Has anyone seen a Brookie like this before?

[drakeking412]

Fishing X creek in the Laurel Highlands. 100% native brookies nothing else. First off it's been a while since I went to an all brookie stream and man that was fun, 1 fly over 30 fish. To the point though!!

I caught this fish, all the rest were your stereotypical brookies but I have never seen one like this. At first I thought someone put a rainbow in there for fun but that's not the case.

There's one from the same hole included at the end.

https://imgur.com/a/8IUJo3O

 

[tomgamber]

If its a deep hole, I've seen muted colors on fish that spend time in darker, dirtier water.

 

[wildtrout2]

tomgamber wrote:
If its a deep hole, I've seen muted colors on fish that spend time in darker, dirtier water.

I agree, but even natives with darker coloring have vermiculations, that one doesn't appear to have them.

I've never seen one like that before.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

In too many streams to count with too many fish to count.
Never.
I have never seen that before.

Very cool!

 

[RLeep2]

For whatever reason, from habitat to genes to available forage, I've seen a lot of variations in wild brook trout here in PA as well as out in Wisconsin and other places. Never quite one like the thin fish in your photos though. Looking at it, kind of pale and a little washed out I see a resemblance to some of its charr cousins like the Bull or especially the Lake Trout. Actually, it looks quite a bit like the only bull trout I ever caught, a 10"er or so out of the main Deschutes as awell as like many of the Lake Trout Ive caught out of the lakes in Algonquin Park.

Interesting stuff...

 

[Swattie87]

I've caught one like that before. Stream Y, in the Poconos.

It's typical tannic Poconos water, and the Brookies (and Browns) in this stream are very dark typically. This one was very out of place. I suspect some kind of genetic anomaly. Very similar to the OP fish though.

 

[Acristickid]

That keeps things interesting, agree looks like a lil bull. Never know what you may catch.

 

[Dave_W]

What a fascinating fish.

As others have said, washed out colors and faint patterns are common, but I have never seen one quite like that before.

 

[wildtrout2]

Swattie87 wrote:
I've caught one like that before. Stream Y, in the Poconos.

It's typical tannic Poconos water, and the Brookies (and Browns) in this stream are very dark typically. This one was very out of place. I suspect some kind of genetic anomaly. Very similar to the OP fish though.

That one is strikingly similar to the OP.

 

[sarce]

That's really cool. I've seen muted vermiculations before (but rarely) and a lack of red spots isn't too uncommon, but I've never seen both traits in the same fish like that.

 

[Dave_W]

Regarding the details of this fish...

Note the very dark charcoal colored tail and fins. In particular, the dorsal is very dark and lacks the markings typically seen on an ST dorsal.

The dark colored fins are not that unusual, I have seen large wild STs with nearly black fins (still with white and dark black edges).

Compare this with Swattie's fish - both have the dark tail and dorsal, but Swattie's fish has clear pectoral, ventral, and pelvic fins. Both fish have light edges on the adipose.

Anyway, just musing about the details on these unusual critters. Perhaps both share an unusual genetic trait that reveals itself in these similar pigment anomalies.

Cool.

 

[wildtrout2]

Good observation on the fin clarity Dave. Anomalies like this are interesting, much like the wild tiger trout. A native like that might be as rare, if not more so.

 

[krs]

That is a beautiful unique trout!

 

[OldLefty]

looks similar to Yamame Iwana of Japan. Never seen a fontinalis like that here.

 

[JohnPowers]

I’ve had great days on X and Y but nothing after they merge to form Z. Pretty much smallies on Z.

 

[salmonoid]

Maybe you've hit on a long isolated and lost population of arctic char?

 

[Swattie87]

salmonoid wrote:
Maybe you've hit on a long isolated and lost population of arctic char?

Na. They're in Lake W.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

Very unusual. I have never seen a brook trout colored like that one.

 

[blueheron]

Genetic anomaly perhaps, I’ll never forget the blue trout I caught, that was freaky.

 

[Oregon_OwlII]

Almost looks like a small Arctic Char. Bull trout would have a stubbier nose. https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Togiak/wildlife_and_habitat/fish/arctic_char.html