Rare LMF fish

[golferjeff]

This fish post is identical in some other threads, but I wanted to put it in various places so it would be seen. Thanks

Now for the response to the teaser I dropped earlier....... The fish I am going to write about is, from everything I have gathered, a one in a million fish. It is not uncommon in Colorado and Wyoming, but it is VERY hard to catch due to its preferred habitat. Let me preface the report by saying that I have gotten feedback from a wildlife biologist, OK wildlife, and done my own personal searches on this fish. This fish has no real business being in Oklahoma, in a tailwater, or in ANY water over 50-55 degrees. I have seen no reports of any ever being stocked in Oklahoma, anywhere. I cannot say for sure if the Nebraska hatchery has any of these fish. I found no record of them being reared. I personally did NOT catch this fish, but I witnessed it being caught, I identified the fish, and I took pictures of the fish. It was at the toppish of the Evening Hole, just downstream from the first pool after the island. I was fishing the tailout just above him and catching a good number of 13 inchers. The gentleman was doing quite well about 30 yards downstream from me. I see him land a fish and he looked at it for a few seconds. I heard him say, " I think this is brown, but it doesn't look like the other browns I have caught". I could see the fish was about 14-16" and dark colored. I asked him to net the fish and hold it in the water for a few seconds while I waded downstream. I am no expert, but I read enough and study enough that I can readily identify most types of 'Trout'. Aaron knows his cutts, but this was obviously not a cutthroat. As I got closer I started to notice the spots. NOT brown trout spots. No yellow tints anywhere, no black spots, no red spots. Not a rainbow either, not a chance. The man, who has allowed me to give his name, introduced himself as Chris McCorkle from Denton, TX (highland village). He knew he had something different, but had no idea what it was. He offered the fish to me.... and I was shocked. Something to the effect of, "Dude, you just caught a one in a million fish!" I knew what it was based on pictures I have seen and fish studies I have read. For those of you bothering to read this instead of just scanning down to the pics..... amber brown eyes, dark green body, roundish white to yellow spots, slightly forked tail, white leading edges on the fins, orange tinted fins, and a mouth that ended behind the eye. And here was the kicker, NO vermiculations on the back and no red or haloed spots. A Brook trout would be rare enough for the Lower Mountain Fork, but this was not a garden variety Brookie (I have caught hundreds of them). The other fish that COULD be colored in the same manner is a Lake Trout (also in the Char family). But, this fish had a mostly square tail and true round 'spots' rather than irregular markings of the Mackinaw or Lake Trout. This fish was Salvelinus namaycush X Salvelinus fontinalis, or a 'Splake'. Disclaimer - without taking a biopsy of this fish's intestinal tract, it is impossible to know 100% for sure its genetics. However, each of the physical descriptions above fit this Char family representative. It is a cross between a male Brook Trout and a female Lake trout. They are rarely found outside of Canadian Lakes and a few deep, cold lakes in Colorado and Wyoming. They are a popular game fish for stocking purposes because they very rarely reproduce due to their mixed up genetics. Their habitat usually is deep, dark lakes where the water stays 40-55 degrees year round. I have caught exactly one of them - in a feeder creek to Yellowstone Lake in Wyoming during a spawning period. Simply put, these fish should not be in the Lower Mountain Fork. Unless the hatchery messed up, we have no idea how this fish got here. I couldn't even find record of Brook Trout in Broken Bow lake or the river, let alone Lake Trout or hybrids. If someone knows differently, please speak up. Pics below (if they upload). Love to hear what anyone else thinks of this catch. We did put the fish back in the water because we knew of no laws against having this fish in the river. I hope this was as rare as I think it is. After CPR, we shook hands and went back to fishing. Funny end to the story..... as we were photo'ing the fish, Chris let his fly drift downstream. As he picked it back up to cast, he found a nice 17 inch rainbow attached to the end of his line. Nice lazy man's way to catch fish
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[breeden3]

In my opinion, that is a pure Brookie. Just dark coloration. We catch a lot with darker coloration up in Colorado. His darker coloration may also be due to the lack of nutrients at the hatchery. Still looks like a Brookie through and through and still a great catch for the LMF, I had never heard of a Brookie being caught there.

