06-24-2010, 02:20 PM
[quote fishguru73 Do you think that brookies are on par?[/quote]
BG1 hit on this a bit. It really isn't "cold" or "clear" water. It's diet. Ever wonder why a flamingo is pink? It's their diet -- not cold clear water. The reason a flamingo is pink is the exact same reason that brook trout's flesh (or a salmon or rainbow trout) turns orange.
It's all about crustaceans. Specifically amphipods. Fresh water shrimp. Scuds.
Flamingos eat a diet very similar to what a salmon might eat. Crustaceons. Shrimp. It turns flamingos pink. It turns the flesh of salmon bright orange. Guess what happens when rainbow trout feed on fresh water shrimp? Bingo: orange flesh that is very tasty.
So, what about those brook trout in Boulder Mountain lakes? Guess what: loaded with amphipods (better known as fresh water shrimp).
Crustaceans are loaded with carotene, which is what gives the fish flesh it's color. The color of a fishes flesh can change (sometimes dramatically) based on diet. It can change very quickly - within a matter of days -- based on diet.
Fish farms and grocery stores know all about this. This is why you typically will see nice orange flesh on grocery store fish. It isn't necessarily because the fish was feeding on a diet high in carotene -- but more likely because the fish has been given food specifically designed to change the color of the flesh to make it more appealing to customers.
Brook trout are excellent eating. They are right their with sockeye and silver salmon. Splake ( a brook trout cross) are also very good eating. Again, it's all because of diet. Like their brook trout parent, they spend much of their life feeding on amphipods -- until they reach a certain size and begin to switch more to a pisciverous (fish) diet like their other parent (lake trout).
Again, brook trout are excellent eating. There is nothing in this world better than taking a fillet knife to a 20" brook trout and slapping a bright orange fillet (steak) down on the grill. Best eating fish in Utah, if you ask me.
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BG1 hit on this a bit. It really isn't "cold" or "clear" water. It's diet. Ever wonder why a flamingo is pink? It's their diet -- not cold clear water. The reason a flamingo is pink is the exact same reason that brook trout's flesh (or a salmon or rainbow trout) turns orange.
It's all about crustaceans. Specifically amphipods. Fresh water shrimp. Scuds.
Flamingos eat a diet very similar to what a salmon might eat. Crustaceons. Shrimp. It turns flamingos pink. It turns the flesh of salmon bright orange. Guess what happens when rainbow trout feed on fresh water shrimp? Bingo: orange flesh that is very tasty.
So, what about those brook trout in Boulder Mountain lakes? Guess what: loaded with amphipods (better known as fresh water shrimp).
Crustaceans are loaded with carotene, which is what gives the fish flesh it's color. The color of a fishes flesh can change (sometimes dramatically) based on diet. It can change very quickly - within a matter of days -- based on diet.
Fish farms and grocery stores know all about this. This is why you typically will see nice orange flesh on grocery store fish. It isn't necessarily because the fish was feeding on a diet high in carotene -- but more likely because the fish has been given food specifically designed to change the color of the flesh to make it more appealing to customers.
Brook trout are excellent eating. They are right their with sockeye and silver salmon. Splake ( a brook trout cross) are also very good eating. Again, it's all because of diet. Like their brook trout parent, they spend much of their life feeding on amphipods -- until they reach a certain size and begin to switch more to a pisciverous (fish) diet like their other parent (lake trout).
Again, brook trout are excellent eating. There is nothing in this world better than taking a fillet knife to a 20" brook trout and slapping a bright orange fillet (steak) down on the grill. Best eating fish in Utah, if you ask me.
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