Does anyone know for sure what determines whether a trout will have pink or white meat? Is it their diet, their age, or what? I used to think it was the difference between a native or a hatchery planter but now I'm not so sure. I've been catching rainbows with pink meat and missing fins lately. Anyone know?
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kd -- strictly diet. Or drugs (hatchery's).
the pink flesh is a result of what the fish is eating crustaceans high in carotene. Fresh water shrimp (scuds), and crawfish are are good sources, as is Mysis Shrimp (Fish Lake). Brook Trout on the Boulder Mountain gorge on a diet of freshwater shrimp - which results in some of the most brilliantly colored flesh you can find.
Farm raised fish that are sent to grocery stores are typically given chemicals that change the color of a fishes flesh -- it is compeltely aesthetic. Pink flesh is much more appealing than white.
The color of a fishes flesh can change very quickly. In only a matter of days, the color can change from white to pink / orange -- all depending on diet.
Hope this helps.
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[cool][#0000ff]Ditto to what PBH answered. But, he did not address the fin issue. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Rainbows planted in larger sizes, from hatcheries, often have fins rubbed off from living in concrete raceways. It takes time for the fins to regenerate...if ever. Some former hatchery fish grow to be quite large, and develop pink meat from a natural diet, without ever getting pretty fins again. I have seen some pretty large rainbows, with natural coloring and ugly fins.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Almost all small rainbows, fresh out of the hatchery, will have pale flesh. Some still have intact fins. But, once the trout begin to fatten up on zooplankton and aquatic insects they get firmer and pinker flesh. Most folks who keep and eat trout share the opinion that the pink fleshed trout are better eating.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you have caught trout from Yuba, or other waters where they are spawning around the edges of the lake, you are likely to find larger fish with pale flesh. They can turn from pink flesh to white flesh during the spawn, when their bodies take nutrients from their flesh to produce eggs and milt. Again, they are not prime eating during the spawn.[/#0000ff]
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That was a great question, I have always wanted to know that to and I had the same idea as you did.
Thanks for the answers as well.
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What about the trout in 21st pond that have green meat? heheheh
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