Brook Trout in Spawning Colors
Related: color space and gamut, fishing, Salvelinus fontinalis, trout, wildlife
I was fascinated to watch dozens of spawning Brook Trout spawning 2 to 3 meters deep along the lake side; a particular spot seemed to be preferred. I observe a female doing that odd sideways and even upside-down shake/jitter to expel the eggs. A male I caught was leaking milt, so I was observing these trout right at spawning time.
This trout is only about 10 to 11 inches long, but deep-bodied with a big jaw (there were larger ones, perhaps up to 13 inches). I caught six such trout, releasing all of them carefully. They returned to their activities without any sign of distress, but did not favor my lure a 2nd time! It was incredible to witness, and I’m very glad no other fisherman hiked to this far side of the lake to destroy (catch and eat) these trout at their crucial spawning time.
I was pleased to see that images from the iPhone 6s Plus are in the Apple Wide Color Sharing Profile profile, absolutely critical, since the spawning coloration is unbelievably saturated and rich to the naked eye (and possibly muted here as compared to real life). Too bad the iPhone totally blows out the whites, since the bright belly and fin areas also have a great deal of subtlety to them (mottling and such).
iPhone 6s Plus + iPhone 6s Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 29mm equiv (4.2mm)
[low-res image for bot]
