lake trout flesh color

[lavarock64]

I was watching a fishing show that was filmed in Canada. The guide caught 2 types of lake trout. One had the coloration of most of the fish we catch from Cayuga, the other had a orange colored fins with strong white stripes on the leading edge. The guide remarked at the better taste and orange flesh of the orange finned lake trout. Over the year's I have caught a few lakers with a prononced orange flesh from Cayuga. Does anyone know if there are different strains of lakers in Cayuga?

Thanks Lavarock

[ray koziatek]

ive been told its from the food source in the fingerlakes in seneca there are wht and pink flesh rainbows cant say i can taste a diff and i c ant find where seneca has been stocked in recent history with rainbows.

[mike14837]

keuka lake has the samething, ive caught some lakers that look the same but when you clean them they have a pink meat.

[kremer01]

yep those seneca lakers with nice orange flesh are yummy!

[areyounuts]

I have found about 1 LT out of 20 will be more colored in the Finger Lakes.

I have fished Sabago Lake in southern Maine and found the reverse, that is, they are mostly colored flesh. The flesh seems firmer when cooked and a more meaty flavor. The local fishermen didn't seem to know why.

The lake has a LT problem - too many - so say the State. LT limit is 5 with a reduced size of 15 in. The officals are attempting to protect the Landlock fishery. I believe that Sabago is the origin of the finger lakes landlock salmon.

[Gill-T]

I believe it is mostly diet related. Fish that feed on mysis shrimp, crayfish, aquatic invertebrates etc. will have more of a pink/orange flesh due to the higher levels of keratin in the food (exoskeleton). More Pelagic fish that suspend and feed on alewives are going to be more white in flesh color. West Coast ocean fish are REALLY orange because of the Keratin in Krill, shrimp etc. I don't know how the spiny water flea is effecting flesh color up the food chain, however, I have noticed the flesh of steelhead out of Erie and Ontario are more often orange these days.

[RiverEco]

I've noticed the same thing with Seneca Lakers. I wonder what the time frame is-does it take years of a particular diet to change a fish's color, or is it seasonal? Can a an individual fish be white in say the summer months when it is pelagic, while orange in the winter if it happens to move in shallow and feed on crustaceans? Just thinking out load...

Re: Spiny Water Flea - The spiny, long 'tail' of this plankton is actually a defense against predation: predators have a difficult time swallowing the crustacean. It's ability to avoid predation in part helps this species outcompete other, native, plankton species. However, maybe planktivorous fish -most salmonids when they are larval or fry- can/are adapting and have found a way to eat the critters...?

[Gill-T]

I am sure this invasive species is contributing to the greater pink/orange colored flesh. Bloody Red Mysis shrimp