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Story: Trout and salmon

Rainbow trout

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Rainbow trout

This rainbow trout from a tributary stream of Lake Rotoiti, near Rotorua, shows markings typical of spawning fish – crimson on the gills and sides, with a greyish-yellow background. Lake-dwelling rainbow trout are more silvery, often with dark olive-green on the back. Within days of their swimming upriver to spawn, the silver changes – as seen here.

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New Zealand Herald

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How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Trout and salmon – Rainbow trout, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/19584/rainbow-trout (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 1 March 2009.