I don,t know if this is true but i,ve read that seatrout and brown trout are geneticly exactly the same. if this is the case how can you still fish for them
after oct 6th ? can anyone shed some light on this ?
THIS HAS TURNED INTO A FIRST CLASS READ

Yes, sea trout and brown trout are one and the same - both salmo trutta.

Why are their seasons different? Simply because they choose a different 'pathway' in their lives. Sea trout are often associated with river systems that aren't capable of sustaining populations of large trout and as a result something triggers their smolting urge and they make the journey downstream to feed around the coast.

In the majority of regions, trout fishing ends on 30th September yet often the sea trout season can end mid October although in recent times many fishing associations, particularly in West Wales insist that sea trout are returned after August in order to ensure that as many as possible are able to make it to the spawning streams.

The timing of runs of migratory fish like salmon and sea trout vary dramatically from region to region and historically this is what explains the variation in fishing seasons. Personally, I'd be very happy if sea trout fishing ended nationally on 30th September.

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It might be OK for the season to end on 30 sept on some waters, however on the water I fish (the Yorkshire Esk) the fish do not generally reah the upper river until October in a dry year, our season ending 31 Oct. Be carefull about generalisations! If anything, I would prefer rivers to stay open later, I would trade 1 week in November for 4 in April!

The fact is, Salmonid migrations have got later and later, however the original season dates were set decades or even a century ago!

To answer the original post, it has to do with WHEN THEY SPAWN, not their genetic makeup.

Genetically they are the same to a certain stage in development.
But a sea-trout comes from sea-trout eggs and brown from brown.(I stand corrected on this comment)
A brown trout will go as far as the brackish water of an estuary(slob trout)
but do not develope to cope with salt water only.They do have different
latin names so technically are not the same fish but are from the same species Salmo trutta.This is as I have thought for years,I am no expert
so anyone please correct me if I have it wrong.
John

a seatrout is a brown trout that,s went to sea. also i don,t think something can be geneticly the same untill a certain stage genetics are set at
fertilisation stage of the eggs. if you hatch seatrout eggs you don,t get young seatrout. please correct me if mistaken

They are the same - they just have a different way of life. There was a study some time ago which said that some Loch Lomond ferox had started out as sea run browns - a term I prefer. There is a fair bit of evidence that Salmo Trutta will sometimes run to the sea, spend an extended time in fresh water then return again to the sea. In the case of some Loch Lomond trout they obviously are quite happy living off the powan instead of returning to the sea.

Having now caught a lot of sea trout and brownies I see a big problem with the law as it stands. In the loch lomond tributary that I fish frequently there are resident brown trout, migratory trout and also loch trout that run the river to spawn. Quite often I don't know whether a trout is a sea runner or a loch trout or even a big resident. The problem is the coloration of sea trout changes around the end of july - often when they are still at sea when the colour from the dark spots leaches into the surrounding skin. After a while some become indistinguishable from trout that have lived in fresh water all their life. There is a myth that you can tell if a trout is from the sea if it has no red spots. That isn't correct.

So someone can catch a big loch trout and reasonably assume it is a brown trout. In my view I cannot see how a club could prosecute someone for catching a brown trout on October 10th (season finishes October 6th here) where there is a sea trout run. A decent lawyer would have a field day! Without a scale reading how is anyone to be 100% sure of the difference. I am fairly sure of the origin maybe 90% of the time and while I wouldn't call myself an expert I have caught a large number of trout of all types.

Can I recommend Child of the Tides by Edward Fahy if you want to read about the sea trout

[QUOTE=Endrick;586248]They are the same - they just have a different way of life. There was a study some time ago which said that some Loch Lomond ferox had started out as sea run browns - a term I prefer. There is a fair bit of evidence that Salmo Trutta will sometimes run to the sea, spend an extended time in fresh water then return again to the sea. In the case of some Loch Lomond trout they obviously are quite happy living off the powan instead of returning to the sea.

Having now caught a lot of sea trout and brownies I see a big problem with the law as it stands. In the loch lomond tributary that I fish frequently there are resident brown trout, migratory trout and also loch trout that run the river to spawn. Quite often I don't know whether a trout is a sea runner or a loch trout or even a big resident. The problem is the coloration of sea trout changes around the end of july - often when they are still at sea when the colour from the dark spots leaches into the surrounding skin. After a while some become indistinguishable from trout that have lived in fresh water all their life. There is a myth that you can tell if a trout is from the sea if it has no red spots. That isn't correct.

So someone can catch a big loch trout and reasonably assume it is a brown trout. In my view I cannot see how a club could prosecute someone for catching a brown trout on October 10th (season finishes October 6th here) where there is a sea trout run. A decent lawyer would have a field day! Without a scale reading how is anyone to be 100% sure of the difference. I am fairly sure of the origin maybe 90% of the time and while I wouldn't call myself an expert I have caught a large number of trout of all types.

interesting read endrick, i also agree with the sea run browns. it,s apropriate

Just goes to show that anyone, regardless of their knowledge, can have a say on t'internet

But a brown trout can fertilise sea trout eggs! I think it boils down to survival. I read that the majority of sea trout are hens, the logic behind it being it's more efficient for a small cock (ooh er missus) to fertilise a large hen instead of the other way around.
They do have the same latin names, but due to the recent re-classification of Rainbows you could argue it doesn't mean much. I suppose you could argue that sea trout are a sub-species but sharing a more recent common ancestor than other subspecies.

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