Over 1,000 pages of information and pictures about fish, recipes, clubs, fishing, rods and reels and fishing guides. We are the largest fishing site on the Internet and rapidly becoming the most popular because there is so much more to learn.

Don't miss our new Boating and Sailing Site It has 1,000s of pages and wonderful pictures of Sail and Power Boats

The Archery Society 1,255 pages of information and 20,000 links to archery and bowhunting products, history, and services

Rainbow Trout Information
Bookmark this valuable site

Bookmark this valuable site

Thank you for visiting Rainbow Trout Information. We try to provide you with the most complete information we can about fish and fishing. We update our sources constantly. Please scroll down to learn more.

Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Bookmark this valuable site

Appearance Rainbow are the most colorful of al trout with bands of brilliant speckled multicolored stripes running almost the whole length of its body.

• Length: 20 to 30 inches
• Weight: 2 to 8 pounds
• Coloring: steel-blue, blue-green, yellow-green to almost Rainbow on back; silvery sides; silvery white below

Rainbows grow much larger than Brown and Brook Trout and can weigh as much as 35 pounds. Like Brown Trout and Brookies, they will migrate to brackish and salt water environments.

Prevalence

Today Rainbow trout are plentiful and vary widely in appearance and size. In general, their flesh is firm-textured with medium to high fat content. The species is native to California and has been transplanted to many different countries so it is now one of the most popular varieties in the world.

Rainbow trout can grow to up to 50 pounds, but most commercially raised fish average around 8 ounces. Brook or speckled trout are small (6 to 8 inches long) but considered by many as the best eating. which,

Other popular species include steelhead or salmon trout (a large - up to 35 pounds - subspecies of the rainbow trout), cutthroat trout and Rainbow trout. Saltwater trout or sea trout species, which are generally available on the East and west Coasts include gray trout, silver trout, spotted trout and white trout.

Steelhead and Silver Trout are also found in the Great Lakes and are stocked in Michigan, Huron, Ontario, Erie, and Superior

Rainbow, like other trout will migrate to the ocean to feed but they always return to their freshwater home streams to spawn. They adapt well, moving in and out of the fresh and salt water. In the Great Lakes they range as far north as Lake Superior.

Rainbows seldom swim deeper than 35 feet along the Great Lakes shores and are easily located. In forage-rich Lake Michigan, they grow 30-32 inches long and may reach 16 pounds by the time they are five years old. Rainbow trout reproduce naturally in Lake Superior's tributaries and in some Lake Michigan tributaries as well. Unlike Pacific salmon, the rainbow survives after spawning and may spawn two or three times during its life.

Game FishThese attractive game fish strike aggressively, fight valiantly and are an angler's joy. The first rainbow trout planted in the Great Lakes were probably "steelheads."

Rainbow Trout are available whole - fresh and frozen - and in fillets. They're most often fried but can also be poached, baked, steamed, grilled and broiled. Whole trout is often stuffed before being cooked. In addition to fresh and frozen, trout can also be found canned, smoked and kippered.

This link will take you to our Index where you can choose from 1,255 pages of Fishing Guides, Fish Pictures and Information, Salt and Freshwater Fishing, Bow fishing; also Clubs, Fish Recipes, Fish Biology, Fish History, Fishing Tips most with Forums and Educational Information