Fishing Forum

Hello,

Could someone help me settle a fishing debate?

I was at Marsing Island Park today fishing in the pond. I caught three trout, one was small and I threw back. The other two I kept. One was 13 inches and 0.8 pounds and the other was 14 inches and 1.2 pounds. I attached a picture.

The meat color looked just like salmon meat. It tasted just like salmon also. I attached two pictures. One before cooking and one after cooking.

My dad says it was a salmon I caught because of the meat color, meat texture, and the taste. I say it was a rainbow trout because salmon don't go into the pond, and they are not stocked there either.

Who is right? Me or my dad?

Jared
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[#0000FF]Definitely a rainbow trout. But one that has had a good natural diet...rich in insects or aquatic invertebrates like scuds, shrimp, etc. Those food items have a lot of vitamin A...and carotene. That is what produces the red flesh in salmon when they eat a lot of shrimp, etc. Or freshwater kokanee salmon that eat zooplankton, daphnia and other similar rich foods.
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[#0000FF]On the other hand, if you catch rainbows recently planted, their meat will be soft and white...from eating the pellets they are fed in the hatchery.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Properly prepared, quality trout from clean waters can easily be mistaken for salmon. Close relatives.
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Thanks for helping me settle that debate. I appreciate it.

Thanks for that info also. It was cool to read. I guess this is quality trout meat then!

Jared
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[#0000FF]Yessir. When it is red and firm like that you definitely have some good eats.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I prepare trout a lot of ways. Frying is good for smaller trout, but larger ones I prefer to grill, oven broil or smoke. Here are a couple of pictures of rainbows I have prepared for smoking...and a writeup on oven-broiled trout fillets.
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These trout I actually put on the grill on aluminum foil, and cooked them on the grill with apple wood chips. I smoked them. They are really delicious! Thanks for the pictures and the recipe!

Jared
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Thanks Pat, TD, for helping my friend Jared. He always has some good questions. And Jared, TD is as close to a fishing expert as you will ever meet. You should feel privileged for his input. I know I always do.
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I can see that! He knows more about fishing than I do, and I used to be a fishing instructor for Boy Scouts! It's great to have people who are so smart help other people out.

That trout was delicious. Next time I got one like that, I'll try the recipe he gave me.

Jared
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