Golden Rainbows

[brownieman]

They are a very predator friendly fish.

They appear to be a little rough...different though..

later on

[fishinwrench]

They are a very predator friendly fish.

They appear to be a little rough...different though..

later on

They kinda remind me of that 9 point streamer you throw. Color and size are pretty close.

[Buzz]

I'm not sure how big the Golden/Palomino trout will get, but the true Golden Rainbow does get just as big as a regular rainbow. From what I've read and been told they are a much easier target for Herons and Eagles. The one I caught was just under 8 pounds and the state of Missouri ( at the time ) didn't have any place for it in their record books.

[Paola Cat]

I was watching Fly Rod Chronicles ..... a couple of weeks ago. On the show was the manager from what I expect is the same WV hatchery ..... they truely are mutant fish .... selectively "made" for the coloration. PC

[Quillback]

Can they spawn or are they sterile? If they can reproduce it could create a problem, they might take over our cold water fisheries. Imagine the consequences, guides will be out of business because their clients will say, "Who needs a guide, I can see the darn things swimming around the river." Lodges and docks will fold as no one will fish for these mutants as they are so easy to catch that they won't provide enough of a challenge to veteran fishermen. This could be a bad situation, I suggest that anytime anyone catches one of these yellow trout, that you reserve a place for it in your frying pan.

[bigdub]

That is a beautiful fish, I had no idea they even existed! Thanks for posting!

[Don Allenbaugh]

They were stocked by Spring River hatchery. It was a one time buy by the AGFC from a private hatchery in West Virginia. Apparently that hatchery had one of them and all the rest are from that original one. According to the fish biologist at Mountain Home they bought these trout to supplement the regular stocking to get more fish in the river. They believe that they lost a lot of fish due to the high water and wanted to stock more fish than they can get from their hatchery.

You can see them from quite a distance with their bright color but they are really pretty spooky already. I tried yesterday to get a few that were right below my place. Caught a lot of rainbows but the goldens would not bite.

The AGFC is going to make a press announcement on the release sometime in the next couple of days. I will post their release.

[Zack Hoyt]

From Steve Dally, Mtn River Newsletter

So I emailed AGFC Trout Biologist Jeff Williams to get the lowdown.

In order to make up for a shortage of trout resulting from this and last year’s high water, some rainbow trout were purchased form a private hatchery in Missouri. Mixed in with the normally colored rainbow trout were some of the golden color variation. These fish have been stocked on the White River so far between Bull Shoals Dam and Buffalo City.

A small number have also been stocked in the Little Missouri River below Narrows Dam. All told there were probably less than 1,000 of these golden rainbow trout. I have already received some calls regarding these fish so I wanted to get more information out to you.

These golden rainbow trout are rainbow trout and are not a different species…just a color variation. Their flesh is similar in appearance to that of a normally colored rainbow trout and is safe to eat. They are not albinos nor should they be confused with the golden trout (Oncorhynchus aguabonita) native to a few drainages in California. Some folks refer to them as palomino trout, although this is not completely accurate.

As far as regulations are concerned, since they are truly rainbow trout they will fall within the regulations for that species.

Jeff

[Don Allenbaugh]

Thanks Zack. I just got on and had copied that from the Mountain Home Journal and was about to post it.

[Ham]

I got an afternoon fishing trip in last Tuesday with a buddy throwing Zig Jigs on the White. We caught three of the creamsicle trout. Kinda crazy considering how few of that color variant were stocked overall.

I wonder if that color will darken over time (if any survive) to a more muted version.