Trout are species that belong in the salmonid family. They are closely related to salmon and char. They are characterized by small dark spots over a light coloured body. In British Columbia, three species of trout can be found. They are rainbow trout, coastal cutthroat trout and westslope cutthroat trout.
Trout are found in lakes and rivers, but some species, such as coastal cutthroat trout, can also be anadromous (travelling to the ocean). In lakes, trout feed on insects and leeches. Some rainbow trout, known as gerrard rainbow trout, feed on kokanee so they are able to grow very big. In rivers, they also feed on insects at both the nymph and terrestrial stages. In coastal rivers, anadromous trout feed on insects, sculpins, sticklebacks, leeches, salmon eggs and juvenile salmon. Rainbow trout are generally between 1 and 8lb, but some (gerrard rainbow trout) can reach 20lb. Coastal and westslope cutthroat trout are between 1 and 4lb.
Brown trout, which is not native in North America, are found in the Cowichan watershed on Vancouver Island.