"Lean" Lake Trout
(Salvelinus namaycush namaycush)

Length: 17-40 inches [43-102 cm]
Weight: 7-12 pounds [3-5.5 kilograms]
Coloring: light spots on darker head, back and sides; light underside
Common Names: Great Lakes trout, mackinaw trout, laker, namaycush, togue, grey trout, mountain trout, landlocked salmon
Great Lakes Habitat: Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, Lake Erie

These swift, torpedo-shaped fish inhabit the cold waters of an area extending from the Great Lakes region to the northernmost reaches of Canada. For more than half a century, lake trout were the most valuable commercial fish in the upper Great Lakes. Then, overfishing and the onslaught of the sea lamprey from the late 1930s into the 1950s effectively eliminated this fish from Lake Michigan and reduced it elsewhere in the Great Lakes. Since then, stocking and lamprey control programs have given the lake trout a chance to make a comeback.