[golferjeff]

Brookie would have vermiculations on the back - this is their trait. This fish had none, just spots. Brookies have perfectly square tail as well, this one was forked. Brookies also generally have yellow, red, or haloed light spots on the flank. This fish did not. Brookies have no patterned lateral line, this fish had one. Splake do take on more Brookie characteristics than Lake Trout, but this one was a hybrid. The fish is likely only 1 year old, so I would love to see it bet bigger. I see your point on the nutrients, but this fish is a meat eater - and there are tons of crayfish in the river year round. He could get fat and happy real quick.

Aaron the moderator may be able to better explain the appearance traits of a Splake. he Id'd it right away.

[bradbessett]

Looks like just a brookie to me too. They come in all colors just like other trout, but it's a cool campfire story!

Also a 1 year old fish is only going to be around 6 inches.

[Aaron]

A one year old brookie would be around 6 inches, depending on the competition/water temps/quality. Could be 4 inches in a hostile environment, or 6-10 in an excellent environment. Colder the water, the slower the growth rate. The warmer the water, the faster the growth rate. The fish in question would have to be at least 2-4 years old if it were a brookie. Splakes can reach 18-20 inches in 2 years. If it were a splake (assuming its 12-13 inches from the pic) its a bit over a year old. Something to think about: Stocked brookies hardly ever make it past a year after stocking. This could be a brooder brookie included in the last brooder stocking. This one goes down to the biologist's scientific level. Fisherman in the North have a tough time differentiating between the two.

Distinguishing factors:
Head shape: More like a lake trout if it were a splake. hard to tell with this pic, and 1 year old fish. Could be 50/50 on this one. Cant get a good look at this one since it isn't laying flat with a good profile shot.
Tail: Fork = Splake / Flat = Brookie. Looks like a strategically placed fork, but could also be hatchery tail (other fish going after the tail). 60/40 splake, but could be 60/40 brookie if its hatchery tail.
Intestinal Tract: Look it up. Pretty interesting if you like that kind of stuff. Too much to write here.
Coloration: Yes, this one is the most non telling of them all as most of us have seen, brookies can be pale, or dark. Look for blue halos, and all the other stuff. But as just stated, this method of determination can stump experts 50% of the time.

The only real way to tell 100% is to take a look in the intestinal tract. Splakes are hybrids of the brookies so they will look pretty identical to the first glance. Good luck figuring this one out, I can see the arguments for both.

[Aaron]

100% guarantee its a Char!!!

[golferjeff]

Yes, a 1 year old brookie would be 6". A 1 year old Splake would be 12-18". Unfortunately the only way to be positive is to kill the fish and biopsy his intestinal tract for pyloric caeca. Too pretty of a fish to do that. A Brookie would be a minor rarity in the LMF, a Splake would be a bigger deal. fun to debate regardless......that's why we have the forum. My campfire story says Splake for now

[golferjeff]

Yep, its a Char all right! Not salmonidae in the least. Thanks to all for weighing in!

BTW - fish was just under 16" - it was an inch short of BradBessett's 17" marker on his rod.  The rainbow caught immediately after was just over 17 using same method.

[zsmith505]

I'm sure many of you are far more knowledgeable than I am when it comes to identifying types of trout but I caught one that looked much like that Saturday evening. I was fishing dries in the pool where the lost creek splits off just above the little wooden bridge. It was quite a bit darker than the rainbow I'd caught a few minutes earlier but didn't seem to have the signature spots you typically see on a brown either. Sorry... forgot my phone at camp so didn't get any pictures but maybe it's more of a two in a million fish!

[breeden3]

My 2 cents on the tail is that it is a hatchery tail. It looks more like a notch in tail that an actual fork. Also Jeff, you said there were no vermiculations on the back of the fish, but if I zoom in on the picture, I can see what look like them, albeit not very pronounced on his back. The bolt way to know for sure is to catch more and more thoroughly document it. I just don't see a Splake inhabiting the river. I guess I am also missing the horizontal spot pattern. I can see lots of Brookie spotting on him in the zoomed in picture. Somebody catch another!

