Vermont is home to two native Salmanoids or Char.-Vermont Fish and Wildlife. Though their common names are Brook Trout and Lake Trout they are in reality only close relatives of the trout. From what I could find out, the differences include that: the Char has light spots over darker bodies, their scales are smaller than a trout's, and they have, "a boat-shaped bone (vomer) that is toothed only in front, on the roof of the mouth." - Encyclopedia Britannica.
With Brook and Lake actually being Char, that leaves the Brown Trout and the Rainbow Trout on the Vermont Fish and Wildlife list of trout found in VT. It turns out however, that in 1989 the Rainbow Trout / Steelhead was found to not be a true trout. DNA tests identified the Rainbow as being more closely related to the Pacific Salmon. - Orvis News, Fish Facts: Rainbow Trout, Phil Monahan / November 15, 2019/ Fly Fishing. Further investigation into the matter however, seems to point to the jury still being out for walking the line between a Rainbow inland trout and a Rainbow Steelhead. It also seems that fish hatcheries have further muddied the genetic waters by hybridizing.
Well folks, as far as I can tell, we are down to one potential trout found in VT and I hate to tell you this, but according to MT.gov, Montana Field Guides, "The Brown Trout belongs to a different genus than our native trout species." Wait a second, what did that field guide just say? Could it be that the Brown Trout is actually a trout? VT Fish and Game says; "The Brown Trout...is one of the trout species in VT that is not native. It was introduced to Vermont in the late 1800s..."
So there you have it, the Brown trout is one trout species found in VT. At this juncture I'm not going to split hairs over whether or not it is a native fish; but I'll be darned if I can figure out what the other trout species are! Best of luck during the VT trout season, I hope that you are better at figuring out what a trout is than I am. -Norma Manning
*This article was edited on 4/15/2020
**I would be lying if I said that this blog was easy and came off the top of my head. My take away is this: We are talking about a varied group of fish placed under the category Trout. Their reasons for being there depends upon whether or not we are hearing from fish biologists, those interested in conserving Steelhead or sportsmen. I eagerly await hearing from someone more knowledgeable on the subject.
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| Hatchery Pond on Newton Road - opening weekend |
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| A full parking lot overlooking Hatchery pond |
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| Easter Sunday on the Vernon Hatchery pond |
Char? Very interesting. I do lots of crossword puzzles and Char is often an answer but I had no idea that it was native to Vermont.
ReplyDeleteAgain, city girl here. I have never been fishing