Mystery Trout

The Mystery Trout has appeared on angler lines four times since Phelps Lake first opened to angling in 1994. All four fish caught to date have been about the same size and have looked similar in their shape and skin patterns. As they have been caught at different parts of the lake and years apart, it begs to differ that these are not the same fish.

Many theories have been posed by leading experts around the continent as to the species and origin of this oddity; some have suggested that it may be an Arctic Char / Lake Trout hybrid or a Brown Trout / Brook Trout hybrid (commonly called a Tiger Trout). But what makes these theories improbable is that Arctic Char are not native to Saskatchewan, and the Tiger Trout is strictly a hatchery fish that does not occur naturally. What is known by the fishes shape and features is that this is some form of trout.

One of the most probable explanations is that this fish is a genetic morph of a Lake Trout that has developed this unusual skin pattern. Salmonids (trout, salmon and whitefish) are genetically "plastic" fish, meaning that they can exhibit a wide variation of different color patterns, shapes, feeding and habitat preferences within a species.

The Lake Trout exhibit this genetic "plasticity," with widely differing colors and shapes. They are noted for being among the most "plastic" of the chars, with several strains with distinct markings identified from the Great Lakes and elsewhere. An example of this is the Siscowet from Lake Superior.

Although this is considered a subspecies of Lake Trout, there are many other different genetic mutants (color variants) that are not subspecies, but merely just the byproduct of reproduction. This species exhibit these color variants with some frequency although, on a whole, these variants are generally rare. These mutants occur naturally and are not the byproduct of pollution or the like.

But if they occur naturally and the fish is reproducing and passing the genetics onto the next generation, is it developing into a subspecies? At what point in a fishes evolution is it considered to be a subspecies as compared to just a genetic mutant? Stay tuned for future updates on this unsolved mystery.