Taimen Hucho taimen

Pallas, 1773

SALMONIDAE FAMILY
Also called taimen salmon

There are four species of the genus Hucho, which include the species Hucho hucho, the huchen and Hucho hucho taimen, the taimen. While the two subspecies of Hucho hucho cannot be separated on the basis of morphology or meristics, their geographical separation allows us to distinguish between the two.

The huchen is restricted to the Danube River drainage and the taimen to the Ural Siberian Amur drainages, most of which flow into the Arctic Ocean. Ranges of the huchen and taimen are disjunct (do not overlap) and are separated by the Eastern European Flatland.

The taimen inhabits large rivers with fast currents, often to their estuaries. It also occurs in lakes. In spring, it ascends the rivers and enters shallow creeks, spawning in May.

They probably attain the largest sizes of any salmonid fish. A report exists of a 231 lb specimen taken in a commercial net in 1943, but the largest authenticated record is 123 lb (55.8 kg), slightly less than a commercially caught 126 lb (57.2 kg) Chinook salmon.

Physically, they resemble a northern pike. The body is round and elongated and the head flattened with an enormous terminal mouth. Like huchen, taimen are specked with dark spots over the entire body, predominating on the upper portions, including the head and fins. The tail and anal fins are a crimson red. During the spawning period, almost all the body becomes copper red.

Taimen fishing is similar to that of huchen, flies, plugs, large spoons, and spinners are all highly effective, and of coarse, any live bait should be productive. The voracious taimen reportedly will strike at anything resembling wounded prey. Just as large prey are sought by large fish, lure size should match the size of fish sought by the angler, monster fish require monster baits!

While huchen populations have diminished rapidly with over exploitation and habitat deterioration, taimen are just emerging as a popular sportfish. Hopefully, with due care from concerned anglers, the taimen population will not suffer the same fate

Grayling Thymallus thymallus

Linnaeus, 1758

SALMONIDAE FAMILY
Also called European grayling, kharius, asch, stalling, temolo

Occurs in northern Europe from England and France to the Ural Mountains in northwest Russia in temperature ranges of 18.0-24.0 °C. The grayling is essentially a river fish and prefers clear, well-oxygenated water in the upper reaches of rivers with sand or gravel bottom. It also occurs in lakes, especially in mountain regions and rarely in brackish water (Baltic).

Like its North American counterpart, it is easily recognized by its distinctive sail like dorsal fin, which is followed by a small adipose fin that identifies this fish as a salmonid. A stikingly colored fish; the dorsal surface is steel blue shading to silvery-green on the sides and silver ventrally. The sides of the body have stripes of violet and in breeding season, the colors are heightened with the dorsal fin having an orange-red margin.

Grayling feed mainly on bottom-living insects larvae, especially sedentary caddis worms and the larvae and pupae of midges. It is considered a good game –fish with fly and spinner in Europe. The grayling is a good food fish and highly esteemed in parts of Europe, but is best prepared and eaten fresh as its special flavor is lost a few hours after death. The name thymallus refers to the thyme-like scent of the fish

Dolly Varden Salvelinus malma

Walbaum, 1792

SALMONIDAE FAMILY


Known to occur from the Sea of Japan through the Kuril Islands to Kamchatka, through the Aleutian Islands and around Alaska to the Yukon and Northwest Territories (Canada) in the north and the northwestern United States in the south. Like the Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), it is an anadromous fish (migrates to the sea and back), though some populations are landlocked.

The complex of chars composed of Arctic char (S. alpinus), Dolly Varden (S. malma) and bull trout (S. confluentus) is a closely related group and difficult to distinguish from external characteristics. Due to past misidentification of species in various locales and lack of scientific knowledge, much of the available literature on these species is either misleading or incorrect, and there is still some disagreement among scientists on their distribution.

The Dolly Varden and bull trout can generally be distinguished by their size and habitat. The Dolly Varden is usually a coastal species whereas the larger bull trout is found inland in large, cold rivers and lakes draining high, mountainous areas. A much greater problem arises in trying to separate the Dolly Varden from the Arctic char. Much published information on the distribution of these species is incorrect and often presupposed that only one species or the other occurred in areas or rivers where it is now believed both species may occur. The two are outwardly almost identical in every respect and to complicate matters, significant variations occurs in both species. The spots on the Dolly Varden are usually smaller than the pupil of the eye, while on the Arctic char they are larger than the pupil. When returning from the sea both species are silvery and lack spots. Arctic char on the average have more gill rakers on the first left gill arch (25 30 as opposed to 21 22 in the Dolly Varden) and more pyloric caeca (40 45 as opposed to about 30 in the Dolly Varden), but fish with intermediate counts (i.e., 23 or 24 gill rakers and 35 pyloric caeca) are not at all uncommon in either species.

Fish that don't clearly “fit the pattern” will almost certainly have to be examined in a laboratory to determine their identity. Since the problem of identification was only very recently even diagnosed, there are at present very few scientists who are qualified to make a positive identification on an unusual specimen. IGFA recommends that all potential record chars that cannot be positively identified by external characteristics be frozen in case further study is needed

Trout, tiger Salmo trutta x Salvelinus fontinalis

SALMONIDAE FAMILY


This is a cross between a female brown trout (Salmo trutta) and a male brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). It is primarily an artificial cross, though it has been known to occur in nature. Because of genetic differences between the two genera (the brook trout is actually a char), mortality of the eggs and alevin is high. About 65% of hatchery specimens do not survive and the loss is higher in the wild where the majority of normal eggs and alevin perish due to predation. Hybrid specimens that survive are unable to reproduce. They have primarily been produced only on a small scale in private hatcheries for stocking in European club waters and in a few limited areas on an experimental basis. Theoretically, they might occur anywhere that brook trout and brown trout inhabit the same waters.

