#0396 "The Wood-Be Catch of the Day"

This is another in my fish on plank series - Rainbow Trout. I use art to learn about the natural world. Art and science are really the same thing anyway.

Now for some science... The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a trout and species of salmonid native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. Adult freshwater stream rainbow trout average between 1 and 5 lb, while lake-dwelling and anadromous (species that spend part of their lives in freshwater and part in saltwater) forms may reach 20 lb. Adult fish are distinguished by a broad reddish stripe along the lateral line, from gills to the tail, which is most vivid in breeding males. Rainbow trout, including steelhead forms, generally spawn in early to late spring (January to June in the Northern Hemisphere and September to November in the Southern Hemisphere) when water temperatures reach at least 42 to 44 °F. The maximum recorded lifespan for a rainbow trout is 11 years. Lake resident rainbow trout are usually found in moderately deep, cool lakes with adequate shallows and vegetation to support production of sufficient food sources. Lake populations generally require access to gravelly bottomed streams to be self-sustaining.

Populations of many rainbow trout subspecies have declined in their native ranges due to over-harvest, habitat loss, disease, invasive species, pollution and hybridization with other subspecies. As a consequence, some rainbow populations, particularly anadromous forms within their native range, have been classified as endangered, threatened or species of special concern.

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