Splake – Canada’s Hybrid Trout Powerhouse
The splake (Salvelinus namaycush × Salvelinus fontinalis) is a hybrid cross between a male brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and a female lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Named by blending “speckled trout” (a nickname for brook trout) and “lake trout,” the splake is a fast-growing, hardy sportfish widely stocked across Canada in coldwater lakes. Though sterile, splake combine the best traits of their parents—strength, aggression, and adaptability—making them ideal for anglers and fisheries managers alike.
Biology & Identification
As a hybrid, splake inherit mixed characteristics:
- Body shape: Intermediate between brook and lake trout; often more streamlined than brook trout but stockier than lake trout.
- Colouration: Varies—can display light spots on dark olive-brown bodies (like brook trout) and a deeply forked tail (like lake trout).
- Size: Typically 1–4 kg (2–9 lbs), but can exceed 7 kg (15+ lbs) in productive waters.
- Fins: May retain the white fin edges of brook trout, with a deeper forked tail like lake trout.
Splake thrive in cold, deep, well-oxygenated lakes, where they are stocked due to their hardiness, rapid growth, and strong survival rates, especially in water bodies where lake trout reproduction is limited.
Fishing Techniques
Splake are aggressive feeders and provide excellent year-round angling, particularly in spring and fall when water temperatures cool. Ice fishing for splake is also extremely popular.
Effective methods include:
- Trolling: Deep-diving crankbaits, spoons, or live bait along drop-offs and thermoclines.
- Still fishing: Jigging with minnows, worms, or salted bait from boats or through the ice.
- Fly fishing: Streamers and nymphs near inlets and shoals during the early season.
- Ice fishing: Jigging spoons, tube jigs, and set lines tipped with bait at 15–30 feet.
Because splake are often stocked in lakes with limited natural forage, matching small preyfish or crustaceans can improve success.
Regional Overview
Ontario
- Stocked lakes: Found in Algonquin Park, the Sudbury area, Temagami, and parts of northwestern Ontario.
- Top waters: Lake Temagami, North Tea Lake, Lake Nipissing (some bays), and dozens of smaller backcountry lakes.
- Stocking is aimed at enhancing angling where lake trout cannot reproduce effectively.
- Splake are often part of winter angling opportunities, offering consistent action through the ice.
Manitoba & Saskatchewan
Splake are stocked in a selection of smaller coldwater lakes.
- Popular destinations: Manitoba’s Duck Mountains and Saskatchewan’s trout-stocked lakes in the boreal zone.
- Used where lake trout cannot establish due to thermal layering or limited spawning habitat.
Alberta & British Columbia
Splake are rarely stocked in Alberta but are used experimentally in high-elevation lakes. In BC, lake trout and brook trout are typically stocked separately, with splake less common.
Quebec
Quebec stocks splake in select cold lakes in the Laurentians and Gaspé regions. Often promoted in réserve faunique zones and ZECs for sport angling.
Atlantic Canada & Northern Territories
- Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick: Some use of splake in stocked trout lakes, especially in colder inland lakes where brook trout struggle in summer heat.
- Yukon/NWT: Minimal to no splake presence, focusing on native or coldwater-adapted species.
Conservation & Management
- Sterile hybrids: Splake are functionally sterile, preventing interbreeding and allowing precise population control.
- Stocking tool: Useful in balancing predator-prey relationships in lakes where brook or lake trout reproduction is insufficient.
- Catch regulations: Often included in general trout limits but may be treated separately in some regions; always check local rules.
The Best of Both Trout Worlds
For anglers who enjoy the beauty of brook trout and the challenge of lake trout, splake provide an exciting blend of both. Whether you're ice fishing in northern Ontario or trolling in a backcountry lake, splake offer fast action, hard strikes, and an unforgettable coldwater fishing experience.