The brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) is a small, brilliantly colored freshwater fish native to clear, cold streams and rivers in the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The state fish of New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, the brook trout is the only native trout in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.Brook trout are recognized by a dark green back covered with lighter worm-shaped markings. These markings, resembling the pattern created when the sun shines through rippled water, help to camouflage brook trout from predators such as larger fish and herons – and even fly fishers. Bluish sides are sprinkled with yellow spots and red spots surrounded by blue halos. The brook trout’s fins are starkly edged in white, which again is unique among other common trout.
These fish thrive in clear, silt-free, well-shaded freshwater streams with numerous pools and a substrate made of mixed gravel, cobble and sand. Brook trout are not tolerant of water temperatures higher than 75 degrees Fahrenheit, so they are rarely found in developed areas.
These opportunistic feeders are not picky eaters and will eat whatever they can find: aquatic insects, like mayflies, caddisflies and stone-flies; land insects that fall into the water, like ants and beetles; small crayfish; and even small fish and minnows, but only when they are easy to catch.
