Splake Salvelinus namaycush x S fontinalis

SALMONIDAE FAMILY
Also called wendigo

It is a fertile cross between two chars, the lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and the brook trout (S. fontinalis). This hybridization does not occur in nature, but is propagated by man. Once crossed, however, this hybrid can reproduce itself. It has been “planted” in the Great Lakes and various other parts of North America, particularly in Ontario, Canada where a program for selective breeding of this hybrid has been underway for some time with considerable success.

The splake is difficult to identify externally because it resembles both parents in different aspects. The body shape is intermediate between the heavier lake trout and the slimmer brook trout. The shape of the tail is also intermediate. It is not as deeply forked as that of the lake trout, and more closely resembles the slightly indented tail of the brook trout. In coloration and markings, the splake more closely resembles the brook trout. It can be positively identified by the number of pyloric caeca, the worm like appendages on the intestinal tract right after the stomach. The brook trout, which is the smaller parent, has only 23 55 (usually less than 50) pyloric caeca, while the intermediate sized hybrid has 65 85, and the lake trout, the larger parent, has 93 208 (usually 120 180).

The quality of the splake as a food fish is excellent, and due to its initial fast growth rate and game nature it is highly regarded by anglers as well. The name “splake” is a combination of the words “speckled” from speckled trout, which is an alternate common name for brook trout, and “lake” from lake trout

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