what is a tiger trout, and why are they so rare?
Tiger trout are the result of a wide cross or hybridization between two different species – the brook and the brown trout. Making this cross even more unique is the fact that brook and brown trout each belong in a separate genus – Salvelinus for brook trout and Salmo for browns. Although this cross can easily be performed by a fisheries biologist or a curious hatchery technician, it is rare in the wild. Experiments performed at the Benner Springs Research Station during the 1950s found that even in the controlled conditions of a hatchery, only about four to five percent of the fertilized eggs survived to the fry stage. The state of Wisconsin, more recently, has had survival rates as high as 25%. Some private breeders have done a little better, but the survival rate never approaches the normal rate of brook or brown trout. According to Bill Willers in Trout Biology, this type of cross is most successful (and sometimes only successful) if the female species has the larger eggs and the sh