The wavy tiger like markings on the sides of this hybrid give it a unique beauty. It does not substantially resemble either of the parent species or any other salmonid. The overall color of the tiger trout is brownish on the back, lightening on the sides and belly to a golden yellow with a brown or orange wash. The back and sides both above and below the lateral line display large prominent sunshine yellow vermiculations, or worm like markings, that are much more vivid and extensive than those of the brook trout. The dorsal fin is also brownish with yellow vermiculations. Large brown spots may be present on the adipose fin. The tail is dusky with brown or black markings and yellow visible beneath the dusky color. The rear margin of the tail has a thin black edge. The lower fins are brownish to orange with char like white leading edges. The anterior part of the belly may be white.

Overall, it is stockier and more aggressive than either parent and thus more easily caught. It is a surface feeder and is highly regarded by anglers in waters where it is stocked

Trout, cutthroat Oncorhynchus clarkii

Richardson, 1836

SALMONIDAE FAMILY
Also called Clark's trout, red throated trout, short tailed trout, lake trout, sea trout, brook trout, native trout, Yellowstone cutthroat, Snake River cutthroat, Lahontan cutthroat, coastal cutthroat, Rio Grande cutthroat, Colorado cutthroat, Utah cutthroat, Piute cutthroat, harvest trout

Cutthroat trout are the most widely distributed of all the western trouts of North America prooven by the many names that refer to rivers, states, or drainages where unique forms occur. Anadromous (sea run) forms of the cutthroat trout normally do not exist more than 100 miles (161 km) inland. They are known from the Eel River, California north to Prince William Sound, Alaska. Inland non anadromous forms occur from southern Alberta, Canada to as far south as New Mexico, as far east as Colorado and most of Montana and west as far as Alberta and eastern California. A small, disjunct population which may have been transplanted, occurs in northern Baja California, Mexico. The species has been transplanted to other locations, including the east coast of Quebec, Canada (1942), where it began to appear in fishermen's catches in 1966.

This is a highly variable fish, in coloration and size. The characteristic that gave the cutthroat its name is the yellow, orange, or red streak in the skin fold on each side under the lower jaw. The color of the body ranges from cadmium blue and silvery (sea run) to olive green or yellowish green. There may or may not be red on the sides of the head, front part of the body, and the belly. In some specimens there may be a narrow pink streak along the sides, but not as broad as in the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). The body is covered with black spots, which extend onto the dorsal fin, adipose fin, and the tail. Some are literally covered with spots, while in others the spots are sparse and larger, being more numerous on the posterior part of the body. On the tail, the spots radiate evenly outward as they do in such species as the rainbow trout, golden trout (O. aguabonita), and Arizona native trout (O. apache). While all of these species are very similar and closely related, only the cutthroat trout has hyoid teeth (teeth on the back of the tongue). These may be difficult to see or obsolete in some specimens. The tail of the cutthroat is slightly forked and all the fins are soft rayed.

The largest form (or subspecies) of O. clarki was once the Lahontan cutthroat, which was native to the Lahontan drainage system of Nevada and California, including Lake Tahoe, Pyramid Lake, and the Truckee River. These specimens had an average weight of about 20 lb (9.07 kg) and in 1925 a 41 lb (18.59 kg) Lahontan cutthroat was recorded from Pyramid Lake. In 1938 water was diverted from the Truckee River and the Lahontan became extinct except for populations maintained by stocking, none of which attain the large sizes they once did. The smallest cutthroat occurs only in the upper Silver King Creek, California and does not exceed 12 in (30 cm). Coastal anadromous cutthroats have been recorded to 17 lb (7.71 kg) but average under 5 lb (2.26 kg). Most inland forms do not much exceed 5 lb (2.26 kg).

It hybridizes freely in nature with rainbow, golden trout, and other close relatives. The flesh varies from white to red and is highly regarded

Salmon, Atlantic (landlocked) Salmo salar

Linnaeus, 1758

SALMONIDAE FAMILY
Also called landlocked salmon, ouananiche, Kennebec salmon, Sebago salmon, black salmon, grilse, kelt, grayling, smolt, parr, slink

The Atlantic salmon is native to the northern Atlantic from the Connecticut River to Quebec, Iceland and southern Greenland. It also occurs from the Arctic Circle to Portugal. Inland, there are a number of landlocked populations that must be considered strictly freshwater fish. Otherwise, the species is anadromous (migrates to the sea and back, and spawns in fresh water). Unlike Pacific salmons (Oncorhynchus spp.), Atlantic salmon spawn more than once before dying.

It has the body shape of a trout, and is distinguished from trouts of the genus Oncorhynthus by coloration, size, and location of occurrence, among other things. At sea it is a silvery fish with a sparse scattering of small black spots often shaped like X's or Y's on the upper half of the body, and sometimes with a few spots on the cheek and gill cover. In inland waters, especially at spawning time, the Atlantic salmon turns a much darker color of bronze or dark brown. This change may be accompanied by the appearance of red spots on the head and body, making this fish look remarkably like a brown trout (Salmo trutta), its closest relative. Often brown trout may have circles, or halos, around some of its spots and the spotting may be heavier than in the Atlantic salmon, extending onto the lower half of the sides and the fins including the adipose fin. The spots do not normally take the form of X's or Y's.

The value of the Atlantic salmon both as a sports fish and as a commercial and food fish cannot be exaggerated.