Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

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



http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/x...psesbilu2o.jpg

http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps85o5sipx.jpg

http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/x...psqgqluqch.jpg

http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps0iiwkmg3.jpg

http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/x...psqiyaizw8.jpg



http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/x...pswndyw5hi.jpg

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

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

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

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.

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

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 ?

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

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.

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

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!

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

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

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

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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.


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Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

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.

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

Correct, a rainbow. Our guys that are stocking have said that they are very dark in color.

Also, spots on the tail fin = rainbow.

Brooks & browns don't have spots on the tail fin.

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

Definitely a rainbow, looks freshly stocked, and definitely dead due to mis-handling. A minute out of water is too long for a trout generally speaking, especially after being fought on a line. In the future if you want to grab a pic and intend to release the fish keep it in the water until you have your camera/phone ready to shoot. snap a quick pic and back in the water and the fish should be fine.

Also as Mark pointed out rainbows are the only trout that have spots on the tail. Easiest way to tell when you have a darker fish such as yours or one that has taken on the bright silvery coloration of a deep clear lake fish such as those out of RVR.

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

Your average 14" rainbow is about a pound. No need to weigh the fish and keep him out of the water very long.

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

I still say the rare and elusive tiger trout! You can tell by the pristine squared off tail fin!

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

TIGER TROUT
http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psscucaazs.jpg

RAINBOW TROUT
http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...pse2621e65.jpg

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

hey eddie, what does a sturgeon look like?

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

That's a pikeral pike/pickerel hybrid. 100% sure.

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

Whaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahaha! I haven't caught mine yet. Heres a good friend of mine with a little 4 footer just so you know what thy look like!!!:D
http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8jboa8re.jpg

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

you're a good camera man! you want to come take my picture when i catch one before you?

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

Definitely a rainbow (like the one posted below) also probably dead for the miss treatment..
The sturgeon posted above was it caught in the Raritan? Also a beautiful looking tiger Eddie..very nice!
I had a fun fall stocking.I kept 3 fish for one meal with the family. The rest of the fish were pictured and worked back to life and released. I caught many in the same hole I have fished for years, specially in the fall. I catch them release them go back a few days later and catch some of them again. This year after two runs of catch and release the trout seemed to disappeared from this hole in 2 days, then back every day since...gone! Or not biting. Weather?? Anyone have any ideas how long a trout takes to recover before it will feed/strike again? Did these fish disperse? Did some meat mongor show up one night with a can of corn in between my visits and clean the hole out?? Seems strange that many trout dissapeared from a hole I keep a pretty close eye on.
Here are some pics of the better trout caught and released this fall...

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

its a very rare pellet-fed jersey concrete rainbow, and yes u killed it if it was out of the water 1.5 mins tight lines

Re: Help identify this Trout & Have some questions
 

Yes, just in case we didn't see the last two pages of ppl saying the SAME THING!! C'mon dude. Wet a line.

http://www.njfishing.com/forums/pict...&pictureid=242