Ohrid trout vs Brown trout

[bsrkoacar]

I've tried researching Ohrid vs Brown trout with little results. I notice that wyoming fishing records considers these 2 different types of fish however I'm not sure if if be able to tell the difference if I caught them. Any tips to distinguish the 2? I spend a lot of time on pathfinder and alcova so it would be cool if I could ID them.
Thanks

[WGFDcasper]

Ohrid Trout (Salmo letnica) are a separate species from Brown Trout (Salmo trutta).  Ohrid Trout are native to Lake Ohrid in what used to be Yugoslavia.  They were brought to the US in the 60's and Wyoming got some eggs in 1970.  An Ohrid Brood stock was developed at that time.  I do not know everywhere they were stocked in the state, but in the Casper Region, they were stocked in Pathfinder, Alcova and Goldeneye.  They could be distinguished from Browns by much larger and fewer spots, and they had more of a pale greenish/gray sides than the typical Brown.  The brood stock was discontinued by the early 1980's apparently due to poor egg quality and a lack of interest in stocking them from regional fish managers.  I dug through our old files and was able to find some information that showed they grew much slower than Brown Trout, and were not reproducing in the large reservoirs as was hoped.  While we have not had pure Ohrid Trout in the state in more than 30 years, it is possible that they hybridized with Brown Trout in places and some Ohrid genes may be present in existing Brown Trout populations in the North Platte drainage. 

[POk3s]

Now that's a proper answer! Hahaha! Obviously much more informed than what I was going to write (had the reply box open but hadn't got to it for a couple hours). I had seen "ohrid trout" on the Wyoming records listings but had never thought to look up what they actually were. From the little I read it mentioned that "bigger fins" were another sign of an ohrid.

[bsrkoacar]

Thanks!

[Doz601]

From what I understand and hearthrough the vine,'they can still be found below the pathfinder damn and alcova,just the stories I've heard, can't confirm or deny

[Super-ice-bird]

Ohrid Trout (Salmo letnica) are a separate species from Brown Trout (Salmo trutta).  Ohrid Trout are native to Lake Ohrid in what used to be Yugoslavia.  They were brought to the US in the 60's and Wyoming got some eggs in 1970.  An Ohrid Brood stock was developed at that time.  I do not know everywhere they were stocked in the state, but in the Casper Region, they were stocked in Pathfinder, Alcova and Goldeneye.  They could be distinguished from Browns by much larger and fewer spots, and they had more of a pale greenish/gray sides than the typical Brown.  The brood stock was discontinued by the early 1980's apparently due to poor egg quality and a lack of interest in stocking them from regional fish managers.  I dug through our old files and was able to find some information that showed they grew much slower than Brown Trout, and were not reproducing in the large reservoirs as was hoped.  While we have not had pure Ohrid Trout in the state in more than 30 years, it is possible that they hybridized with Brown Trout in places and some Ohrid genes may be present in existing Brown Trout populations in the North Platte drainage.

Would it be possible to get a picture posted of a actual, genuine ohrid trout? I would like to be able to see what one looks like.
Thanks

[rbmchief]

Would it be possible to get a picture posted of a actual, genuine ohrid trout? I would like to be able to see what one looks like.
Thanks

Wouldnt it be easier to just google it?

[Chadfish]

Wish I could find the picture, but a friend of a friend caught one below Pathfinder a couple of years ago.  It was almost 30"

[Special]

If I'm correct that 17lber that came out of the Alcovas tough man a couple years back was a Ohrid brown. Big sucker very cool looking fish. Silver with big spots.

[Super-ice-bird]

Wouldnt it be easier to just google it?

I did google it, but most of the pics were of fish that just looked like German browns. I was just hoping for maybe an archived pic from the game and fish.

[WGFDcasper]

I have some pictures of pure Ohrid's that came from Pathfinder in the 80's.  They are old polaroid's so I don't know how well they will scan.  If I get a chance today I will try to scan and post.

[Super-ice-bird]

I have some pictures of pure Ohrid's that came from Pathfinder in the 80's.  They are old polaroid's so I don't know how well they will scan.  If I get a chance today I will try to scan and post.

Thanks! I have been curious for a long time to see a picture of one.

[Doz601]

I google searched the species and the native fish from across the pond look more closley related to a rainbow with fewer brighter spots.

[WGFDcasper]

[WGFDcasper]

Those are pictures from our files of two different pure Ohrid Trout.  I apologize for the picture quality but they were polaroids from 1984 that I took pictures of with my phone (for those of you born after 1990...ask your parents what a polaroid is!).  As you can see the biggest difference between Ohrid and Brown Trout are the size and pattern of spotting.  Ohrid's have fewer and larger spots...some as large as a dime.  They also tend to be irregular shaped.  We do see Browns around here with silver sides and few large spots, but according to Al Conder, our retired fish supervisor who was around to see actual Ohrid's, the Ohrid-like Browns we see don't have big enough or irregular enough spotting to make him believe they are pure Ohrids.

[Matt R.]

Very cool! Thanks  for sharing those.

I've seen pictures of very similar looking browns from desmet .
Probably  just browns. But had the very large and few spots as you pointed out.

[WYIfish]

Thank you for the pictures.   You can tell they are a trout, and of a different nature. Sort of a beefy shape too.

[Super-ice-bird]

Thanks for posting those pictures! I’ve caught a lot of browns out of pathfinder, but none of them have looked like that. Although I have noticed that the browns that come out of pathfinder do look different than other brown trout that I see from other lakes and streams.

[Special]

Hats off.. very cool

[TiggerTamer]

I was able to catch a few Ohrids from Pathfinder in the mid 1980's. Ohrids are either tan or silver with large red and black spots. The fins are a lot larger than a brown trout and males get an almost black belly unlike a regular browns yellow or orange belly. Ohrid males develop a less pronounced hooked jaw compared to a brown trout, also Ohrids spawned under the ice in mid February or early March unlike a browns late October, November spawn so it is unlikely they would cross-breed. I have an excellent Ohrid trout mount hanging in Rocky Mountain Sports in Riverton. There is also a photo of a Pathfinder brown along side an Ohrid in LipRippers baitshop in Shoshoni.

[tparish]

 Boysen lake had some of the Yugoslavian browns in it a few years back. Probably the same fish. They all looked like most brown trout though the spot seemed bigger. They also seemed to pack on weight really fast.

[TiggerTamer]

To the best of my knowledge Ohrids or as some people called them Yugoslavian browns were stocked in Pathfinder, Goldeneye, Louis Lake, and Lower Medicine Lodge and possibly a reservoir near Kemmerer. Supposedly an Ohrid is still rarely caught in Lower Medicine Lodge Lake. I'm unfamiliar with any stockings in Boysen. They were also stocked in Minnesota, Tennesee, and Colorado.

[TiggerTamer]

Here is a photo of an Ohrid trout next to a brown trout we caught during an old Pathfinder ice fishing derby,

[Special]

Here is a photo of an Ohrid trout next to a brown trout we caught during an old Pathfinder ice fishing derby,

Thank you very cool

[bsrkoacar]

Caught this 26 inch brown at pathfinder today. If I didn't know better I would say it has ohrid genetics. Very different when compared to this brown I also caught today. The "ohrid" also has that same shape as the fish game and fish posted.  Fewer bigger spots


Lots of spots

[TiggerTamer]

Your upper photo looks like a lake run brown trout, the lower looks like a brown that has spent some time in a river environment.  All the Ohrids I've seen and caught had large red spots and the black spots are larger and more irregular in shape than a brown trouts.