Trout Habits and Habitat

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By Amy Greener

The best thing a fisherman can do is know about the fish they are trying to catch. Learning their habits, habitat and food preferences will help increase your chances of luring them in.

Brown Trout:

Live in shallower water

Live in clear, cool, well oxygenated streams or lakes

Feed on insects, larvae, crustaceans, crayfish, mollusks, salamanders, worms, frogs, and even rodents

Spawning season occurs in late fall/early winter

Average brown trout range between 10-13 inches in length

Best time to catch these fish is between fall and spring when the temperatures are cooler

Attracted to underwater structures, such as logs, or branches that overhang and create shade

Rainbow Trout:

Survive better in lakes than streams, but are found in both

Cold-water fish, so temperatures must be relatively cool in order to attract and ensure the survival of the fish

Attracted to the cooler depths of lakes

Spawning season begins as soon as ice melts in spring

Adult rainbow trout feed close to the bottom of their habitat off aquatic and terrestrial insects, plankton, mollusks, crustaceans, fish eggs, leeches, minnows, and other small fish, including other trout.

Predominately live in fresh water, but have the ability to adapt easily to salt water if the opportunity is available, or if food is sparse.

Average length is 12 to 18 inches

Lake Trout:

Live in lakes characterized with cold, deep water; however, they are can also be found in shallow lakes found in northern, cold regions

Spawning season takes place in the fall

Generally hang out at depths over 50 feet, except in early spring and late fall when surface temperatures are cooler.

Prefer temperatures of about 50 degrees Fahrenheit

Average length is 17 to 27 inches

- Feed on crustaceans, insects, insect larvae, numerous fish species, small mammals, crustaceans, clams, snails, leeches, mice, shrews, occasional birds, and other fish when available.

Brook Trout:

Live in small, cold, clear steams

Do not like water temperatures to exceed 65 degrees Fahrenheit

Spawn in the fall between September and November

Average length between 6 to 15 inches

Known to eat their own eggs and young

Prefer aquatic insects, nymphs, land insects that fall into the water, small crayfish, and minnows only when they are easy to catch.

Steelhead Trout:

A rainbow trout that spends the first 1-3 years in a freshwater stream but then will spend its adult life in the ocean

Will then return to the fresh water to spawn

Average length 20 to 40 inches

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