Splake or Brook Trout

[TheDL]

splake
brookie
brookie

[landlockedsalmon]

Brookie, brookie, splake,LLS

[jj7leaf]

Splake
Brookie (& a nice one at that....)
Brookie

so when do we get your answers?

j

[bigredfishing]

First one is a splake

Second one is apparently a brook trout

Third one is a wild brookie from Rennselear County

[bluemountainlaker]

second one is deff a brooky

[Reel Force]

Lance that was a good one, and tuff !

[outdoorsman]

first time I've ever heard that, its an awesome way to tell the difference.  thank you

You're welcome!  I came up with it after fishing for brookies and splake routinely during the last couple of years.  I'm not sure if it is 100% positive, but it has been so far for me.  Much better than the "blue halo" trait for identification, which I have found to be relatively unreliable (maybe 70-75%).  Forked vs. square tails can be tricky, too.

[Reel Force]

this is from a post a while back ...

   
Re: Splake Or Laker
« Reply #6 on: Aug 23, 2010, 02:45 AM »    Reply with quote Modify Remove
Now I got some experience in this matter - the weekend we had the "Big Blown Down" in the Adirondacks, I was fishing a Pond  - trolling a lake clear wobbler on 4lb. test when something slammed it , well a 15 mins. later I landed a 27 1/2 in - 9lb 10oz. Splake - or so I thought. Brought it to the taxidermist - said it was a Laker - ( argument ) - contacted DEC - said the pond was killed off in 1957 and stocked w/ Splake,Browns,Landlocks, and Bows. Upon further investigation found out the real only way to tell them apart is to cut them open - one of the internal organs has sorta fingers on it - now here's where I forget - "x" amount to "x" amount ( say 86-104 ) is a Laker - and "x" amount to "x" amount (104-180) is a Splake...

just found this ,,,

Many variations regarding out ward ecstatic can be found however it is the internal number of "pyloric caeca" in the intestinal tract that shows the distinction from the Splake and the Laker.

and this...

There is no
definate way to identify between splake and other either lake trout or
brook trout in the field. Fisheries staff usually go by the stocking
history. The only real way to distinquish between them is internally.
The differ in the number of pyloric caeca (appendages of the stomach). I
hope this is some help to you...

ok here ya go ....

Dead specimens can be positively identified by the number of pyloric caeca, the wormlike appendages on the intestinal tract right after the stomach. The brook trout, which is the smaller parent, has only 23 to 55 (usually less than 50) pyloric caeca, whereas the intermediate-size hybrid has 65 to 85, and the lake trout, the larger parent, has 93 to 208 (usually 120 to 180) pyloric caeca.

http://iweb.tntech.edu/mcaprio/fish_left_caeca_L.jpg

original post :

http://www.myfishfinder.com/fishing_forum/index.php?topic=39513.0

I'll snap a pic of the fish tomorrow and tell me what ya think.

[outdoorsman]

While I do agree that the number of pyloric caeca is currently the only 100% identification method, I refuse to believe that there is no way to differentiate them in the field.  More accurately, a 100% positive method has yet to be published; there may be a way, just nobody has done a study that has found one yet. 

[Rickl1968]

Hey guys

I know a guy here in town, that made a site all about Speckled trout....He's a fanatic!

How to tell the difference between Splake and Specks.

" Because of their intermediate nature, many anglers many not realize they have caught a hybrid trout unless they know what to look for. The spots are usually pinkish, although many fish have little or no colour, and the tail is generally intermediate between the deeply forked tail of the lake trout and the square tail of the brook trout. The only positive way to tell is to open up the fish and examine the worm-like projections on the front part of the stomach. These are called pyloric caeca and function in digestion. Lake trout have 100 – 190 of them and brook trout have 20 – 50, and splake usually have 70 – 80. "


Taken from a buddies site (Al Muir in Thunder Bay) a site he made himself.

Here is the link:   http://members.shaw.ca/amuir/aboutme.html