A relaxing and exciting Saturday to you and yours,

We are back from vacation!! It was grand fun with family and friends, but it is a welcomed comfort to be back home. Whatever the adage and whenever returning, home is a very special place.

Today, let’s talk trout.

Trout are a family of fish closely related to the salmon or char, but different. Most trout live in freshwater lakes, rivers and streams. A few, who live near the coast, will spend a year or two at sea before returning to their freshwater homes to spawn. Baby trout are called troutlets, troutlings or fry.

In Colorado, there is only one native or indigenous trout, the cutthroat trout. To find these original trout, you have to seek out the high mountain streams where the introduced interlopers have not reached. In one stream, we caught a greenback cutthroat trout, which is the official state fish of Colorado. It was a gorgeous trout, with two slashes of bright orange beneath the lower jaw and bars of green-blue running along both sides. We carefully and quickly released this acclaimed fish back to the clear running waters of its home state.

Brown trout were imported from Europe. In 1883, these fish swam their way to Colorado where they are now one of the primary sports species. Reportedly difficult to catch, I hooked a big brown and it was one exhilarating experience. He’s still out there waiting for the next angler

Rainbow trout are native to the United States Pacific Coast. These attractive fish have traveled widely and can now be found in the waters of every continent except Antarctica. Rainbows were released into the Gunnison River in Colorado in 1888. The fisherman up the stream from me hooked the same rainbow twice on different flies before catching and releasing. Most trout fishing in Colorado is catch and release, so there should be plenty of fish when you visit.

Brook trout received their Colorado entry permits in 1872. I did not encounter this trout. They are reported to breed quickly and can displace other trout. The Brook is a native fish of eastern North America.

So there you have them: Cutthroat, Brown, Rainbow and Brook — the Trout of Colorado. As noted, only the Cutthroat is a Colorado native. Rainbows came from the west coast, Brooks came from the east coast, and the ancestors of that captivating Brown I encountered originally took a boat from Europe. I am sure there are a few other types, but I suspect these are the main players in the watery byways of our western states.

Trout fishing in America is a sport worth considering. I believe it was one of the most relaxing experiences of my life. The lift, stop and forward motion of the leisured and elegant cast is a therapeutic activity like no other, the scenery near the homes of these cold-water fishes is of such natural and plenteous beauty that it is often unnoticed until you stop in awe, and the fish themselves are elusive, mystifying, energetic and in their own way friendly — even if they may let you catch only a glance.

Enjoy your day and treasure the beauty around you,

Grandpa Jim