phong wrote, "I always find it amazing how fish less than 10 miles and 3 valleys away can have differing characteristics..."

But that doesn't surprise me. We have fish that are the same or similar genetically, but look quite different due perhaps to varying diets and stream conditions.

They will even vary in the same stream. I recall killing two 12" brown trout in the same pool on the same day. One was richer in color and had salmon-colored flesh. He was caught in the slow belly of the pool full of weed growth and crustraceans, including crayfish. The other was lighter colored and had white flesh. It was caught in the run at the head of the pool, where I assume it fed on insects.

In the small ponds I fish in autumn, the brook trout ARE genetically similar; they all come from the hatchery as fingerlings, and grow faster or slower depending on the food type and the food supply. This year I ate brookies from three different ponds, and while the fish all looked similar, they tasted different.