which trout is better for eating?

Of the three main inland trout, which one is better eating for people that happen to like bluegills? I remember eating a lot of steelhead in Milwaukee when growing up. I tried stream browns with my wife and she hated it. I thought it was a touch strong on the flavor. I have not yet tried stream brookies or rainbows. I've love to hear from those who have tried on their own preferences.

IMO, on the table the char family kicks butt on the rest of the trout. I'll take a brookie over a brown, rainbow, cutthroat, etc., any day. Some of the char are brook trout, lake trout, bull trout, dolly varden, arctic char.

fried, baked, or smoked is the best for eating!

From a creek, stream or "SMALL" river, Brookies and Browns are the best for me. 8 to 10 inches and pink is the very best. I don't use all that lemon and batter and cajun spice stuff, because I like the taste of the fish not the spices. A simple zip lock baggie with some flour and a dash of salt and pepper, add the fish and shake the bejeebers out of it and into the pan they go, bones in and head on.. I gut my fish and clean the back bone interior with a tooth brush. Rainbows are catch and release for me.

i agree with you goh. i've eaten native brown trout for as long as i can remember and they are a touch strong tasting than your lake trout. i do like them smoked. however the stocked fish with the white meat, not so much. i dont care to eat those at all. i mainly do catch and release unless i know someone who loves trout and dont have the time to fish. then i may catch him a few during the year. i'm always gonna a be a panfish guy when it comes to eating. but catching trout is alot more fun for me.

I LOVE smoked trout! I've smoked browns, rainbows, and brookies and all of them were delicious. For the brine, I put some water in a large container, add enough "pickling salt" to float an egg, and add a pound or so of brown sugar. The brown sugar amount depends on how much water you need to submerge all the fish. Let them soak for 12-24 hours then rinse. Cold smoke 'em for a few hours then finish them off at 160 degrees. I also mix pure maple syrup and water in a spray bottle and spray them down a few times during the smoking. Tasty!

Scudly I think you need to learn how to smoke fish, if you throwing it to your dog, YOU ARE NOT DOING IT RIGHT! Do you soak your trout in a salt brine for 24 hrs before you smoke them, if not there is your problem?

try cooking them on ceder board on the grill with lemon,dash of lime an butter,pepper,

Not so much the species but the size. 9"-12" fish are the absolute best if you cook them whole. Larger fish can be stronger tasting and harder to cook through.

Stuff the gutted carcass with butter slices and lemon or lemon pepper. Roll in foil and suspend over the fire for 20 minutes or so. Hard to overcook if you roll 'em tight to keep the butter in. Never had a strong tasting trout done this way, but we do tend to keep the smaller fish so that may be part of it.

I kept a fat 19" Rainbow once and it took nearly an hour to bake it, and the meat was still undercooked around the spine.

Goh asked about trout compared to gills. Well, if a gill is your favorite fish to eat, any trout will probably taste too strong. Brookie taste a bit like salmon, because, well, they are in the Salmoniod family. Lake rainbow might be the closest to a blue gill, but even stream rainbow taste a bit strong. My advice- if you like eating panfish, stick with them and let all the trout go.

News flash: I'm done eating browns. Smoked 13 brookies and one 15" brown. Brookies out of this world. Brown we ate half and chucked it to the dog. Yuck.

i filleted and fried a 16 inch brown like you would a walleye last year and it was one of the best trout ive ever eaten. they have to be native with the pink meat though. white meat is gross. im craving 10-12 inch brook trout filleted with skin on and rolled in shore lunch and then fried in crisco......yum

Tuna I always fillet them and roll them in flour with some seasoning and it is very tasty. I cut the skin off though.

Any trout 9-12".

Bigger fish not so much.

Most streams I fish are naturally reproducing or stocked fingerlings. I have eaten put-and-take rainbows though and they were not bad at all.

Stuff 'em with butter and lemon-pepper and wrap 'em up. Mmmmm.

was out fishing yesterday and really wished it was two weeks from now because i caught a bunch of perfect eating size trout, a ton of 10 inch browns, native reproducing stream, and plenty of them in there so taking one or two for the pan wouldn't be that big of a deal. species doesn't matter as much as if they are planted or if they are naturally reproducting. of course like any fish you get one too big it probably won't taste as good as a smaller one. i am jonesing for a tin foil grilled brown trout with butter and lemon slices and potato wedges so bad right now, two weeks can't come soon enough.

Anyone ever fillet them and leave the skin on and fry? Wifes not real fond of bones so been tossing it around.