Trout - (Lat. Salmo trutta fario, English Brown Trout, German Bachforelle) - salmon fish belonging to the Salmonidae family. 

The body is spindly. The back is lilac with dark stripes. The sides are greenish-yellow, dotted with spots of various colors. The belly is gray. The scales are small. Often, the color range of a trout depends on the conditions of the river in which it lives. Brown trout tend to be lighter in clear, clear waters, and darker in darker waters. 

Trout the size depends on the river where it lives. If the river is fast, deep and the feeding base is abundant, the trout can grow up to 90 centimeters in length (approximately 5-6 kilograms). It takes several years to reach such an impressive size (speckled trout grows approximately 10-15 centimeters per year and the growth process slows down over time).

Speckled trout is a valuable fish of the Salmonidae family. In small, clean cold-water streams, it is one of the dominant fish species and forms the nucleus of the community. In Lithuania, brown trout can be found in more than 180 rivers and streams. The most abundant trout populations can be found: Nemunas (20 tributaries), Neries (17), Žeimenas (11), Merkis (26), Minijos (12), Veiviržo (11), Dubysa (9), Venta (6), Bartuva (5) and Verknė ( 3) in swimming pools.

It is a territorial, sedentary freshwater fish. It lives in clean, flowing, oxygen-rich rivers, whose water is always cold. The most suitable water temperature for trout is up to 16 C°.

How trout spawn

From September, brown trout begin to sail and rise to the upper reaches of the river. There, looking for seeds, gravel and rapid sections of the river to dig out the nest and bury the eggs. The maximum length of a trout spawning nest is up to 1 meter, width up to 80 cm. Under favorable conditions, it develops for about 3 months. Despite the great indirect concern for their offspring, trout are characterized by high mortality in the first year of life, which is usually about 90 %. However, in subsequent years it decreases and reaches 40 - 60%. For these reasons, it is advisable and highly recommended not to wade through the pebbly stretches of the river until March, in order not to crush the trout eggs and destroy the nests.

What does it eat?

The main food is insects and their larvae. It feeds on insects, amphibians, grasshoppers, dragonflies, flies and beetles that have fallen from trees or are flying near water. To catch prey, the fish jumps out of the water and swallows the victim. In the spring, they approach the shore and feed on worms and other amphibians washed out of the soil by the rain. Juveniles prefer small aquatic organisms or zooplankton.

When the brown trout reaches maturity, it becomes a real predator and switches to fish. Hunts tadpoles and other small fish. They are very fond of caviar and often eat it. Large predators are able to swallow small mammals that find themselves in the water.

Speckled trout for food

Trout is a delicacy recognized by gourmets. Its meat is soft, tasty and healthy. This is a suitable fish for frying. Fish is salted at home, smoking, drying, is being baked, steamed, boiled. Sushi, tartar, sashimi and various sandwiches are made from fish. Fish and other fish soups are very tasty.

The meat contains 80% of protein, 20% of fat and no carbohydrates. That is why fish is considered dietary. In the trout also contains magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, selenium, zinc, retinol and ascorbic acid. Fish meat lowers cholesterol, stimulates brain activity and optimizes human metabolism.