These are both wild browns from same area. The first photo the brown is pale with black spots, the second it has red spots and a lot more color. I rarely keep fish, but when I do I’ve noticed the brown trout with just black spots have had worse meat (white) whereas the ones with red spots and more color will have a pinkish meat that’s flaky and delicious.
Is that a thing? And if so, why?
Posted by chicken_nuggets_701
5 Comments
the darker ones are just older I believe , so more mature meat I guess
In aquarium fish, the colors are affected by their food. Reds and pinks are especially from higher levels of krill and crustaceans. In salmon and trout, hatchery fish have lighter meat from eating pellets. Wild caught fish have an orange/pink meat from eating krill, etc. So long story short – if they are both actually wild fish, the tastier/prettier one is chowing down on scuds, crayfish, etc.
Could be stockers vs wild
I don’t know what is stocked or not in your river, but you could be dealing with two different strains of brown trout. That doesn’t necessarily mean wild vs stocked but could. Differences in diet can also affect flesh color.
Trout coloration isn’t a static thing. That lighter fish could easily become darker to blend in with its surroundings and vice versa and I doubt that would have any affect on the taste / quality of the meat.