ferox trout

jimbo1984

Well-Known Member
hi lads seeing another thread on here today made me see how many fishermen we have here so i have a wee question, im a keen fisherman myself but ive always been interested in ferox trout as we all know normally only found in scottish lochs the lake district and irish lochs, my question is has anyone ever caught them elsewhere? theres a couple of large resevoirs in north yorkshire i suspect could hold a population as they have the same characteristics as lochs and i know theres brown trout present just wondering if theres the potential for them to become ferox?

many thanks

jim
 
Ferox, like other trout, feed chiefly on invertebrates when young. After ferox reach a length of 30 – 35 cm, a change occurs, with a switch to an almost entirely fish-based diet,which inevitably leads to their tremendous size,this is mainly due to the large glacial type lochs where insects are not so common,where fish are.
This change is size-related rather than age-related and has a dramatic effect on ferox growth.
Ferox, particularly in the cold, acidic lochs of the Scottish highlands, are long lived (a 23-year-old fish from Loch Killin, Inverness being the oldest on record). This fact, combined with their protein-rich diet, translates into much larger sizes than the average brown trout angler will ever encounter.
I think that if a loch hold char then inevatibly will hold ferox.
 
Ferox, like other trout, feed chiefly on invertebrates when young. After ferox reach a length of 30 – 35 cm, a change occurs, with a switch to an almost entirely fish-based diet,which inevitably leads to their tremendous size,this is mainly due to the large glacial type lochs where insects are not so common,where fish are.
This change is size-related rather than age-related and has a dramatic effect on ferox growth.
Ferox, particularly in the cold, acidic lochs of the Scottish highlands, are long lived (a 23-year-old fish from Loch Killin, Inverness being the oldest on record). This fact, combined with their protein-rich diet, translates into much larger sizes than the average brown trout angler will ever encounter.
I think that if a loch hold char then inevatibly will hold ferox.

the resevoirs i have in mind are acidic ( peat fed streams ) and hold large heads of roach and perch so i think its possible..
 
Just because a trout may grow very big and become cannibal does not make it a ferox. The ultimate authority on ferox trout in UK is probably a gentleman called Ron Greer who published an excellent book called "Ferox Trout and Arctic Charr" in 1995. He and a few others formed the ferox 85 group for the purpose of catching and researching ferox.
Basically they discovered that ferox are genetically a separate strain left over from when the ice age left the deep Scottish lochs and their main food source is arctic charr. The book is very informative but quite a technical read as Ron Greer and a lot of his friends were scientists employed at the freshwater fisheries laboratory at Pitlochry.
Ron Greer is now retired and still lives in Blair Atholl.
The book is dedicated to a great fisherman called Bruce Macauslan who passed away far too early and was a good friend of mine.
 
yeah ive just ordered ron greers book and i just read beneath the black water, a very good read too.
 
Recent genetic work has confirmed that Ferox trout in some lochs are a different species to brown trout. As Purdey24 has pointed out, Ferox are very likely to have originated as a result of the last ice age. So to answer you original question, it is extremely unlikely that you will find any ferox in Yorkshire. However, as others have pointed out, brown trout can adopt a variety of life styles (remain resident in a river, go to sea or become piscivorous).

You might not have ferox in Yorkshire reservoirs, but who knows what you might pull out a nice double figure brownie if you stick a big fish bait out there!!!
 
yeah as said i suppose just because they are cannibal doesnt make them ferox ..... still worth a crack though :)
 
thats what i think too however the trout will obviously get much larger than the perch can, but ive no problems catching big perch either :)

not always!
Perch are voracious compared to even a ferox/cannibal trout

Perch record may only be 6lb odd but there are an awful lot of 3-5 pounders out there!
Ferox trout in a highland loch will take a very very long time to reach that size......by which time they better be bigger or faster than the local perch population!

i agree though
nothing quite like predatory fish on light fly tackle!
 
not always!
Perch are voracious compared to even a ferox/cannibal trout

Perch record may only be 6lb odd but there are an awful lot of 3-5 pounders out there!
Ferox trout in a highland loch will take a very very long time to reach that size......by which time they better be bigger or faster than the local perch population!

i agree though
nothing quite like predatory fish on light fly tackle!

