Ohrid Trout
A Balkan endemic of Lake Ohrid — one of Europe's oldest, deepest lakes — briefly stocked in US reservoirs in the 1960s and 70s as a conservation hedge. Nearly all introductions failed; a remnant population persists at Pathfinder Reservoir in Wyoming.
For American anglers it's a curiosity rather than a target species, almost never identified at the bank.
Scientific Name: Salmo letnica
Also known as Lake Ohrid Brown Trout, Letnica Trout, Koran
- Streamlined, silvery body marked with numerous black spots concentrated above the lateral line; some fish carry a scattering of red spots along the side.
- The caudal (tail) fin is heavily spotted — the cleanest feature separating it from brown trout, whose tails are largely unmarked.
- Part of the brown trout (Salmo trutta) complex and easily confused with brown trout in hand; positive ID often requires bone characters or genetic work.
- In native conditions, fish reach about a kilo (2 lbs) by their seventh year at 16-18 inches; maximum recorded size is roughly 30 inches and 14 pounds.
What to know
Habitat Distribution
- Not native to North America. The only confirmed self-sustaining US population is in Pathfinder Reservoir on the North Platte drainage in Wyoming; stockings in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, and Tennessee all failed to reproduce.
- A lake fish, not a stream fish — wants deep, cold, clear, low-nutrient water. In its native Lake Ohrid, adults roam the open water column 200 to 260 feet down.
- Federal climate-match work suggests much of the interior West is theoretically suitable, but no active US stocking program is maintaining or expanding the species.
Specific Spots
- Adults are open-water roamers, not structure fish — they suspend in the deep pelagic zone chasing schools of small baitfish, behavior much closer to lake trout than to a stream brown.
- Juveniles stay shallower where zooplankton is richer, then push deeper as they shift onto fish.
- Spawning fish move into shallow nearshore zones or up tributaries depending on the morphotype, but US fish have not produced documented natural reproduction outside Pathfinder Reservoir.
Ohrid Trout FAQ
Answers from onWater's species guide.
What are the best lures and bait for Ohrid Trout?
Small baitfish imitations fit the adult diet, spoons, slender minnow plugs, and small swimbaits trolled deep are the natural fit, mirroring how anglers target other deep-water lake salmonids in cold reservoirs.
What do Ohrid Trout eat?
Young fish live on zooplankton; adults turn piscivorous and feed mostly on small schooling baitfish, the endemic Ohrid bleak in their home lake, and presumably small cyprinids or other forage in the one US reservoir where they persist.
Where do Ohrid Trout live?
Not native to North America. The only confirmed self-sustaining US population is in Pathfinder Reservoir on the North Platte drainage in Wyoming; stockings in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, and Tennessee all failed to reproduce. A lake fish, not a stream fish, wants deep, cold, clear, low-nutrient water.
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