Thames Trout - do they still exist ?

[MGs]

Similar to Santiago, my dad has had a couple of sea trout in the last couple of years. He fishes the same or similar areas as Santiago. This must indicate that at some stage there are browns migrating to sea. He has caught one brown from the Thames but that was nearly 50 years ago!

[MHC]

I would say that if the Thames can support larger pike and perch there would be enough fodder for trout to reach similar proportions. As far as stocked salmon not having the same survival instinct fear of predators etc. depends. Keep on watering down the gene pool as with farmed salmon for the table then that would be true, goofy and flabby salmon without the same survival qualities as wild. On the other hand collect broodstock from natal rivers rear the young, bring them on as parr to release them in the same rivers and there is little reason for them not to be as fit as their parents for that river.

For Thames salmon there are no parents to glean the eggs from so I would have even thought that any first generation salmon would stand a good chance. What the actual reasom for their lack of success in the Thames is more complex, compare the rivers of Scotland and Ireland to the Thames and we may come closer to the truth. Also I am sure the cost of trying to re introduce them was a factor. I seem to remember that It was a good PR excercise at the time of the 'cleaner Thames'.

Stocked and reintroduced salmon of various species have been a great success in other parts of the world.

[Olly]

The Tyne has been a huge success as far as salmon rearing is concerned - I understand it was down to 1 man?

[Paul D]

I've had two trout from the Thames and one from the Wey. There is a topic on here somewhere and I believe I posted some pictures.

[Santiago]

This is the last mystery Thames trout that I caught a few years ago. A good friend of mine who is an avid game angler reckons it's a sea trout. And the colouration is nothing like the other brown trout I've seen caught from the Thames. If salmon can make it up the Thames then why not sea trout? The other trout I caught years ago was about the same size and same silvery colouration. I've also caught sea trout from the Hampshire Avon and they looked very similar!

Sadly the colouration on the photo does not show how dark and silvery it really was!

[Luga00]

I've had countless trout from the Wey.

Sadly, none on the fly - usually long trotting.

[MHC]

Regarding: ' if salmon can make it up the river why can't sea trout'. I suppose the answer is that sea trout are not very good leapers, sea trout being brown trout after all, and not a separate species, which have migrated to the sea (or large inland water -thinking Great Lakes) and returned to rivers.

Not all brown trout are born equal in colouration terms and that can change depending on the time of year.

In those Victorian days of Hobbs great trout catches, none were mentioned to be sea trout in his book, Trout of the Thames, quite the opposite as often he mentioned the areas where known large trout lived. One reason that some browns migrate to the sea is the lack of food in their native rivers, I would not have thought that any Thames trout would need to migrate for that reason. There are three photos of trout in his book , one is a very spotty large young trout, another male 8 lb 'er with dark spots, the last is the heaviest of the 1945 season at almost 9lbs which looks to have a decidedly silver appearance and very small spots, almost like a rainbow trout.

[Santiago]

MHC the description of the last trout sounds like the two I caught. So I'll quite happily call them Thames trout!

[Lovatt]

An old post but interesting so thought I would comment and add just a little info, a sea trout was caught in the seacourt stream in Oxford during the 1970's I think it was 1976 by a London angler, the fish in question weighed 6Lb and was caught using 3Lb line float fished maggots while fishing for Roach.

The differences between Brown trout and Sea trout are, the eye on a Sea trout is set nearer its nose and the edge of a Brown trouts eye is in line with the scissors of it mouth, Brown trout have black and red spots while Sea trout are spotty and are a silvery blue color Brown trout have a slightly forked tail and Sea trout have squared tail, no doubt they are in there.

Regards Trefor

[Moley]

They do still exist in the Thames but in nothing like the numbers of yore, because they are no longer stocked.

The silvery look to a lot of trout, so I am led to believe, is due to the Loch Leven strain in the gene pool.

Steve Roberts, A Thames Professional, still has days out after the fabled Thames Trout which he will be happy to cater to. Probably best to talk to Steve via the internet/Facebook for more information.

I myself have had some minor success with these elusive fish and will give a largish hint by saying think Perch. The areas where both species lurk are not dissimilar and you will not go too far wrong.

Live bait-fish seem to work best too!

Hope this has helped, if only a little.