Speaking of Brown Trout

[Billfish715]

Over the many years that I've been fishing for trout, it has come to my attention that the state has raised and released different strains of brown trout excluding the searun strain. Has anyone noticed any cross breeding between the strains in any of our streams or are they pure strains from the original stockings? Has anyone seen evidence of the different strains of brown trout in our streams? Is the strain of brown that is raised by the Musky Hatchery the same as the strain that was raised by the state?

Maybe someone knows the answer to this. Has the state captured any NJ wild browns for use as brood stock or are they buying/trading for eggs or fry from other states' hatcheries?

I'm sure someone out there has some comments. The trout guys here are pretty informed.

[acabtp]

interesting question. i also wonder if they are still maintaining brown (and brook) broodstock at the hatchery while they are only in the business of making rainbows. or are they going to start fresh when things resume?

[Dave B.]

There are no brook trout broodstock remaining at Pequest and to my knowledge only 1 large brown still remaining in one of the display cases inside the main building. Other than that there are no other browns in the facility. When the Div. is ready to reinstate the production of brown and possibly brook trout they will acquire eggs and/or fry from an outside, certified disease free source.

As for the various strains and cross/interbreeds of them, there have been many over the years from both our state hatcheries and the few private hatcheries certified to provide fish in NJ. There were only 2 strains originally introduced from Europe, the Loch Leven from the UK and the German or Black Forest "von Behr" strain.

Generally those fish you see with the buttery yellow flanks are closer to the German strain while those more silvery colored tend towards the UK gene pool, but diet and water conditions play a major role on markings and coloration as well.

This text from Wikipedia may help clarify things a bit for you...

"U.S. range of brown trout
The first introductions into the U.S. started in 1883 when Fred Mather, a New York pisciculturist and angler, under the authority of the U.S. Fish Commissioner, Spencer Baird, obtained brown trout eggs from a Baron Lucius von Behr, president of the German Fishing Society. The von Behr brown trout came from both mountain streams and large lakes in the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg. The original shipment of "von Behr" brown trout eggs were handled by three hatcheries, one on Long Island, the Cold Spring Hatchery operated by Mather, one in Caledonia, New York operated by pisciculturalist Seth Green, and other hatchery in Northville, Michigan. Additional shipments of "von Behr" brown trout eggs arrived in 1884.

In 1885, brown trout eggs from Loch Leven, Scotland, arrived in New York. These "Loch Leven" brown trout were distributed to the same hatcheries. Over the next few years, additional eggs from Scotland, England, and Germany were shipped to U.S. hatcheries. Behnke (2007) believed all life forms of brown trout—anadromous, riverine and lacustine—were imported into the U.S. and intermingled genetically to create what he calls the American generic brown trout and a single subspecies the North European brown trout (S. t. trutta).

In April 1884, the U.S. Fish Commission released 4900 brown trout fry into the Baldwin River, a tributary of the Pere Marquette River in Michigan. This was the first release of brown trout into U.S. waters. Between 1884 and 1890, brown trout were introduced into suitable habitats throughout the U.S.[6] By 1900, 38 states and two territories had received stocks of brown trout. Their adaptability resulted in most of these introductions establishing wild, self-sustaining populations."