Fish id, head shot

I hiked in to Penner Lake this weekend. I didn't catch any fish but had some gifted to me. We were both fishing the same spot with power bait and he got 3-4 and I got skunked. He was fishing catch and release with barbless hooks. He put a bell on his pole and put it down so the fish swallowed the hook and we could see that it wasn't going to survive after the release. We got it too shore and I was tieing a line to it so I could leave it in the water. I noticed an egg on the rock next to it and a small opening extended. I rubbed the fish with pressure and a lot of eggs came out. I'm not sure what it was but it seemed to be a trout. It had white meat and was the best trout I've ever eaten. I sprinkled it with salt and pepper and a little olive oil and wrapped it in foil to cook over my propane stove. Delicious. The other fish had orange flesh. I didn't think trout had orange flesh and I don't know what other spiecies are in the lake. I looked the next morning and that head was still where I left it. I didn't get any photos of the fish since they weren't my catch. Just curious, any guesses what this one is, or even what the other one was. They both looked fairly similar in markings on the body.

Looks like either a rainbow or a cutthroat. In my experience the color of trout meat can vary quite a bit, probably due to their diet. Clayman for sure knows more about the science behind that phenomenon

Looks like a lil rainbow

Penner Lake!  Right on!!  I haven't been there in almost 25 years.  That place is totally badass.  I once hiked down the rock face on the west side of the lake up above Bowman I think - it was sketchy but awesome. 

No doubt, that's a trout.   

Wasn't DFW doing a hybrid Cutbo at one time ?

I think they put a produced cutbow in Amador. I think the cross happens naturally too though. There is such a jumbled mix of trout strains up here where I'm at, you couldn't count them all. Lake Shasta has easily 5 different strains of rainbow alone. If you fish the little spring creeks out west of me it seems like you find different little wild trout on every stream you jump.

Looks like a rainbow to me, and definitely some quality eats by the color of that meat!

Eagle lakes rainbow trout. pink flesh and flown into penner by Copter. Probably the most expensive trout in california. Penner, now that's a hike! granite, volcanic, shale, geology gone mad.

Interesting. I never knew that about trout. This is the second time I've been to Penner lake. It is a nice hike. Pretty and not too far. I've also hiked from Meadow lake across to Boman rd near Fuller lake. I didn't have any fishing gear that time though. It is a nice area to hike in. Photos are from 2012.

Wasn't DFW doing a hybrid Cutbo at one time ?

I think they put a produced cutbow in Amador. I think the cross happens naturally too though.

Looks like a rainbow to me, and definitely some quality eats by the color of that meat!

I was going to say that it's a hybridization as there appears to be a faint pink line under it's jaw.  Very hard to tell though without the fish in hand for better inspection.

And as others have mentioned, definitely good eats.

We were both fishing the same spot with power bait and he got 3-4 and I got skunked. He was fishing catch and release with barbless hooks. He put a bell on his pole and put it down so the fish swallowed the hook and we could see that it wasn't going to survive after the release.

The bigger question to me is the other guys tactics for catch and release.  Doesn't seem like a very good technique as many trout will go full kamikaze and end up gut hooked with power bait.  Thus negating the barbless hooks and making it difficult for CNR.  Not to mention he needs the rod in his hand for a quick hook set - and not using a bell - to try and prevent the PB from being swallowed.

+1 on the catch and release technique.

Echoing what others have already said: it's either a rainbow, a cutthroat, or a hybrid of the two.  Given the location, I'd say it's most likely a rainbow.

As for the coloration of the flesh: it all has to do with their diet.  When salmonids consume crustaceans, there's a carotenoid pigment in the crustacean called astaxanthin that is deposited in the salmonid's flesh.  This carotenoid pigment is what gives the fish pink/orange/red flesh.  In a freshwater system, reddish flesh can mean the fish was eating crayfish, scuds, or cladocerans.  In saltwater, it could indicate a krill/juvenile Dungeness crab diet.

Since people look more favorably upon trout and salmon with a reddish flesh, aquaculturists have seized the opportunity to make their hatchery-raised trout more appealing by feeding them fish meal that includes shrimp or krill to give their fish reddish flesh.

These are my favorite type of posts...
"Here's a picture of a dead fish. It was delicious. What type was it?" 

These are my favorite type of posts...
"Here's a picture of a dead fish. It was delicious. What type was it?" 

ID?

It was actually the white meat one I enjoyed the most. Interesting that two fish with access to the same forage in a small lake would have enough difference in their diet to be so different in color.

These are my favorite type of posts...
"Here's a picture of a dead fish. It was delicious. What type was it?" 

ID?

McFish   

seriously though, those are very nice pics.
From the flesh color on the fish I can at least know it tasted good. Orange= yummy