ok anybody know what these guys eat?(other than mosquitos.) what kind of plant life they hang with? And how to tell a male from a female ?

seems to me they eat little fish. generaly female is shorter than male but I don't reco this fish... Laurent

oh yeah they're supposed to be rainbow trout. sorry

they suppose to eat small fishes. trout are carnivor... Normaly the general shape should determine the gender.

ablc, Thanks for your help. Although I have spent alot of time in the Sierra Nevada Range in California, I know very little about trout as I don't generally fish while I'm up there. I did a google on rainbow trout in which confirmed what you said and I found some other interesting things which I'll share now. There are several subspecies in California alone and along with the brown trout, appear to be found world wide. They eat small fishes, mollusks, plankton, various types of flys - found a good "fly" to approximate (not copy.); basically they are bottom feeders, but oppertunistic. I also found out that they prefer 55-60 degrees f, live in excess of 5 years and are quite varied in coloration but have a red or pink stripe running lengthwise along the side. Unfortionately, I didn't find out which plants you might expect to see them near(besides plankton)? or what the differences in shape between the sexes are? thanks, - TJ (bikermouse)

Attached Link: http://www.troutlet.com/species/index.htm

you probably won't find most trout species near plants... they prefer open clear water. If you do another google search on 'rainbow trout habitat' you'll get a ton of hits with much the same info. (I included one link that seemed to have the most general information. As to determining sex I found this in a Q&A section of a fishing magazine... "The methods to distinguish between male and female trout are difficult to determine to the untrained eye. Again, the older the trout is and the closer to spawning season, the easier it is to determine between the sexes. In general, mature male trout will develop a kype (or a hooked snout on their lower jaw) male trout also tend to be more laterally compressed than female trout and during the spawning period may be brighter in coloration. Conversely, female trout tend to have a more rounded snout and body conformation. Of course the positive way to determine this would be as you did, to sacrifice the fish and examine for the presence of eggs or sperm."

I went Trout fishing with my family for many years as a boy. We caught Trout mostly in California but also Utah and Wyoming. (Rainbow and Brown) As regards habitat, we found them in huge lakes, small lakes, wide rapid rivers, and relatively shallow streams. Water temperatures ranged from about 33F (yes, that cold) to about 65F. Plants for an environment where Trout are found range broadly because of their wide distribution. I remember lots of redwood trees, lots of tall grasses at riverbanks. The Green River near Flaming Gorge Dam in Utah comes vividly to mind when I think of Rainbow Trout. It's too bad I didn't enjoy eating fish until after I stopped fishing, because the beautiful Rainbow Trout provided everyone else in my family with a lot of meals. Good luck with your rendering, bikermouse, and please show us what you come up with!

cooler and xoconostle, Thank you for the information this is exactily what I was looking for. It fills in the gaps sufficuently so that I can get something going on this. Since I found out that trout exist in Alaska, 33F or even cooler is probably not out of the question, but I'll bet they're freezing their booties off. bikermouse anticipates a question - Q: what is a bootie is and/or where it is located on a trout? A: I dunno. Thanks again, - TJ