Other Common Names:

Eastern Brook Trout, Brookie, Speckled Trout, Native Trout, Squaretail

State Record:

5 pounds 10 ounces

Identifying Features:

Brook trout have a dark olive body with a brownish to greenish back and light worm-like markings. The sides are pale with several small blue-bordered red spots. The lower fins have dark and light edges.

Typical Adult:

Length: Up to 18 inches (sometimes up to 34 inches)
Weight: Up to 3 pounds (may reach 14 pounds)
Life span: Up to 15 years

Habitat:

Brook trout live in clear and cold streams, lakes, and ponds, often with access to sea, but are mostly found in the headwaters of spring-fed streams. The preferred water temperature is 53-56 °F.

Feeding Behavior:

Brook trout feed on tiny larval insects, small fish, and occasionally, field mice and snakes.

Reproductive Behavior (Spawning):

When: Late summer and fall
Preferred Water Temperature: 40-49 °F
How: The female digs several redds (depressions) in a gravel bed in the headwaters of a small stream. Adults do not guard the nest.

Did You Know:

Prime brook trout habitat has been lost to stream channelization, dam building, pollution, and streambank erosion caused by overgrazing and deforestation.

A sea-run brook trout is known as a "salter" or "sea trout."

A brook trout in the Great Lakes that migrates up its tributaries to spawn is known as a "coaster."