What it looks like

  • slightly deep-bodied fish
  • hatchery hybrid of brook trout and lake trout, between them in size
  • tricoloured fins
  • light spots on dark background, some red spots but without the brook trout’s blue halo
  • slightly forked tail
  • counting the pyloric caeca (finger-like projections of the intestine) is the only positive identification: splake (65-85); brook trout (23-55); lake trout (93+)

Size

  • length: 25-46 centimetres (10-18 inches)
  • weight: 0.45-1.35 kilograms (1-3 pounds)
  • Ontario record: 9.4 kilograms (20.71 pounds)

Similar fish

Where it is found

Range of the Splake in Ontario

Range

  • stocked in much of Ontario
  • use Fish ON-Line, an interactive mapping tool, to find specific lakes and rivers

Habitat

  • need a year-round supply of cold, clear water
  • typical trout habitat
  • can tolerate marginal trout habitat (e.g., low pH waters)

Find a fishing spot with Fish ON-Line

Angling Tips

  • catch them in shallow water just after ice-out using light tackle or flies
  • rising water temperatures send splake into deeper water to feed on minnows and other fish
  • shy and easily-spooked
  • will take a range of small minnow-imitating plugs and small, flashy spoons and spinners
  • good ice fishing catch

Common Baits

  • small minnows, earthworms
  • jigs, spoons, spinners
  • small plugs

Photos/images

Map credit - modified from: Mandrak and Crossman (1992)