Golden Trout

[WVDrifter]

[url "http://www.fish.state.pa.us/images/pages/qa/fish/trout_golden.htm"]http://www.fish.state.pa.us/...ish/trout_golden.htm[/url]

These are heavily stocked in WV and they originated in a hatchery here from a naturally occuring genetic mutation of rainbow, which was then selectively bred. I don't care for them. I don't think they fight even as well as typical stockers.

The records in WV for the golden rainbow are considerably below the record for rainbow:

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[left]Golden Rainbow
[left]1998 26.4 9.31 Brushy Fork Lake Danny Crider
[left]1987 27.5 8.63 Stonecoal Lake Gerald Estep
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[left]Rainbow
[left]2005 30.5 15.65 Pond - M[/size][/font][/size][/font][font "MyriadPro-LightIt"][size 1][font "MyriadPro-LightIt"][size 1]onroe Co. [/size][/font][/size][/font][font "MyriadPro-Regular"][size 1][font "MyriadPro-Regular"][size 1]Aaron Propps
[left]1993 31.7 11.74 Stonecoal Lake John P. Arnett
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[left]I'm not a scientist but I'd guess the genetics are such they can't quite grow as big as non-deformed ones. Of course, bows get a lot larger some places than they do in WV, so I assume the goldens could get bigger in more fertile waters but probably not as big as the rainbows in those waters. Of course, there is a reason they are exceedingly rare naturally. Being bright and visible is not a good thing in terms of natural selection for prey
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