Wild Trout Greeting Cards

Selected favorite photographs of wild trout made by award-winning angler writer and photographer Thomas R. Pero are reproduced in this set of 12 handsome greeting cards. Images of two brown trout ("trophy brown" and "watercress brown" and two rainbow trout ("fighting rainbow" and gorgeous rainbow") are each reproduced four times—12 cards total with matching envelopes in a colorful presentation box. Cards are 5 x 7 inches folded blank inside with a description of each species on the back: Brown Trout Salmo trutta Brown trout were first successfully introduced to American waters in 1883 from a shipment of 80,000 fertilized eggs bred in waters of the Black Forest in Germany. The hardy European-Asian native is now found throughout the world in suitable coldwater habitats, most famously in the clear freshwater streams of New Zealand and in Argentina, where sea-run populations thrive. In part because they seek cover such as undercut banks and log jams, brown trout have a reputation as difficult to catch. Larger specimens are also nocturnal predators—exceptional eyesight allows optimal functioning in dim light. The species is a favorite of fly fishers who go to challenging extremes matching specific and often tiny aquatic insects on which individual fish become selectively fixated. Most populations spawn in autumn. While typical adult wild browns living in a freshwater stream in Montana or Wyoming, for instance, might range from eight to 18 inches, some grow considerably larger. Hatchery browns introduced to Great Lakes tributaries and migrating to the lakes for feeding commonly reach lengths of 24 to 30 inches and weights of more than 10 pounds. The world record is 40 pounds four ounces, caught in May 1992 from the Little Red River in Arkansas. ISBN 978-098422710-5