Which Trout Species Is Most Beautiful?

I need to settle a bet.

You’d be surprised how long (and heated) a conversation about “which trout species is the most physically beautiful” went on the other night among fishing friends at Casa Deeter. As is often the case, beauty is in the eye of the beer-holder. We stalemated on three species: the brown trout, the rainbow trout, and the brook trout. (We all agreed that cutthroat trout are iconic in terms of what they represent, but there are too many different subspecies to consider, and that would be another debate for a different day).

I’ll tell you straight away I voted for the brown trout. If you don’t think a brown trout is absolutely magnificent, you aren’t looking closely enough at the details.

Rainbow trout have something going with that amazing band, no doubt. A leopard-spotted rainbow is definitely in its own league.

Brook trout are such a mixed bag, depending on where you find them. They can be stunning, or pretty drab. But always interesting.

Of course, it’s all silly. Any trout is a beautiful fish.

The one thing we did agree upon is that bass are ugly, no matter how you look at them. Largemouth/smallmouth doesn’t matter. Bass make carp look good.