What Is Trout?

Fish. Fresh or saltwater. Easily cooked in many styles. Quite tasty. Many fisherman boast of lakes filled with trout.

Trout is a large fish tastes good

Trout are usually freshwater fish although they occasionally head out to sea for part of their lives.  They are a group of fish that belong in the family Salmonidae and are often used as an indicator species to monitor lakes and rivers because they are well known to be extremely sensitive to environmental disruption.

Although trout are found wild in many areas of the world, they are also often farmed for human consumption and sport fishing.  A popular food for centuries, trout are eaten in a wide variety of dishes.  Their flesh is white and sweet and lends itself well to many styles of cooking and different tastes.  Trout has such a flavourful flesh that it tastes extremely good with only lemon and salt as additional seasoning making it a popular sauté fish.

Trout have large mouths that, instead of being carried lower on the head like many other river and freshwater fish, are carried forward.  Their appearance can be speckled, striped, or blotched in a wide variety of colours depending on the species.  In fact, a popular trout is the rainbow trout which shows an impressive array of colours when the light strikes it. Like most fish, trout have pale undersides.  Their bodies are elongated and they have a small adipose fin that grows between their dorsal and tail fins.  Trout are often mistaken for their close relations, salmon, because the two fish share a number of characteristics.

Experienced fishermen have been known to mistake young trout for salmon and vice versa.  Despite their similarity, it is usually possible to tell them apart by inspecting their anal fin which is located on the underside of their body before the tail fin.  Trout have 12 or less rays and will also have dark mouths in comparison to the silver mouth of the salmon.  

In order to thrive, trout need clean and free flowing water with plenty of oxygenation.  They will suffer quickly if their habitat is disturbed by humans.  Environmental organizations usually monitor trout populations closely to keep track of the health of rivers and streams.  Although some trout will spend a part of their life in the sea, they all return to rivers to spawn during the spring.

Trout farms serve a number of purposes and some types of trout have taken very well to commercial farming.  Sometimes trout are farmed to relieve stress from wild populations and sometimes farmed trout are released into the wild to replenish populations.  Sport fishing organizations often sponsor the release of farmed fish into the wild so that they can continue to pursue their sport without fear of harm to the ecosystem and overall fish populations.

A fish, comes from fresh water. Found mainly in streams and lakes. Tastes good too!

Trout is a type of fish like salmon or halibut. It is typically a large fish.