Hunting and Fishing USA.Com
Copyright ©2007 All Rights Reserved
Fishing Articles
Brown trout, Salmo trutta are widely distributed in Colorado, with self-sustaining populations occurring in nearly every mountain
stream and body of water between 6,000 and 10,000 feet in elevation. Although not native to the western United States, brown trout
are now well established throughout the Rocky Mountains.
Since their introduction into Colorado in the late 19th Century, brown trout have established wild and self-sustaining populations
in hundreds of miles of rivers and creeks. These vibrant populations of wild trout are the primary source of sport fishing opportunities
to anglers in the backcountry, and they also are favorites of anglers at large reservoirs, where they can grow to trophy sizes.
The largest brown trout caught in Colorado weighed 30 pounds 8 ounces. Although the fish was caught in Roaring Judy Ponds located at the state fish hatchery near Almont, it probably swam there via the Gunnison River from Blue Mesa Reservoir. Blue Mesa is known for producing trophy-sized brown trout.
The largest brown trout caught in Colorado weighed 30 pounds 8 ounces. Although the fish was caught in Roaring Judy Ponds located at the state fish hatchery near Almont, it probably swam there via the Gunnison River from Blue Mesa Reservoir. Blue Mesa is known for producing trophy-sized brown trout.
Brown trout first arrived in the northeastern United States from Germany in 1883. German fish culturist Baron Lucius von Behr shipped 80,000 brown trout eggs to Fred Mather, an American angler, writer, and fish culturist that von Behr had met at the International Fisheries Exposition in Berlin. Von Behr continued to ship the red-spotted brown trout from Germany, but during this period, black-spotted brown trout also were arriving in the US from Loch Leven, Scotland.