Q.
Will stocked landlocked salmon co-exist with
trout? Or will the salmon eat all the trout…
keeping the numbers of second generation stocked
rainbow and browns from ever getting started?
A.
I talked with Dr. Dave Courtemanch, a biologist
in Maine, to get answers for your questions; I
have had no experience with landlocked salmon.
He said that brook trout and landlocked salmon
co-exist well because the salmon inhabit the d
eepwater regions feeding on smelt, whereas the
brook trout are found in the littoral regions
feeding on insects. However, brown trout and
landlocked salmon do not co-exist; the brown
trout outcompete the salmon for food resources.
He didn’t have any information about how rainbows
and salmon get along. He also said that the Maine
fisheries people introduced salmon into some lakes
having populations of blueback trout (actually a char),
and that the salmon introduction resulted in the
extinction of the bluebacks.
If you have a question, please feel free to contact me.
~ C. E. (Bert) Cushing, aka Streamdoctor
105 W. Cherokee Dr.
Estes Park, CO 80517
Phone: 970-577-1584
Email: streamdoctor@aol.com
The ‘Stream Doctor’ is a retired professional stream ecologist and
author, now living in the West and spending way too much time
fly-fishing. You are invited to submit questions relating to
anything stream related directly to him for use in this Q & A Feature
at streamdoctor@aol.com.
Originally published April 26th, 2004 on Fly Anglers Online by Robert Younghanz.