Brown Trout
Trout and charSalmo trutta · also called brownie, German brown
Introduced from Europe and now naturalised across much of North America. Brown trout are the most wary of the common trout, and the red haloed spots are diagnostic.
Quick facts
- Appearance
- Golden-brown with large dark spots and distinct red or orange spots surrounded by pale halos along the flank. The tail is largely unspotted.
- Typical size
- 0.5–8 lb
- Waters
- stream cold, river, lake
- Regulations
- Often subject to specific trout regulations and, in wild-trout streams, to gear restrictions and catch-and-release rules.
How to confirm it
- Red or orange spots with pale halos on the flank.
- Few or no spots on the tail — the clearest separation from a rainbow.
- Golden-brown or buttery ground colour.
- Square-ish tail with little fork.
What it is confused with
One check settles each of these.
Look at the tail. Spotted all over means rainbow; largely clean means brown.
Brook trout has light markings on a dark background and white-edged lower fins.
Why this matters beyond curiosity
- Look-alike species often carry different limits. Walleye and sauger, black and white crappie, pike and muskie, blue and channel catfish — each pair can have different sizes, seasons and daily limits in the same water.
- Check it before the fish goes in the livewell. Most of the tests on this site take seconds and are far easier on a fish you are still holding.
- If you cannot tell, release it. That is the answer that is never wrong, and it is the one a warden will not argue with.
- Regulations are set by your state or province and change annually. This site identifies fish; it does not tell you the rules. Check the current regulations for the water you are on.