings.
Hatchery-reared browns tend to
be more silvery with dark
brownish above with light yellow
undersides and spots of a
lighter shade.
Best Fishing
Lakes: Moomaw. Rivers and
Streams: Little River, Mossy
Creek, Potts Creek, Back Creek,
Jackson River, Smith River and a
wide array of others on either
side of the Blue Ridge and in
Southwestern Virginia.
Fishing Techniques
Will rise to dry flies as well
as hitting wet flies, streamers
and nymphs. Worms, live nymphs,
minnows and salmon eggs are good
too. Brown trout tend to be
bigger �meat eaters� in that
they�ll take larger live baits
more readily and will hit
spinners, spinner bucktail
combinations, as well as small
crankbaits and spoons. Live
baits and wet flies are normally
fished downstream while dry
flies are fished upstream.
Feeding Habits
Aquatic and terrestrial insects,
mollusks, small fish, crayfish,
salamanders, frogs, even small
mammals or birds. Fish and
crayfish are the main diet of
larger browns.
Habitat
Usually in larger waters with
plenty of rock structure,
submerged logs and overhanging
banks.
Spawning Habits
They spawn naturally in fall.
Females fan out up to four
different nests. They spawn in
tributary stream or shallow
shoal waters.
