Brook Trout

freshwater fish · cold water · North America · colorful

Gorgeous spotted look. Brook trout have olive-green bodies decorated with yellow and blue-rimmed red spots, plus white and black-edged orange fins that make them some of the prettiest fish in freshwater.

Two different lifestyles. Some brook trout, called coasters, live their whole lives in big lakes like Lake Superior and can grow over 2 feet long and weigh 15 pounds. Others, called salters, live in northern coastal rivers and are much smaller, usually only 6 to 15 inches.

Hungry little hunters. Brook trout eat whatever they can find depending on the season and where they live, including insects from the water and land, tiny fish, small shellfish, and worms.

Eastern North America home. These fish are native to cold streams and lakes across the eastern United States and Canada, from Long Island all the way to Hudson Bay.

Many local names. People call this fish by lots of different names like eastern brook trout, speckled trout, brookie, squaretail, and mud trout depending on where they live.