Brook Trout
Salvelinus fontinalis. Dark olive-green back with pale, worm-like markings (vermiculations), unlike the spotted pattern of rainbow or brown trout.
Photos
Click a photo to expand it for a closer look.
Identification
- Dark olive-green back with pale, worm-like markings (vermiculations), unlike the spotted pattern of rainbow or brown trout.
- Red spots ringed by blue halos along the sides, with white leading edges on the lower fins.
- A char, not a true trout - closely related to lake trout and bull trout rather than rainbow or cutthroat.
- Typically 12 to 16 inches in stocked waters, with quality lakes producing fish to 18+ inches.
Preferred temperature
32–53°F
Depth by season
| Season | Depth | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | – | Cold water lets fish stay shallow and active through most of the day. |
| Summer | – | Fish move deeper during the day as surface water warms, part of a daily vertical migration pattern. |
| Fall | – | Cooling water brings fish back toward shallower, more accessible zones. |
| Winter | – | Limited data; brook trout favor the coldest available water, often near spring inflows or deep basins. |
Active times
- dawn
- day
- dusk
Top lures
- Panther Martin spinner (spinner , gold/silver/black/yellow): Cast and retrieve in high lakes and small streams where brook trout dominate.
- Little Cleo spoon (spoon , silver/gold/orange): Cast and retrieve over deeper water once fish drop out of the shallows in summer.
- Elk Hair Caddis dry fly (fly , tan/brown/olive): A floating pattern for fish rising in high mountain lakes and small streams.
- Curly-tail grub on a jighead (jig , white/chartreuse): Slow presentation over deeper holding water during the heat of summer.
Top baits
- Worm: A salmon-egg-sized pinch of bait on a small hook below a split shot or light bobber, drifted through pools and undercut banks.
- PowerBait dough bait: Small ball molded onto a treble hook, fished near bottom or suspended under a bobber in still water.
Line & tackle
- Line: 4–6 lb
- Rod power: Light to ultralight spinning rod for small, easily-spooked fish in clear water
- Hook sizes: Size 6 to 14 hooks for bait
Stocked behavior
In high mountain lakes, brook trout are often stocked as 1-3 inch fingerlings dropped from aircraft rather than trucked in at catchable size; the small size lets them survive the fall, but means these fish need a full growing season or more before reaching a catchable size, unlike lowland put-and-take rainbow that bite within days of a truck plant.
Common mistakes
- Expecting brook trout to bite immediately after a plant, the way catchable-size rainbow trout do in lowland lakes.
- Fishing heavy line and large lures; brook trout are small, easily spooked, and wary of visible line in clear water.
- Fishing one depth all season; brook trout move up and down the water column daily and seasonally, and sit deeper in warm months.
State records
| State | Weight | Angler | Water | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 9.00 lbs | George G. Weekes | Wobbly Lake, Lewis County | 1988 |
| Utah | 7 lbs. 8 oz. | Milton Taft | Boulder Mountain | 1971 |
Sources: Washington's official record page , Utah's official record page , accessed 2026-09-19.
Best time to fish Brook Trout
Computed from every real stocking date on record, not a general seasonal guess.
Utah
Most commonly stocked in July in Utah, based on 140 stocking events on record.
Where it's stocked
17 locations shown. Click a pin for details.
Utah
- Fish Lake (37)
- Trial Lake (15)
- Mill Hollow Reservoir (13)
- Mirror Lake (12)
- Miller Flat Reservoir (10)
- Panguitch Lake (7)
- Little Dell Reservoir (7)
- Salem Pond (7)
- Silver Lake Flat Reservoir (7)
- Willow Park Pond (7)
- Koosharem Reservoir (5)
- Jackson Flat Reservoir (3)
- Red Fleet Reservoir (2)
- Adams Reservoir (1)
- Joes Valley Reservoir (1)
- Navajo Lake (1)
- Yuba Reservoir (Sevier Bridge Reservoir) (1)
Sources
- identification (accessed 2026-09-18)
- preferred_temp_f (accessed 2026-09-18)
- depth_by_season (accessed 2026-09-18)
- top_lures (accessed 2026-09-18)
- top_baits (accessed 2026-09-18)
- line_and_tackle (accessed 2026-09-18)
- stocked_behaviour (accessed 2026-09-18)
- line_and_tackle (accessed 2026-09-19)
- active_times (accessed 2026-09-19)
- common_mistakes (accessed 2026-09-19)