Quick answer
Key facts about rainbow trout — size, diet, habitat, and conservation in one place.
Fly fishing icon
Rainbow trout rise to dry flies on the surface, making them the quintessential fly-fishing species. Clear mountain streams of the American West — Montana, Idaho, Colorado — built a global angling culture around wild rainbow and cutthroat trout.
Steelhead life history
Some coastal populations ('steelhead') migrate to the ocean and return to natal rivers to spawn, growing larger and more silvery than resident river fish. Dams, water extraction, and warming streams threaten these anadromous runs across the Pacific Northwest.
Global stocking
Rainbow trout have been introduced to every continent except Antarctica for food and sport. They can hybridise with native trout and outcompete local species, making introductions controversial in places like New Zealand, Chile, and the Appalachian Mountains.
Aquaculture and wild genetics
Farm-raised rainbow trout supply supermarkets worldwide. Hatchery supplementation of wild streams raises questions about genetic dilution of native strains. Wild populations in the Pacific Northwest remain the evolutionary heartland of the species.