[bradbessett]

I don't see any split tail, and how can anyone know how old that brookie is? You can't know... But who cares. I's a sweet catch! And Probably a first ever on the LMF or anywhere in Oklahoma.

[bradbessett]

The only thing we should be arguing is why Jeff is trying to pass off that minnow he caught as a 21.5" fish

[wardw]

cuts, now brookies - this new hatchery is keeping things interesting.

[golferjeff]

Attachment DeletedAttachment DeletedBessett, it was your silver dots that put it at 21.5! Actually more like 21.15, but it went beyond your 21 inch dot. My buddy's hen was about a 1/2 inch longer - here are the two fish side by side.  I wish the pics were on the same scale, but these fish were honest to goodness within 1/2 inch of one another.  His was way fatter and prettier though.  Just shows the difference a camera angle and the size of the person holding him can make. (I am 6'2 260, Shawn is 5'9? 170?)

Minnows compared to Brad's, but big fish either way.

[golferjeff]

And it does seem like most everyone agrees that this thread is about a hatchery fish. How it got there and when, who knows. Maybe Nebraska has a hybrid rearing pen and it jumped into the rainbow bin. Maybe Aaron or Eddie can ask them if they do. The hybrids are very popular with stock ponds up north and west since they suck at reproducing and can be controlled. I know of one spring fed pond in Wyoming that stocks Splake and Tiger (Brown x Brook) trout for sport. It's $200 a day to fish there, but the fish are huge.

[bradbessett]

I'm giving you hell. Besides, nobody likes a picture of a fish that is actually next to a measuring tape. And nobody says what a fish actually measures. It's quite the conundrum.

[golferjeff]

I know, and I hate you for it . I like to argue and I like to prove I am right. I missed my calling as a lawyer. My CPA self likes to spout numbers......

[breeden3]

This is a brookie I caught out of a high country pond in Colorado last summer.  The picture quality is not great but as you can see, these brookies are very similar, if not identical in the way they look.  These were pure brookies, as there are no lake trout or splake in this pond.  The spotting and head are especially similar. This fish also had very faint vermiculations. They also seem to lack the halo spots towards the tail.  Just a good comparison to the fish out of the LMF in my opinion.

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[bradbessett]

That goes to show that there are brook trout in all kinds of colors, and those two look almost identical. It makes no sense to think a splake made it in the water. I think the clear logical choice here is a brook trout.

Now I just hope I can catch one! And one of those cutties. It would be awesome to get the grand slam on the LMF.

[Aaron]

Brad, great idea! Lets have a competition. The LMFR Grand Slam: Dated Picture Proof with a Rainbow, Brown, Cutt, and Brookie. Anyone want to suggest a timeframe to catch them in? Also, suggestions on bragging rights? Or a promotion of your forum account to legend status! Interested?

[breeden3]

A competition for the slam huh? Sounds like fun to me. Kevin and I have been calling it the Beavers Bend Trifecta since we had never seen a brookie on the river until now.

[bradbessett]

I like it! I think you should waive the time limit just due to the fact that some people can't always get up there as often as others. But a picture of you and the fish (in the same pic) is needed. Then we can start an exclusive grand slam club. An elite club whose members get special perks, like free parking in the park and unlimited access to all the walk in points.

And of course.... A free.....

[bradbessett]

Heck, maybe even throw in some free passes to Zone 2!

[Aaron]

We could also provide access to the free coffee at the shop. Not sure Eddie will break out the skillet for the flap jacks though.

[golferjeff]

I will settle for free dog treats for Magick and an exclusive membership to the BBFSGSC - Beavers Bend Fly Shop Grand Slam Club. Right now a non-poster is in the lead, I witnessed him catch Brown, Brook(ish), and rainbow in 10 minutes. I hope that wasn't the only Char in the LMF or it will be tough for everybody. AAron - maybe you can design a Membership Card and have your dad post it in the shop! haha!

Brookie, Splake, or Laker, this thread did its job and got people talking. Wish I had caught the fish, but I feel good just to be involved in its discussion.