Splake?

[Chanimal]

I got this guy today and it looks like a Splake but I’m not sure? I’ve never caught a splake before.
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[doggonefishin]

Tiger trout.

Nice fish[cool]
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[KJB]

Great fish
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[Chanimal]

[quote doggonefishin]Tiger trout.

Nice fish[cool][/quote]

He looks too dark and spotty to be a tiger to me. And there haven’t been tigers stocked in this area but they stock Splake regularly.
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[kblack1844]

Tigers normally have black spots on the tail and head because of the brown trout in them. I'd say spake.
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[doggonefishin]

Here is my reasoning.

1. The tail is square. Splake have a slight to moderate fork in the tail.

2. Tiger trout have vermiculations (the worm like pattern) over their entire body. I would submit that this fish also does. Look where he is holding the fish near the head. You can clearly see vermiculations there and I can argue the entire body features this.

Splake, on the other hand, only have vermiculation on the back and have overt spotting lower. These spots almost always feature a red center and are mostly round. On the the pictured fish I cannot see any round spots with a red center. If there were, that could change things.

3. Water turbidity can affect things some, but this fish looks quite yellow. A colorful splake would not be yellowish on the belly but would be red.

4. Looking at the head and tail coloration, I do agree they seem more splake like. To the catcher, Did the spots have any red in the center?

Here is a pic of 2 more typical splake I harvested a while back.
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[Coldfooter]

looks a bit more like the beast used to create Splake than a Splake
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[Chanimal]

Alright I’m starting to see it now there’s not much vermiculations on this guy but they’re still there. I’ve caught many many tigers and have never had one even close to this color so that’s why it threw me off so much! I’ve caught blue tigers up in the Unitas and golden green tigers down on the bolder but this guy truly was unique!
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