Lake Superior Brookies

[SherpaJ 45]

I recently read an article, where I learnt about these "coaster" brook trout! Apparently they get quite big! Did anybody manage to hook into one of these coasters this winter on superior?

[joks 26]

I believe they are closed for ice fishing. The season does not open till the 4th saturday in April and closes on Labor day. Therre is a mininum size of 22 inches as well.

[Guest TerryK]

[Guest cmcrawfo]

Are there any truly identifying features of a coaster vs a resident brookie? I have heard about (and seen) the white tips on their fins. Is it safe to say if it has the white tips, it is most likely a coaster?

Thanks.

[Weekend coaster 15]

The coasters I have encountered are a shiny silver colour like a steelhead with the blue halos and red spots also red fins and a square tail

Thanks.

[Guest FreshwaterFisherman]

I have caught coaster that are dark like river fish, as well as silver. I've caught coasters through the ice before ( accidentally) and they were very dark with the white tips on the fins as well.

[Guest cmcrawfo]

I have seen coasters like that, but only when I am hitting river mouths, or in the lake. I (may have) read some place that when they return to the tributaries to spawn they return to more classic brook trout pattern.... this is why I ask, I just assumed these big brookies I was hooking into were coaster, they are definitely much more pale, with whiter bellies and white tips on their fins than brookies from land locked lakes.... not to mention the fact that I cant seem to land one under 40cm.

Thanks for the info.

[brookiebuster 117]

Coasters are usually larger than resident brookies. During the summer they will be lighter in colour and late summer/fall they will be all coloured up. They run up rivers in the fall to spawn, then return back to the big lake. There's really no way of identifying them from a resident brookie besides from their size and how they live most of their life in Superior.

[Weekend coaster 15]

The ones I caught and released were shiny in the summer and I did catch one in the fall that was darker but they all fought real hard

[Guest FreshwaterFisherman]

Yeah the only real thing make them coasters is they live in superior.

[Guest FreshwaterFisherman]

Rainbow trout - steelhead

Brook trout - coasters

....kind of how I see it.

[Weekend coaster 15]

Steelhead have white gums while coasters have black gums

[Guest FreshwaterFisherman]

I hope no one is out there confusing steelhead with coasters. Haha.

[kbrest 151]

I certainly hope not lol

[Weekend coaster 15]

There not that hard to tell apart. I wonder what it is about lake superior that makes the fish a silver colour I mean rainbows,browns,lakers,salmon brookies is it the smelts cause that's what I heard

[Guest FreshwaterFisherman]

I'd say alot to do with clear water as well.

[Guest FreshwaterFisherman]

As well as the forage, more silver bait fish than anything, less insects, crayfish. You are what you eat haha.

[Weekend coaster 15]

I'm assuming the small brookies by the mouth of Mackenzie are offspring of coasters then?

[brookiebuster 117]

I think those are Mackenzie River fish. I don't think coasters run up Mackenzie. (correct me if I'm wrong)

[Weekend coaster 15]

I have heard they do spawn there during the fall

[pastor norm 125]

I think the advantage of being silvered and lighter skinned is for camouflage in clear water, especially from the looking downward point of view. It streamlines their silhouette and makes it more difficult for predators and prey to spot them swimming below. Many pelagic fish have this silvery coloration to adapt to clear waters. From what I have read, fish have chromatosomes (specifically, the light reflecting kind called iridophores) in their skin and scales and these impart a silver reflective quality. As the spawn approaches, coasters will show the more typical brook trout colours, especially in the males. The change colour is hormonally induced and temporary. A similar thing happens with perch and walleye, even pike!

[Guest FreshwaterFisherman]

Coasters will run up mckenzie in the fall. I've hooked a few 20 inchers by the highway in the fall. I haven't seen substantial numbers but these definitely were not resident trout. I would think its safe to say the smaller brook trout at the mouth are resident brook trout. However, I think it would be foolish to say there isn't a decent chance of a coaster strain being present as well. The diversity at a river mouth on Lake Superior has the potential to be quite high.

[brookiebuster 117]

That's good to know, thanks.

[Mykiss 28]

a scale sample from a lake run brook trout (coaster) will show slow growth during the years spent in the stream and fast growth in the lake environment.....very similar to the growth pattern on steelhead scales. Other than that it would be difficult to identify a small coaster from a large resident brook trout in a stream or river tributary to Lake Superior.

[Weekend coaster 15]

If I'm not mistaken steelhead and coaster grow faster in superior because of the plentiful food resources(smelt,sculpin,etc) and while they are in the rivers food can be hard to come by