Brook trout are found mostly in cold water mountain streams of the mountains. Brook trout were once widely distributed but because of land-use, over-fishing, and competition with rainbow and brown trout, their range is now greatly reduced. Currently, brook trout are more common in some of the more remote streams. The typical brook trout caught today is eight inches or less in length. A 12-inch or longer fish is a rarity.

Brown Trout were imported to the US in the 1800's and to North Carolina in the early 1900's from Northern Europe. Brown trout are not as widely distributed or as popular as the rainbow trout but are gaining ground. Brown trout are extremely wary and can be one of the most difficult of trout to catch. Frequently, inexperienced anglers fishing in brown trout water may not abundant strikes even in rich brown trout waters. Browns prefer larger, slower flowing streams with an abundance of minnows. Browns are strong but may not fight like rainbow. Brown trout may to bottom or underneath a rock or log to hide.

Rainbow were originally native to western US. Rainbow trout were introduced to the eastern waters in the 1800's and early 1900's. Rainbow are often the fish stocked in many Eastern trout waters and some argue the backbone of our trout fishing industry. The typical rainbow is 10 or less inches but 12 plus inch fish are commonly taken. Rainbow trout do best in cool, clear, cool, oxygen rich cascading type streams; however, they can survive in waters too warm or too silt-laden for some other types of trout. Rainbow trout are known as spectacular fighters and this is why they are so often especially sought by fly rod fishermen.

The cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki) is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family (family Salmonidae) of order Salmoniformes. Cutthroat trout are native to western North America. Some populations will live in the Pacific Ocean as adults and return to fresh water to spawn in the spring. These sea-run cutthroat trouts are very sought after in fly fishing. Cutthroat are similar to rainbow trout and will readily interbreed. Cutthroat trout have greenish backs with black spots and red marks in the bottom of their jaws.Cutthroat Trout are about 12 to 15 inches long. There are about 14 separate subspecies of cutthroat trout.

Lake trout, also known as Mackinaw, are the largest trout in North America. Mackinaws have white spots on a dark background with a deep fork in their tail. As the name suggests, these fish are found in mountain lakes and are usually in deeper water. Anglers also enjoy success with this species during the fall and spring in shallower areas and when ice-fishing.

Now go out and enjoy NA's fabulous trout fishery. Thank a state biologist for this rich and will managed fishery.