Ok i have a question about ferox trout and its relation to brown trout. If i understand correctly this is some sort of lake version or atlantic danube trout? Is it the same as in case of danube brown trout and lake trout the later having no red spots etc.? What exactly is ferox, how big it gets, how do you fish for it?

Thnx,

BlueOne

basically a brownie that has turned cannaballistic due to the water being nutrient poor as far as i understand.

you fish for them with baitfish patterns, ive heard of guys trolling with deadbaits using downriggers. apparently lures work too? as in proper pike jobs tho

Typically a brown trout that is so large it cannot sustain itself on insects alone and takes on a diet of other fish including it's own species to get enough protein.

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It is not just a brown trout that has turn to cannablism.
They are brown trout of deep glacial lochs such as Rannoch, Awe, Tay,and others such as Sheelin, Mask etc.
The prey fish they feed on are almost always char. They are not in some way dark satanic creatures of the deep, but magnifacent examples of brown trout perfection, and at the top of the food chain in these waters.

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There is a lot of argument about Ferox being a brown trout as we know it. I read a few books on this subject in the past most notably a book by Ron Green from the Ferox 85 group. They are a group set up with the intention of fishing purely for Ferox (featured on an episode of Hooked on Scotland).

Ferox do mainly eat Artic Char (Greer compares Ferox to the Wolf and its prey) but they also eat other Trout and in other waters possibly Powan and even Sea run fish like Salmon, Sea Trout and Eels. They can consume very large prey.

They are not only confined to deep glacial Lochs some Lochs in the far north of Scotland hold Char and are not that deep. Large Trout have been taken from these waters. Some of the smaller hill Lochs produce large fish that resemble Ferox and they certainly don't grow that size eating flies.

The Ferox also seem to spawn in outflowing rivers. Over the years a lot of dead fish have been found or caught in these areas. One monster reputed to have been 39lbs in weight. Ferox can look almost pike like or have the same golden, spotted colours of a perfect little trout.

Lochs Ken, Doon, Lomond, Awe, Tay, Rannoch, Laidon, Garry, Laggan, Ness, Lochy, Arkaig, Garry, Quoich, Morar, Sionascaig, Loyal, Calder, Cam, Veyatie, Urigill, Assynt, Shin, Maree, Loch Damh, Loch Fionn probably quite a few others all hold Ferox.

p.s, BlueOne a Lake Trout is actually a Char.

As far as i know, and it's not a lot, there's no genetic difference between Ferox and other brown trout. There's all sort of speculation as to what makes a ferox a ferox and why not all large trout are ferox. In my opinion, a brown trout that has a fish diet is a ferox. whether it's dredged up from the bowels of Loch Awe, or from the bottom of a weir on the Itchen. forget the 'magic' about these fish, truly magnificent they may be, theyre just large genetically superior brownies that have grown large on a fishy diet.

Are they given a separate classification like the Marble trout (who also are mainly fish eaters and grow to monstrous proportions)?

No, not european lake trout, you are talking about american. Our is a very close relative, some would say is a brown trout. But in contrast to brown trout (black sea, danube or how would we call it type) it has only black spots normaly x shape, square like shape, lives in lakes and grows pretty big. Actually in lake Bohinj it is like a ferox, lives in deep water, eats mainly char, although i guess other species can also be on the menu and spawns in the streams connected to the lake. Salmo trutta f. lacustris would be the latin name of it. It could reach weights over 15kgs. The other habitat here in Slovenia would be lake Bled it almost disappeared from there but their numbers seem to be going up as the lake was stocked with it.

A ferox is born a ferox..studies have shown them spawning together separate from brown trout..they are a species that used to feed exclusively on Char but with the introduction of coarse species on many loughs that has changed..but they still remain a deep water species during the day with forays into the shallows at night.

Found one picture of european lake trout. It seems this lake was stocked with them.

http://www.som.si/kapitalci.module.php?id=52

But ferox can still crossbreed with brownie?

One from Bohinj lake

http://www.impel-bohinj.si/images/jezerka2_l.jpg