Brook Trout Facts For Kids

Cora fisher kid waves hello

Meet Cora

Hi friends! I’m Cora. I love fishing so much that I am always studying how to be the best fisher kid. I want to help you be the best fisher kid too. In this post I write about the craaaazy patterned Brook Trout!

The Colors of Brook Trout

It is easy to know a brook trout from other trout. Brook trout have a unique green pattern on their back called vermiculations.

Vermiculations on brook trout help the fish blend in with the ripples of water. I think the pattern looks like X’s and T’s! They also have very bright orange or pink dots with blue halos.

Brook trout also have a white strip on ALL of their lower fins!

Brook Trout colors and patterns explained.

Brook trout colors and patterns explained.

Let’s Find Brook Trout!

Brook trout like cold clean water. Streams found high in the mountains with cool air are great brook trout habitat. Cool air also helps brook trout live longer!

If you fish a shallow area, it will likely be a smaller brook trout. Big brook trout like deep pools after a waterfall, or rocks, or trees!

The pattern on a brook trout is called vermiculation. This pattern looks like water ripples!”
— Cora

How Brook Trout Behave in Water

Small brook trout like to eat little bugs. Look at the rocks and see what bugs are crawling on the bottom! Or watch the water for flying bugs. Catch one, is it a mayfly?

Bigger brook trout will eat minnows (small bait fish) and even mice (yuck). Brook trout spawn (when fish lay their eggs) in the fall, so try to let them focus on laying their eggs.

The Mouse Fly

If a person is fishing for a big brook trout they might put on a fly that looks like a mouse!

This fly when pulled across the water looks just like a mouse swimming in the river. A brook trout will chase after to try and eat the mouse fly!

History of Brook Trout

Did you know that brook trout are actually a type of char? Brook trout are native to the East side of North America. They were originally found in the Great Lakes all the way to Georgia. In 1850 brook trout were stocked across the United States and other countries.

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