Help identify this Trout & Have some questions - NJFishing.com Your Best Online Source for Fishing Information in New Jersey

xDirty · #1 10-19-2015, 08:29 PM

So i caught this guy on sunday in the south branch of the raritan. I saw a few and sight casted, and one of them nailed my inline spinner. When i caught it i remember thinking it was a rainbow trout but i showed a customer at work and he thinks it might be a small brown trout and he also said its colors are darker which might indicate its a hold over trout. I do remember it being a little darker than the other one i caught but i still remember thinking it was a rainbow trout. It was a cloudy day so the lighting wasn't the greatest.

What kind of trout is this ? Does the raritan ever have hold overs ?

I also noticed further down that there was a dead trout under this tree in the water. It looked like it could be the one i caught but also looked a little bigger. is it possible that its the trout i caught and let go and it just died ?

the water was 49 Degrees, i reeled him in pretty quick, weighed him and took a picture and let him loose. i dont think i handled him for more than a minute and a half and i was extremely gentle with him. it tried to thrash twice while i was weighing him and i put him down immediately to get him to stop. when i let him back in the water he was a little sluggish but swam off fine.

I hope that wasnt the same trout i caught

XXlyakattacker · #2 10-19-2015, 08:45 PM

I vote sickly rainbow. He's missing some fins also.

Fishinfire · #3 10-19-2015, 09:38 PM

I have to ask, why the lip clamp? They can do more harm than good at times.

Mikeps326 · #4 10-19-2015, 09:45 PM

Dark coloring then usual but I'm also going with rainbow since you can see the red going from the cheeks down to the tail.

xDirty · #5 10-19-2015, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishinfire

I have to ask, why the lip clamp? They can do more harm than good at times.

Its not so much of, just a clamp, as it is the top part of my weighing scale. i used that to weigh it and then released it. I tried to be as careful as i can. How else can i weigh the fish quickly without hurting it ?

NJ Dave · #6 10-19-2015, 10:02 PM

Rainbow. There is a faint pink lateral line you can see.
as for a hold over, no chance. The fins and tail are all rubbed up feom the hatchery concrete receways. If it was a spring fish the fins would have been more healed up.
None the less its a nice catch.

Chrisper4694 · #7 10-19-2015, 11:13 PM

Looks like a stocked rainbow to me too. I'd recommend just a length measurement if you want a better release. Anyway, nice catch. They are good to eat or make great bait cut into chunks, for next time!

Treble Hook Jim · #8 10-19-2015, 11:26 PM

That's a Tiger Trout! They are a protected species and you better hope that it did not die from you handling it!

Eskimo · #9 10-20-2015, 07:31 AM

.

That's a messed up looking Rainbow.

Personally, I don't see any issue with the jaw-holder to restrain the fish. You certainly could do worse things to a fish.

The dead fish probably looked like the fish you just caught because the fish are all born, raised, and released together in the same batch. There is no reason they would look different from each other.

.

Adrenalinerush · #10 10-20-2015, 08:46 AM

Rainbow, by the way a minute and a half is way too long to keep a fish out of the water after it is exhausted from a fight. Also, if your going to release it and its sluggish when you put it back in the water, hold it by the tail in some calm water and move it gently back and forth to get some water moving through its gills. Support it body weight from under the belly with your other hand until it has enough strength to swim away on its own.