I used to love fly fishing but recently i bought the greys g lite spin rod and its now my new love :) it handles great and i can also present large flies well with the in line bubble float method definately worth a try for big perch and chub :)
 
After a half hearted fight, I pulled a ferox brown trout out of the river Wear in September 1987, according to my diary, it was 20" long, weighed 4.75 pound, had a huge head with a skinny body, and was as ugly as Janet Street Porter pulled inside out, I left the fish in the net and lowered it back into the water to recover, it there for a good ten minutes, it showed no signs of recovering, then I saw it had two lines coming from its mouth and upon following the lines, the hooks were lodged in it's throat, I tried for a minute or two to remove the hooks, but sadly, the fish gave out.
I don't think it would have survived much longer as it's obvious it hadn't eaten for a while and was just too tired from the fight and lack of food to survive, a sad end to what was once a fine fish.
 
After a half hearted fight, I pulled a ferox brown trout out of the river Wear in September 1987, according to my diary, it was 20" long, weighed 4.75 pound, had a huge head with a skinny body, and was as ugly as Janet Street Porter pulled inside out, I left the fish in the net and lowered it back into the water to recover, it there for a good ten minutes, it showed no signs of recovering, then I saw it had two lines coming from its mouth and upon following the lines, the hooks were lodged in it's throat, I tried for a minute or two to remove the hooks, but sadly, the fish gave out.
I don't think it would have survived much longer as it's obvious it hadn't eaten for a while and was just too tired from the fight and lack of food to survive, a sad end to what was once a fine fish.
As has already been stated in this thread, it has been genetically proven that there are no ferox trout in rivers. this would be a cannibal trout which has grown large by changing its diet from flies, invertabrates etc. to smaller fish. I would agree however that it was a sad end to what had been a fine fish.
 
Jim,

A few seasons ago my father in law caught a huge brown trout at Ladybower. It took a large fly fished very deep on a fast sinking line from a boat. It was quite an ugly looking fish with a prounounced lower jaw. I can't recall what it weighed, but it was close to the fishery record.

Previous posts suggest it wasn't a true Ferox trout and I'm no expert on the genetic differences between them and "normal" browns that simpley grow big and eat other fish. However, in answer to your OP, there is / was at least one big old trout lurking at the bottom of a lake near to Yorkshire. The tactics for target such fish would be the same as for Ferox, so you could have some fun trying to catch a few.

Cheers,

Bob
 
There was a 22lb brown caught in Chew Valley Lake last winter by a pike angler. It wasnt a ferox but it was a stunning looking fish. There is a picture of it on the Bristol Waters fisheries website. It was returned alive and the fisheries manager reckons it was a fish from a stocking of triploid browns, many moons ago.Bristol Water Fisheries
 
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Trolling for Ferrox is not disimilar to trolling for big pike, something which I have a bit of experience in.

I too thought they were a genetically different species and confined to Scottish lochs. Not sure how the big brownies in Mask/Corrib fit into this.

Seems to me that it takes far more rod hours to catch a big ferrox cf to a big pike, so must be very difficult looking at the days i have spent on Chew and LLandgffydd blanking.

Suggest you take a look at the Lure anglers society site for some more info.

D
 
Peri, you know what the River Teign is like, a 10'' fish is a specimen, well my friend caught a brownie a few years ago (not a sea trout) and it weighed 6 1/2 lb!
Cheers
Richard
 
Mmmmm ladies, yes I see something else we don't know much about , Ron Greers book is a starter ,but if you have a genuine interest in ferox trout ,it is a bit like stalking many dry outings .

In Scotland we troll for ferox from March until May trolling on engine tick over down riggers on either gunwale set at 40 ft and around 60 ft one rod in the engine wake using a mid depth plug .

Our largest fish was 29 3/4 pounds caught on a 1/2 brown trout in a treble hook rigg not dis-similar to that used by the pike fishing guys.

If you have a genuine interest try the following lochs : Loch Arkaig, Loch Quoich, Loch Monar,and Loch Awe where the current record has came from ,there are a few other lochs which we have had largish fish from but not in the ferox league .

Bait can come from live bait ,to large Rapala plugs 8"plus . For those that are interested and know someone in Cyprus the fishing shop in Limmisol is the cheapest place to buy large Rapalas .
 
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