Post by: ctwiggs1 on April 11, 2023, 12:46:18 PM
Post by: Pathfinder101 on April 11, 2023, 12:52:10 PM
Post by: Southpole on April 11, 2023, 12:58:47 PM
Post by: BlackRiverTaxidermy on April 11, 2023, 01:02:19 PM
Post by: ctwiggs1 on April 11, 2023, 01:08:11 PM
Post by: buckfvr on April 11, 2023, 01:09:55 PM
Post by: nwwanderer on April 11, 2023, 01:13:06 PM
Post by: Pathfinder101 on April 11, 2023, 01:15:01 PM
Yikes, look at all the monsters in the background,
:yeah: :yike:
Post by: bobcat on April 11, 2023, 01:20:36 PM
Post by: baldopepper on April 11, 2023, 01:28:57 PM
What the heck do you guys do t2510&osVersiono these things to make them palatable? I now live 3 minutes from a lake that gets stocked and figure it's borderline abuse if I don't take my kids out.... But I what the heck do you do with a grey fleshed rainbow? Anybody find "the recipe" that takes them from dog food to decent?freeze them up and use later for halibut/lingcod bait then eat the halibut and lings. LOL
Post by: Angry Perch on April 11, 2023, 01:29:17 PM
We have a man-made pond on our place that was stocked years ago my kiddos have a blast catching triploid trout out of there. We release most of them but keep a few lunkers (pic) every now and then and they’re awesome eating. We smoke most of them and bbq a few with merely Johnnys and butter.
I'm currently identifying as an orphan in desperate need of a loving family with a trout pond!
Post by: ctwiggs1 on April 11, 2023, 01:35:50 PM
What the heck do you guys do t2510&osVersiono these things to make them palatable? I now live 3 minutes from a lake that gets stocked and figure it's borderline abuse if I don't take my kids out.... But I what the heck do you do with a grey fleshed rainbow? Anybody find "the recipe" that takes them from dog food to decent?freeze them up and use later for halibut/lingcod bait then eat the halibut and lings. LOL
LOL, I wish. I gave up on my saltwater boat dreams the second I put an offer on the farm.
Post by: ghosthunter on April 11, 2023, 03:19:58 PM
Post by: dilleytech on April 11, 2023, 03:23:33 PM
Post by: Twispriver on April 11, 2023, 03:35:38 PM
Post by: metlhead on April 11, 2023, 08:12:58 PM
Post by: Bullkllr on April 11, 2023, 08:33:26 PM
Do some hatcheries put out better product? Last season I switched to a different lake. The trout coming out of there were amazing and cut deep red. Fillet, brown sugar rub, smoke.
I have heard rumors that some hatcheries are switching to a new, but more expensive, feed that produces more colored and better quality meat.
In my experience meat quality of trout improves directly in proportion with time spent in the lake; it varies some with water temp and quality in individual lakes as well. Fry-planted fish are usually orange-meated and good quality. Carry-over fish are always better quality than recent plants. You can even see the meat quality and color changing as the season goes on; by June a trout planted in March will have picked up a bit of meat color and have firmer and tastier flesh than it would out of the truck. People have bad experiences and conclude that any planted trout is bad and that's seriously not the case. I agree with most that the white-meated buggers straight out of the hatchery are mediocre at best :twocents:
Post by: metlhead on April 11, 2023, 09:17:17 PM
Post by: Bullkllr on April 12, 2023, 07:03:54 AM
Here's some before and afters of those planters I found.
Good ones for sure!
Are you certain those were newly planted fish?
Reason I ask is that meat looks exactly like the meat from fry-planted fish or trout that have otherwise been in the lake for a considerable length of time.
Post by: metlhead on April 12, 2023, 07:51:01 AM
Post by: ctwiggs1 on April 12, 2023, 08:01:44 AM
Post by: Stein on April 12, 2023, 09:57:55 AM
If I recall correctly, many farmers add dye to Atlantic salmon so they'll look good at the fish counter. I wonder if the trout are getting the same thing.
Probably some shrimp, krill or something in the lake they were feeding on. I don't think the run of the mill trout chow has the dye that some salmon chow has.
Post by: nwwanderer on April 12, 2023, 10:24:52 AM
Post by: Fletch on April 13, 2023, 04:06:28 PM
Post by: Mtnwalker on April 13, 2023, 04:27:30 PM
If I recall correctly, many farmers add dye to Atlantic salmon so they'll look good at the fish counter. I wonder if the trout are getting the same thing.
Probably some shrimp, krill or something in the lake they were feeding on. I don't think the run of the mill trout chow has the dye that some salmon chow has.
It's not dye, it is natural color from a krill based feed that some hatcheries are starting to use. A close buddy of mine runs a hatchery on the coast and this is what they've switched to in the last 5 years. His trout are incredibly healthy looking for hatchery fish.
Post by: metlhead on April 13, 2023, 07:33:15 PM
Post by: Skillet on April 13, 2023, 08:28:16 PM
If I recall correctly, many farmers add dye to Atlantic salmon so they'll look good at the fish counter. I wonder if the trout are getting the same thing.
Probably some shrimp, krill or something in the lake they were feeding on. I don't think the run of the mill trout chow has the dye that some salmon chow has.
It's not dye, it is natural color from a krill based feed that some hatcheries are starting to use. A close buddy of mine runs a hatchery on the coast and this is what they've switched to in the last 5 years. His trout are incredibly healthy looking for hatchery fish.
It's a chemical called astaxanthin that is added to salmon and trout feed to turn their flesh a reddish hue. While it is true that it's not a dye, calling it "natural" is a stretch. It does occur naturally, but the vast majority of it used in fish feed is synthesized in industrial chemical labs.
There is an active debate about the bioactivity of synthesized astaxanthin, enough so that fish farms that use any form of it are forced to label the packaging with "color added." Hatcheries, however, would be hard pressed to brand every planter trout with the same warning, so just be aware it could be in there.
Post by: Mtnwalker on April 13, 2023, 10:14:06 PM
If I recall correctly, many farmers add dye to Atlantic salmon so they'll look good at the fish counter. I wonder if the trout are getting the same thing.
Probably some shrimp, krill or something in the lake they were feeding on. I don't think the run of the mill trout chow has the dye that some salmon chow has.
It's not dye, it is natural color from a krill based feed that some hatcheries are starting to use. A close buddy of mine runs a hatchery on the coast and this is what they've switched to in the last 5 years. His trout are incredibly healthy looking for hatchery fish.
It's a chemical called astaxanthin that is added to salmon and trout feed to turn their flesh a reddish hue. While it is true that it's not a dye, calling it "natural" is a stretch. It does occur naturally, but the vast majority of it used in fish feed is synthesized in industrial chemical labs.
There is an active debate about the bioactivity of synthesized astaxanthin, enough so that fish farms that use any form of it are forced to label the packaging with "color added." Hatcheries, however, would be hard pressed to brand every planter trout with the same warning, so just be aware it could be in there.
That’s interesting info, I’ll have to ask him about that. Would that affect their overall health and appearance as well? His fish definitely appear healthier, fatter and much brighter overall on the new feed. The color of the meat isn’t the only difference, they do eat better too. Maybe a combo of nutritional improvement with that added in?
Post by: Skillet on April 13, 2023, 11:27:29 PM
Post by: rasbo2 on April 15, 2023, 05:45:08 AM