What do you get when you cross a female brown trout and a male brook trout?

If you guessed tiger trout, you’re right!

We asked, and you told us Alberta.

A total of nine water bodies were selected for initial stocking trials of tiger trout. These waters were assessed during the summer of 2015 for both biological and social acceptability of stocking tiger trout.

The results – tiger trout were stocked in five Alberta lakes that met the requirements.

Black Nugget Mine Pit (10 km east of Tofield);

Blood Indian Reservoir (100 km southeast of Hanna);

East Twin Lake (160 km north of Peace River);

Lower Chain Lake (40 km northwest of Athabasca); and

Moonshine (Mirage) Lake (110 km north of Grande Prairie).

Why tiger trout?

A tiger trout stocking program has been requested by Alberta Fish and Game members, Edmonton Trout Clubs and through angler interaction at fishing trade shows.

Tiger trout have attracted significant attention from Alberta anglers who are interested in catching a new large and aggressive trout species, provide unique recreational opportunities, stimulate economic activity to the area stocked and improve angler satisfaction.

Tiger trout from the fish culture program were assessed by the Alberta Introductions and Transfers Committee and determined to be of low risk for disease introduction, genetic interaction and ecological impact in stocked waters where escape is unlikely.

The fish culture system can produce 20,000 to 40,000 tiger trout annually allowing for the stocking of a limited number of destination quality fisheries.

The Federal Government has moved forward with changes to the Alberta Fishery Regulation (1998). Specifically, this allows tiger trout to be listed as a sportsfish in Alberta. This allows Alberta to define quotas and size restrictions for tiger trout. Please review waterbody-specific regulations and visit the on-line regulations regularly.

How do I find out more?

To get the latest information in the 2018 Alberta Guide to Sportfishing and the stocking report for the province’s newest sportfish. For all things fishing in Alberta, check out mywildalberta.ca.