Tiger Trout
Salmo trutta x Salvelinus fontinalis. Bold, dark vermiculations (tiger-stripe markings) covering a brownish-gray body, more pronounced than on either parent species.
Photos
Click a photo to expand it for a closer look.
Identification
- Bold, dark vermiculations (tiger-stripe markings) covering a brownish-gray body, more pronounced than on either parent species.
- Sterile hybrid of a male brook trout and a female brown trout; wild crosses happen where both parents live, but are very rare.
- Typically 10 to 16 inches in stocked lakes, with quality fisheries producing fish up to 20 inches and several pounds.
Depth by season
| Season | Depth | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | – | Fish occupy upper water layers while the lake is still cool. |
| Summer | – | Rising temperatures push fish into deeper, cooler water during the day, though they return to the shallows during cool evenings. |
| Fall | – | Fish return to upper water layers as the lake cools, similar to the spring pattern. |
| Winter | – | The slow stretch of the year on waters that ice over: WDFW rates spring after ice-out and fall as the best times to target them. |
Active times
- dawn
- dusk
Top lures
- Acme Kastmaster spoon (spoon , silver/gold): Cast-and-retrieve or troll along drop-offs; a reliable searching lure most of the year.
- Rapala floating minnow (crankbait , silver/black/gold/orange): Trolled or cast-and-paused to imitate baitfish for these aggressive, fish-eating hybrids.
- Woolly Bugger streamer (fly , black/olive/brown): Stripped on a sinking-tip line through deeper water once fish drop down in summer.
- Triple Teaser spoon (spoon , nickel/brass/fluorescent orange): Trolled from a boat or float tube over deep, cool water in summer.
Top baits
- Nightcrawler: Still-fished near drop-offs; a reliable fallback though tiger trout favor moving lures.
- Cut bait or dead minnow (where legal): Fished near bottom or suspended under a bobber, appealing to these fish-eating hybrids.
Line & tackle
- Rod power: Medium spinning rod or 6-weight fly rod for casting streamers and handling larger, aggressive fish
Stocked behavior
The cross is sterile, so every tiger trout in a lake arrived on a stocking truck. Utah plants them as small fingerlings, a size this hybrid performs well at, which is cheaper than raising them to catchable size and means planted fish need a season or more of growth. Colorado is testing them as a predator on unwanted suckers and minnows in coldwater lakes.
Common mistakes
- Using small, subtle lures; tiger trout are aggressive predators that respond better to bigger minnow-imitating baits.
- Fishing only the surface in summer; fish drop into deeper, cooler water during the day and return to shallows at dusk.
- Overlooking early morning and evening shore fishing windows in favor of midday trolling only.
State records
| State | Weight | Angler | Water | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 27.42 lbs | Cathy Clegg | Loon Lake, Stevens County | 2022 |
| Utah | 19 lbs. 2 oz. | Jake Trane | Scofield Reservoir | 2013 |
Sources: Washington's official record page , Utah's official record page , accessed 2026-09-19.
Best time to fish Tiger Trout
Computed from every real stocking date on record, not a general seasonal guess.
Utah
Most commonly stocked in July in Utah, based on 493 stocking events on record.
Where it's stocked
20 locations shown. Click a pin for details.
Utah
- Trial Lake (62)
- Scofield Reservoir (57)
- Mirror Lake (55)
- Willow Park Pond (28)
- Navajo Lake (24)
- Salem Pond (24)
- Panguitch Lake (20)
- Currant Creek Reservoir (17)
- Moon Lake (17)
- Mill Hollow Reservoir (16)
- Birch Creek Reservoir (14)
- Settlement Canyon Reservoir (14)
- Red Fleet Reservoir (13)
- Lost Creek Reservoir (13)
- Causey Reservoir (12)
- Browns Draw Reservoir (11)
- Electric Lake (11)
- Koosharem Reservoir (11)
- Palisade Reservoir (11)
- Whitney Reservoir (10)
Sources
- identification (accessed 2026-09-18)
- identification (accessed 2026-09-19)
- depth_by_season (accessed 2026-09-18)
- active_times (accessed 2026-09-18)
- top_lures (accessed 2026-09-18)
- top_baits (accessed 2026-09-18)
- top_baits (accessed 2026-09-19)
- line_and_tackle (accessed 2026-09-18)
- common_mistakes (accessed 2026-09-18)
- stocked_behaviour (accessed 2026-09-19)
- stocked_behaviour (accessed 2026-09-19)