Brook Trout By Definition

 Most of us know what a brook trout is. If you have read my ramblings for any significant length of time, I would hope you have some idea, at least. But in New Hampshire, or at least in New Hampshire's fishing rule books, rainbow trout are brook trout. Oh, and so are brown, golden, and Loch Leven trout and their hybrids. On the other hand brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, are their state fish.

If you think that's absurd, so do I. Brook trout are brook trout. They are one of only two native char left in New England. Given they are also New Hampshire's state fish, you'd think they'd want to try to protect them. Perhaps it's unsurprising though that a state that defines brook trout as a number of species and strains of fish that are definitively not brook trout- and most of which are not native -in the very set of rules set in place to govern angling, is in fact doing a very bad job of protecting its native char. 

Native Fish Coalition has published an open letter to New Hampshire regarding this absurdity. Read it here: nativefishcoalition.org.

This is a brook trout.

This is not a brook trout. 

Until next time, 

Fish for the love of fish.

Fish for the love of places fish live.

Fish for you.

And stay safe and healthy.

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Edited by Cheyenne Terrien