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Lake Trout
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| Lake Trout ©
H. Berthoule/Jacana/Photo Researchers, Inc. Courtesy of
eNature |
Species
description provided by eNature
Description
To 4'2" (1.3 m); 102 lbs (46.3 kg). Elongate, slightly compressed;
dark olive to gray-green above, blue-gray to greenish-bronze below;
creamy spots on head, body, adipose fin, and median fins; leading
edges of pectoral, pelvic, and anal fins reddish-orange with narrow,
whitish margin. Mouth terminal, extends beyond eye; teeth on vomer.
Adipose fin present; caudal peduncle slender; caudal fin deeply
forked. Scales small, 175-200 in lateral series.
Habitat
Deep, cold waters of lakes; rivers in far north.
Range
Alaska; Canada, Great Lakes, Maine south to New York, west to E.
Minnesota; introduced outside native range.
Discussion
The lake trout is the largest trout native to North America. It
is highly esteemed as food and is sought by anglers. A large commercial
fishery for lake trout in the Great Lakes was decimated by pollution
and by Sea Lampreys, after the rapid expansion of their population
in the 1940s. Lake trout feed on a wide range of aquatic organisms.
