Side by Side

Brown Trout Salmo trutta

Typical: 16–26 in, 2–10 lb

Key field mark: Red-orange spots with pale halos and a nearly spotless tail mark a brown trout; steelhead and the salmon carry black-only spots and a clearly spotted tail.

• Buttery-brown to golden body
• Both black AND red/orange spots, many ringed with pale halos
• Few or no spots on the squared tail
• Adipose fin often tinged orange
• Sparse spotting below the lateral line
• Thick, blunt head

Full Brown Trout guide — season, gear and rules →

Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush

Typical: 24–32 in, 5–15 lb

Quickest tell: A deeply forked tail with pale haloless spots on a dark body identifies lake trout; browns and steelhead have squared tails, and brown trout add red/orange haloed spots. (Worm-like vermiculations belong to brook trout, NOT lake trout.)

• Dark gray to gray-green body covered in pale cream spots
• Deeply forked tail (deepest fork of the region's salmonids)
• Pale spots without halos extend onto the forked tail
• White leading edge on the lower (pelvic, pectoral, anal) fins
• No pink stripe and no dark or red spots
• Spots may extend onto head, dorsal, and adipose

Full Lake Trout guide — season, gear and rules →

When Each Is Running July — current month highlighted

Where Brown Trout and Lake Trout Overlap

Both run in Great Lakes — that is where telling them apart actually matters.

← All fish species