[Sandy Nelson]

Heres a question to see if anyone is noticing this, or even better has a possible idea why.

I have noticed on quite a few of the fish i have caught recently, both on the Don and other rivers that a fair percentage of the brownies are developing a distinct blue spot on the gill cover aft of the eye, almost like another eye making the head look bigger (one theory) Sometimes it it is very dark and on others it only appears to growing

When i checked through my photo's and others on the forum i have noticed it seems to be quite common, even on some of the FB posts from the north of england, the trout have this blue spot.







So is it a normal part of the trout colouration which i've not noticed before, or are the fish developing a fake eye to make their heads look bigger and fool predators as to their size. Or is it something else? I'm used to the fish having a nice blue sheen on their gill covers but i can't say i've noticed the dense spot before.

I'll be interested to hear people's ideas/experiences

Sandy

[Derek Roxborough]

Is that some sign of a stocking or counting programme,could these trout have been panjetted? I will have to pay attention to our Loch trout , easgach 1

[Mike Barrio]

Is it only appearing on photos taken with flash Sandy?

[Sandy Nelson]

So far these are wild fish so i don't think it is dye, it is the same natural colour as the rest of the blue sheen on the gill plates, just a concentrated area.

Fish were caught from the Annan, the Don and the Deveron, Ricardo had a photo of one as well, the same, off the eden i think, on FB

You can see it quite clearly in real life, the photo's actually hide it a bit, the underwater picture Mike has of the first fish shows the spot really distinctly, much more like real life was.
Some are more intense than others and some fish don't have it all, but it does seem to me to be something i'm noticing more and more, perhaps it is something to do with the season progressing?

Sandy

[Rob Brownfield]

It's normal Sandy. Seen it on fish caught in New Zealand and the US as well as UK.

US fish:



Patagonian fish with two?



New Zealander with faint area


However, as to the cause...I did find this post...the last one...to be interesting and frustrating as I cannot find out anymore.
http://ukflydressing.proboards.com/thread/4032/trout-blue-spot-on-head

[Marc Fauvet]

it's common, Sandy. some are more rounded than others but the blue splotch seems to be everywhere. (but it's not an always... )
interesting 'bigger eye' to scare off predators concept ! 
here's a few from here and there:

River Eden, England


Basque region - Pyrenees, France


Northern Sweden


Eastern Pyrenees, France

[Derek Roxborough]

 I will have to pay more attention , promise easgach 1

[Sandy Nelson]

Thanks for the feedback

Amazing how you can spend 30 years catching brownies and not notice this until one evening and then you keep noticing it on every other fish (almost)
Funny the way your brain works, or perhaps its just mine


Sandy

[Marc Fauvet]

Amazing how you can spend 30 years catching brownies and not notice this until one evening and then you keep noticing it on every other fish (almost)

would still be interesting to know why the blue and why there. i'll send this thread over to a biologist buddy to see if he can add info.
cheers,
marc

[Derek Roxborough]

Well, I noticed it this Morning on a small trout from a local loch , I have been fishing more than 50 years and have never noticed it before  easgach 1 

[Allan Liddle]

Very common Sandy although not all troots have it as prominent than others, as a rule of thumb the more 'leopard' coloured the troot the more prominent it is.
Not just resigned to river troot as loch residents have it as well, although heavy peat stained waters and darker fish often mean it's harder to spot (not always)

Like the big eye theory btw 

And maybe because we spend more time takin troot photies we're noticing the blue spot more? 

[Rob Brownfield]

I can't see the big eye theory being quite on track, sorry. There are plenty of fish both large and small that have "false eyes" on there bodies, and it is always on the tail. Predators tend to strike the head end of a fish, so having a false eye on the tail means a better chance of survival/escape.

There are also a lot of fish that have a "flush" of colour on the gill plate. In some this is because of their diet adding pigmentation to the skin, others, as a form of attractant or warning to other fish. I am leaning towards the latter.

I think

[Marc Fauvet]

And maybe because we spend more time takin troot photies we're noticing the blue spot more?

 

[Sandy Nelson]

This photo shows why i thought about the eye, not so much to confuse, just to make it look bigger



But you could be right Allan, the more you look, the more you see

Sandy

[Marc Fauvet]

kinda makes it look like a weird flounder... 

[Ewan Lindsay]

Caught a couple of wild brownies on the Test last week. Both had the blue spots...never really noticed them before...

Ewan

[Marc Fauvet]

Sandy, here's a very marked blue spot on a gorgeous indigenous Fario trout a friend just caught in France.   

[Liam Stephen]

One from today. Report to follow.

[Steven Sinclair]

Sandy, here's a very marked blue spot on a gorgeous indigenous Fario trout a friend just caught in France.   

There's a trout in this picture? 

 

Steven.

[Marc Fauvet]

yup, the trout's the yellowish thing....   

[Derek Roxborough]

Yeah , now I see it, easgach 1