#0397 "Broke Trout"

You know it's a broke trout when you don't have the money to paint on canvas.. just a slab of wood - although it is very special black walnut and not just any ordinary wood. This beautiful fish is actually a Brook or Speckled Trout. That's a Mepps Black Fury Number One lure supposedly caught on the upper lip of the slab of walnut. The line is broken and thus there is another reason for the title. Every painting needs to tell a story and although I am making all of this up, I am sticking to it.

Now for the science... The brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus Salvelinus of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America but has been introduced elsewhere to western North America, Iceland, Europe, and Asia.The brook trout is also known as the eastern brook trout, speckled trout, brook charr, squaretail, or mud trout. The splake is an hybrid between the brook trout and lake trout.

Brook trout typically live at least seven years of age but have been recored to survive 15 years. Trout prefer clear and very pure water with a narrow pH range. They are sensitive to poor oxygenation, pollution, and changes in pH caused by environmental effects such as acid rain. Chemical pollution, algae growth caused by fertilizer runoff, air pollution and general habitat destruction have been significant factors in the disappearance of brook trout from their native habitats.

I caught some fine brook trout and now work trying to replace them in the environment.

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