5 lb. Male Brook Trout out of the pond

[taxid]

Well... actually 4 lbs. 15 1/2 oz.  19 1/4 inches on a board.

Yeah I know It's a private pond and the fish are fed but it I thought I'd share anyway.

For those of you that don't know I'm a fish taxidermist that also raises and sells fish to other taxidermists around the country.

And it's Indiana. How about that?

This fish was having some equilibrium problems and was netted out of the pond. It's already been sold to another taxidermist in Massachusetts.

They are averaging 4 to just under 5 lbs. Hoping to grow them one more year before they are all harvested. There should be about 100 in this 1/10th acre flow through pond. (Not the one in the above picture, that's the big yellow perch and bluegill pond.)









O.K. back to taxidermy. Running behind on the taxidermy work!

[princecraft]

Amazing brook trout.  I have caught several in the 7 inch range......lol

[taxid]

Amazing brook trout.  I have caught several in the 7 inch range......lol

Wild stream brookies? Beautiful fish!

[princecraft]

That they were.  We were on a stream on Manitoulin Island in Northern Lake Huron.  It was just packed with those little ones and boy were they good for breakfast.

[tomturkey]

A lot of my best brookie streams off of Lake Michigan have been ruined by the pacific carp AKA Salmon. They are in the stream when the brookies are spawning. The will take a brookie that ventures onto on of their beds. also the salmon smolts compete with the brookies for feed.

I have to get above a dam to find any amount of brookies.

[Able2fish]

Wow what a fattie!!  There's some decent streams in west MI for brookies but that ones enourmous . How big do the gills and perch got out at your pond? 

[taxid]

Wow what a fattie!!  There's some decent streams in west MI for brookies but that ones enourmous . How big do the gills and perch got out at your pond? 

Biggest perch was 16 1/4 inches and 2 lbs. 13 ounces caught through the ice. If I had caught her a few weeks later she probably would have been more egged up at 3 lbs. or so. I've never caught a 16 inch fish out there since. 15 inches or so seems to be a barrier.

Bluegills up to 1 lb. 7 ounces with 10 inch fish going 1 lb. 4 ounces.

I'd post pics but I'm on my Ipad right now and need to get back to work. Later.

[taxid]

For those of you that don't know, male brook trout do become deep bodied during spawning season even in the wild, where they feed on natural feed. Here's a couple I found on the Internet caught in Patagonia or Argentina. Notice the high back in front of the dorsal fin.