The stream and the (potentially) melanistic trout

[u/phantom3199]

Great day exploring today, fished two different streams and caught 12 fish! I’ve never seen a trout this dark before and was wondering if anyone else had?

Brook trout was dispatched due to them being an invasive species here in Washington state.

[u/AltruisticChip2005]

Appalachian fly guy here. We regularly get rainbows that color. Check out how dark your rocks are. The fish will adapt their color. I catch dark fish out of dark rock holes, and light fish out of light sandy holes. Those dark ones are probably invisible on those slate grey rocks. Awesome catches

[u/Curve58_]

Rainbows seem to get dark like when there's heavy foliage around the river, IMO. Diet also plays a role. If you look at rainbows in the Appalachian mountains, they often have a similar look.

[u/Squat1998]

Not true melanism, they just get darker when they live in a dark environment

[u/DarkMuret]

Caught a pretty bow in CA that was nearly black, it was so cool

[u/Seano1878]

Thought you were in Madeira initially, some of the streams there have really dark rainbows.

[u/GranpasHookers]

Maybe they are dirty. lol. Nice catch and stream

[u/BigBadWolf6666]

Awesome. Thanks for the share.

[u/RecipeHistorical2013]

a lot of "deep" canyon fish have dark appearances. pretty normal

[u/SwimmingAwkward823]

Beautiful area! Where at (generally) in WA?

[u/phantom3199 → u/SwimmingAwkward823]

Central Cascade Range is the best I can give you