Stocked in BC

The FFSBC stocks five (5) fish species or sub-species for recreational angling purposes in BC lakes; these include rainbow trout/steelhead, coastal cutthroat trout, westslope cutthroat trout, kokanee and eastern brook trout. The majority of lake stocking is with rainbow trout , and the FFSBC has developed a number of special strains of rainbow trout depending on lake environment and/or desired fishery.  

Blackwater River  Rainbow Trout

The premise behind the development of special wild-type strains of rainbow trout is as follows.  Since the last glaciation, rainbow trout and other fish species re-established into water bodies throughout the province from refugia south of BC and from the Queen Charlotte Islands.  Since that time, fish populations evolved to adapt to specific conditions within individual ecosystems in order to survive.  

Pennask Rainbow Trout are one of the wild-type rainbow trout that is stocked in BC.  These fish originate in a monoculture system (or “trout-only” system).  Because of this, they are most suited to pelagic areas in small, highly productive monoculture lakes.  They exhibit poor growth in environments where other fish species occur (ex. coarsescale sucker, longnose sucker, redside shiner, peamouth chub or northern pikeminnow). 

Rainbow trout from the Blackwater River and Tzenzaicut Lake, on the other hand, have cohabitated with dense populations of other fish species for many generations.  These strains are more likely to have traits dictating feeding and spawning behaviour, physical characteristics, life-histories and habitat preferences or tolerances favourable to that environment.   For example, both Blackwater and Tzenzaicut rainbow trout tend to be more piscivourous than the Pennask strain; that is, they are more likely to consume the other fish species as a forage food.  Consequently, they also grow larger and/or survive better in these types of environments, click here for the research studies on these strains. 

More detailed information related to these and other rainbow trout strains can be found in the following PDF document    Rainbow trout strains currently stocked in BC waters