12 inch rainbow trout and question

[Jnicholes]

Hello everyone!

I went to Wilson Springs today, and I had my line in a tunnel. I caught a small 8-inch trout, and threw it back. I wasn't expecting to get anything bigger.

Then, if bit. It was fighting really hard, and I thought I had something really big on. After finally getting it out of the tunnel, I noticed it wasn't big at all, it was just a 12-inch trout. The current made it seem bigger.

After a 2-minute struggle, I finally netted it and got it on the dock. It was a 12-inch trout. Accidentally hooked it it on the Gill, so it was going to die no matter what. I decided to keep it.

Picture is attached.

I have a question I want to ask about trout. I noticed that the color of this trout is different then a lot of the others I caught. I once caught a 22-inch trout and it was silver White color with a pink stripe. This trout is slightly brown with a pink stripe

Do trout change colors based on the time of year?
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[SkunkedAgain]

Congratulations, sounded like a fun fish to catch... I've noticed over the years that in the winter the male/female colors tend to get a lot more defined. You'll see the females get really silver and the males will get the darker coloration. I also noticed that the males scales get very hard to remove in the winter, so if I'm keeping them, I usually keep the females this time of year through spring, they tend to be easier to prepare and I'm lazy so I want the easy ones to get ready to smoke... Maybe I'm crazy but that's what I've noticed... Later Jeff

PS... There could be a habitat factor going on that makes them darker too so they match their surroundings better.
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[Squarehog]

Trout get some great colors, probably both affected by environments and seasons . This brown had great colors as it’s their mating season
https://youtu.be/ZOCek3e_7sE
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[riverdog]

Probable just got stocked this week I'm guessing. What did the flesh look like when you filleted it?
Freshwater fish under 20 inches just don't fight much in stillwater no matter the species. Even a 12 inch trout in some descent current can seem much bigger than lake caught fish.
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[Jnicholes]

Yes, it was a stocked fish. I could tell by the flesh color. It was still fun to catch!

Jared
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[riverdog]

Sure still fun to catch but the color of the fish had more to do with recent stocking than time of year.
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[Jnicholes]

Oh, I see what you mean. That makes a lot of sense! Thanks for telling me!
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