White Tipped Fins

[Dylan Cluver]

I was watching a fishing program and they were fishing out west somewhere. The guys boated a rainbow and the guy said, "see the white tips on the fins, that means he is a wild fish not a hatchery raised fish," so I was wondering if any of you old timers knew if this was true or not.

[laker67]

I have seen some pretty wild things, but never a wild trout.

[Brian K. Shaffer]

laker - check some of the the bows you catch... see if they have clipped fins. Larger /older fish do.

White fins are common on the tailwaters in Arkansas... but you see a few in Taney.

Whether they are " wild " trout or not in Taney only applies to is it a strain from the McCloud bows in Crane. A mix at the hatchery.

[Gavin]

Not true...a hatchery trout will regrow its fins and look just like a streamborn fish if it survives long enough.

[fishinwrench]

Ive caught fish with white tipped fins, and orange tipped fins in the Niangua. I used to think that was an indicator of a stream bred fish.....but it isn't.

Sure is a pretty touch of extra bling on them though.

[Brian K. Shaffer]

Hey Gavin - I wonder sometimes to the validity of the clipped fin... whether it grows back.

But after seeing some (lets say ten of thousands) of small fish brought to hand beneath Shepard of the Hills Hatchery... kinda makes me wonder..... could they have been Neosho Hatchery fish ? Many fish I caught before and after the New Regs had one pectoral fin missing.

Phil might weigh in on that too.... if he finds the post. I'll mention it to him.

[Gavin]

The biologists do use fin clips as an indicator of when a fish was stocked. Usually adiopose, and the left or right pectoral fins when they stock and it varies by year class.. or Tail fin clips when doing sampling. ...and they reclip previosly clipped fins when sampling....

Not sure how the Feds do it....my only experience with clipping fins is on the Current, and the fins definetly do grow back...unless you clip really short...the biologists like that...and they said I was good with the scissors ;>)!

[Wayne SW/MO]

The tipped fins are from the Redband strains. They're been introduced all over and I'm not sure any 100% pure strains even exist anymore. There are populations that are very close however. The Deschutes river that I've fished a lot hasn't been stocked in decades and the strain there is probably close to pure.

You often hear people here say they caught a hatchery trout that was cut/bow becasue of some orange on the jaw, but that is also a trait of the Redband.

[Aeronikl]

I caught this little guy in a small, New Mexico mountain lake. I know they stock 'bows there. Notice the orange on the jaw. I always though it was a cut or a cut-bow, but didn't look like any others I caught in Colorado.

Wayne - do you think it's a Redband?

[Brian K. Shaffer]

It's a Rain-brown.

(totally joking.. I just think rain-brown is funny....after I heard someone say it on the stream)