Strange markings on this Laker

[gordymohr]

Got this fish while fishing for lake trout. Never seen marks like this on a lake trout before.

[c-cast]

Caught one today that kind of looked that way.The newbe on board thought it was a pike at first glimps.We started cracking up.

[adrenalin]

Caught one today that kind of looked that way.The newbe on board thought it was a pike at first glimps.We started cracking up.

Thats funny you say that because last year we caught one like that also and 2 of us thought it was a pike as it was coming to the boat!

[gordymohr]

Pike! Ha, thats a good one! Actually when I first saw it I thought I had a brook trout!

[somethin' fishy]

Gord, glad you got the pic. I had one last year just like that. The fish was about 5-6 pounds and had all those wormy markings on the back. According to the Mich. DNR fishing handbook, that would be defined as a Splake. However I keep getting told that there are no Splake in Lake Mich. Maybe you can get some feedback from some charter Captains.

[gordymohr]

Ya, I was wondering about if it was a splake, as far as I know, there are no splake in Lake Ontario. Heres another view.

Notice the white on the leading and trailing edge of the pectoral fin. I dont see this in any lake trout/splake id pics. Now I wish I would have taken more close up pics of the tail.

Edited June 13, 2010 by gordymohr
add info

[diesel]

Gord' date=' glad you got the pic. I had one last year just like that. The fish was about 5-6 pounds and had all those wormy markings on the back. According to the Mich. DNR fishing handbook, that would be defined as a Splake. However I keep getting told that there are no Splake in Lake Mich. Maybe you can get some feedback from some charter Captains.[/quote']

i have caught 2 splake in lake mi out of st joe. i was told is was a splake by dnr at the launch

[Just Hook'n]

Looks like a musky/laker. Cool colors. May consider getting a mount just based on the fact that it is so unique.

[Cork Dust]

Both Brook Trout and Lake Trout have 84 total chromosomes. So their eggs and sperm would each also have an identical haploid chromosome count of 42. Most hybrid fish have dissimilar haploid counts and therefore can't reach sexual maturity. Splake may be sterile or fertile depending on the morphology of their total chromosome arrays. This is why fish managers are no longer very keen on planting Splake because they have the potential to breed with wild Coaster Brook Trout and dilute their genetics. Most of the Splake I have seen have the black and white ventral fin border of a Brook Trout and the green-gray vermiculation pattern on the dorsal and lateral surfaces of a Lake Trout. Very difficult to tell without looking at this guy via karyotype techniques at the cell level.

[Priority1]

Gordy, Thanks for posting the pic.

[adrenalin]

Does anyone know how many strains of lake trout are in Lake Michigan? I have seen the typical Lakers with white fins, and ones with orange fins and a few like the one in this post.

[A-Fishy-Anado]

Rick will be able to scientifically reply to the strains in lake Michigan.

Rick did you see the pic of the 13# splake caught out of little bay de noc recently? What do you think of that one......looked like a splake to me.

[jimcr]

Sunday my son and I had a laker that looked the same , thought it was a Pike also when we first netted it .