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[Descriptions
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Rainbow trout
Oncorhynchus mykiss
Bill Byrne, MA
Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
Bill Byrne, MA
Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
Habitat requirements and life history:
The rainbow trout is an anadromous fish that is native of
the western North American continent from Alaska to extreme
northwestern Mexico. Virtually all rainbows caught in Massachusetts
are hatchery fish that provide a "put-and-take" fishery wherever
they are stocked, with the exception of a few designated "catch
and release" areas on selected coldwater streams. The rainbow
trout inhabits river, lakes and reservoirs and is frequently
stocked in ponds. It requires clean water where temperature
do not exceed 70 degrees Fahrenheit. (Sources:
Freshwater Fishes of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland,
& Delaware and Massachusetts Wildlife, No. 2, 2000, Special
Fishing Issue)
Total length:
hatchery stock 9 - 12 inches
Pollution tolerance (US EPA): Intolerant
Classification:
Fluvial specialist
Number of fish found during 1954 & 2001
Fish Surveys*
| Location |
No. of Fish 1954 |
No. of Fish 2001 |
| Assabet River |
6 |
16 |
| Great Brook |
2 |
|
| North Brook |
3 |
|
| Total |
11 |
16 |
*Sources:
Schlotterbeck, L.C. and W.A. Tompkins, 1954. "A Fisheries
Investigation of the Merrimack and Ipswich River Drainages."
Bureau of Wildlife Research and Management, Massachusetts Division
of Fisheries and Game.
DFW, 2001. Assabet Watershed Fish Survey. MA Department of Fisheries
and Wildlife, Westborough, MA.
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