Hatchery vs Wild

[ByrdmanUT]

Hello all,

Long time stalker, first time poster here.

I have been wondering about this question for some time.

Is there any way to distinguish between a hatchery raised fish and wild fish? (specifically trout) Also do they taste different?

Thanks

[pookiebar]

Hatchery Trout typically have a fin clipped off. Used to be the addopose fin ( little nobby fin right in front of the tail) But lately I have even seen some with a pectoral fine clipped off and have been told that those too are hatchery fish.
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[brookieguy1]

Hatchery fish usually have white or pale meat when first stocked. However after aclimating to the lake or stream for a season or so these same fish will resume their pinkish or orange meat and also get their outer colors back. Hatchery trout often have worn out fin tips from tight quarters and rubbing the concrete raceways. As far as fin clipping goes, I've seen many different scenarios and combinations. Sometimes they do it to indicate the year they were stocked. Sometimes they are doing a study on certain fish. We all need to be thankful to the DWR for the stocking programs, as there are few naturally producing waters that have worthwhile fishing in Utah.
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[BigIceHole]

My experience has been that planted trout usually have a worn down dorsal fin from the envornment they were raised in. I have also noticed lighter (some with almost no color) rainbows that I believed were just planted.
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[TiteLines]

I prefer the taste of orange or red fleshed fish (say that ive times real fast). The white or pink meat just deosn't have the same flavor or texture...
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[brookieguy1]

[quote TiteLines]I prefer the taste of orange or red fleshed fish (say that ive times real fast). The white or pink meat just deosn't have the same flavor or texture...[/quote] Agreed. Especially if they're brook trout from above 10,000 feet and scud fed!
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[PBH]

[quote ByrdmanUT]

Is there any way to distinguish between a hatchery raised fish and wild fish? (specifically trout) Also do they taste different?

Thanks[/quote]

This question completely depends on how long the fish was at the hatchery. Many trout are stocked as "fry", which are typically about 2" long. Trout stocked at this size would be virtually indistinguishable from a wild trout in the same water. Fish at that size have not "worn down" their fins, and many times have not been fin-clipped.

Their meat color can change from day, to day depending on what they are eating. When trout feed on crustaceons (shrimp, scuds, etc) their meat turns an orange color. When they feed on other fish it turns a pale white. You would not be able to tell by meat color a hatchery fish vs a wild fish. Go look at your local super market at their trout. They'll have beautiful orange meat -- but they are not wild fish. They are hatchery fish. They've been fed special food to make their meat a pretty color. That doesn't mean it will taste any better or worse than a fish caught from one of Utah's fisheries. It all depends on what the fish has been eating.


A question I would ask all of you is: what's the difference between a fish hatched in the wild and a fish (eggs and milt collected from "wild" fish) hatched in a hatchery, then released to the wild as a 2" fish? In all reality, there is no difference.

The fish people catch with "worn down" fins are "brood" fish. These are fish that have been kept at the hatchery for a few years. They are the "breeders". They are the fish whose eggs and milt have been used to raise other fish. Once they have been used for a couple years, they are then dumped into many of Utah's lakes and reservoirs for anglers to catch. The majority of stocking comes from fish that have spent much less time in the hatchery, and typically have undamaged fins.

The state utilizes numerous brood-stock reservoirs for cutthroat trout. Eggs and milt are collected from "wild" fish at these lakes a reservoirs. The eggs are then hatched at a hatchery, then the fish are stocked across the state. It would be extremely difficult to tell the difference between these fish and a truly "wild" fish.
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[Weekend_Warrior]

PBH, so when people go to tibble and catch foot long trout with fins rubbed or cut off, these are the brood fish? Wouldnt that mean they were fertile?? I thought all stocked bows were triploid?
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[wormandbobber]

Those fish are hatchery holdovers and probably not triploids. At one time, Utah planned on stocking only triploid trout...but, that has NOT happened and Utah continues to stock fertile rainbow trout. Some rainbow trout are stocked as holdovers or fish that were held over a year before they were stocked....often, these fish have begun to lose their fins. Sometimes these holdovers are referred to as "catchable" rainbows. Brood stock are those that were used for their eggs/milt and then later released...

....holdovers or "catchables" are often stocked in Utah reservoirs to avoid predation from other fish or birds or in instances where survival will be limited either because of harvest--like community ponds--or because of natural factors like winterkill--like Big Lake on Monroe Mountain.
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[ByrdmanUT]

Thanks for all the great input.

The reason I asked this question is because last year I noticed a lot of the trout I caught did have clipped fins and from time to time I would catch one that looked really healthy and had really vibrant colors so I was curious to know more about how to distinguish between the two.

Thanks again
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[cat_man]

Those 'catchable' 12 inch trout are the ones with the fins rubbed off too, in addition to the very large brood stock, which are few in number. The catchables are not few in number.

The DWR stocks plenty of those catchables into roadside lakes and the community ponds during the year.
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[THESLAYER]

Where i grew up pacific northwest addapose fin clip was standerd procedure on Kings and Steele's Just throwing my 2 cents
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[PBH]

Fin clips: they are typically used for identification purposes. It makes it easier for biologists to know what year the fish was stocked, depending on which fin was clipped. If you clip the same fin every year, you can't tell much other than the fish is a hatchery fish.
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[addicted2fishin]

A lot of info already here on how to tell stocked fish. What you are looking for really depends on how recently it was stocked, and how old it was when stocked.
Recently stocked catchable size fish will often have worn-down fins and won't taste as good as wild ones or those that have been in the more natural waters for a season or two. You will usually find these in the more heavily fished, easily accessed waters (urban ponds, smaller busy lakes like the Payson lakes, etc). Most people that say they really don't like the taste of trout have only tried these farm/hatchery raised trout.
The prime reason for the different taste is what the fish have been eating. These planters have been raised on pellet food. While it is good for quick growth, it is not so good for the taste of the meat. A fish that has been in a lake for a season or two, eating natural food, will taste very different. It will generally be a much milder, better taste.
This really goes with any meat. This is the reason you always hear of "grain fed" or "corn fed" beef. It tastes a whole lot better than beef that was raised entirely on alfalfa or grazing some mountainside for whatever wild grasses it can find. This is also the reason deer tastes much more "gamey" than a lot of other wild game (e.g. elk). Their natural forage gives the meat a very different flavor.

So, to end this long post......if you are looking for the better tasting trout, go fishing somewhere that allows the fish to grow a while in the natural waters that have plenty of natural food. Your local ponds will not have the best tasting fish by any means.
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