Photo by Jay Fleming
Brook Trout
Brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, are the only trout native to the eastern U.S. Brookies are part of the salmonid family, including salmon and char. Although most brook trout are strictly freshwater fish, not diadromous (i.e., not living part of their lifecycle in freshwater and part in the ocean as salmon do), there is a traditional but increasingly rare coastal New England brook trout known as a “sea-run” or a “salter.” When freshwater conditions are poor, the salters will seek colder, cleaner waters in estuaries or at sea.
Typical brook trout grow to 8-12 inches and average 1-5 pounds. (Nineteenth-century Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster once caught a 14-pound salter!) They are a colorful trout with dark moss-green upper bodies brightened by gold patterning, switching to blue-rimmed gold and red spots mid-body. Spawning males have brilliant red-orange underbodies. Brookies are a key species indicating healthy, cold-water stream ecosystems. Threats include climate warming, development, silting, and pollution.
What do you love about this particular creature?
What do they reveal to you about God and our faith?
My Dad loved fishing, especially for brookies. I remember summer evenings as a kid when we’d grab our rods and drive to many a beloved stream in Berkshire County. As much as church, this was sacred time. The water singing or sighing, the insects buzzing, and the evening light–holiness!
Standing in the water, connected to the earth in such a unique way, I learned many lessons about independence, caring, and openness to the life around me. Dad taught me to read the water, not just for brookies but also to find my way back where we started. He taught me to live with intention and gratitude. As part of his thanksgiving for the brookies, and for the water itself, Dad helped to found the Trout Unlimited chapter in Berkshire County. Growing up with a fisherman, it is clearer why Jesus chose them for disciples! Not perfect but truly connected to God’s love for the world.
Author - Karen Root Watkins
Karen Root Watkins, a member of Church of the Good Shepherd (Acton, MA), grew up in the hills and fields of the Berkshires, where she shared her father's love for the outdoors and her mother's love for social justice.
Beloved Creator, Lord of the stream and of the current, we give thanks for the cold waters, healthy forests, and wild meadows that shelter brook trout, and for all the life connected to them. Like St. Francis, may we see fish and insects, sun and rain, trees and shrubs, as our brothers and sisters in creation. Give us the wisdom and the will to care responsibly for this gift of life.