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Do trout have teeth?

Anglers who are new to fly fishing often ask if trout have teeth. Yes, trout do have teeth. Do all trout have teeth? Yes of course all trout do have teeth. Some species of trout have more teeth, and some have more specialized teeth. Trout, salmon and char all have different types of teeth that have evolved for particular purposes.

Brown trout [Salmo trutta] have very pronounced teeth in both the upper and lower mandibles. Since brown trout have a varied prey range, especially as they mature, their teeth are rather large for a trout. Browns also have well developed vomerine teeth on the roofs of their mouths. The general rule of the bigger the trout the bigger the teeth certainly applies to browns. Brown trout over 5 lbs. have very large teeth. At this point they are generally piscivorous and use these oversized teeth to capture and hold their prey. Piscivorous means that they eat other fish. Big browns, like the trout in the image above will also prey on amphibians, small water snakes or just about anything that swims or attempts to swim that they can get into their mouths.

Brook trout [Salvelinus fontinalis] also have very pronounced teeth on both the upper and lower mandibles. Brook trout are not really trout, they are char. Like brown trout, brook trout will have a variety of prey. When brook trout are found in their natural environment, such as small to medium sized streams, they are also small to medium sized. Their teeth are quite small because they and their prey are generally small as well. Where brook trout inhabit ponds or lakes, they can become quite large. Their diet will change as well. Virtually anything they can grab is fair game. When brook trout exceed 5lbs. like those found on the Boulder Mountain, they will usually have very large teeth. They will develop noticeable teeth on the tongue and in two distinct rows on the vomer bone in the roof of their mouths. You can clearly see the obviously large teeth on the upper and lower mandibles as well as on the tongue of the huge brookie in the image below.

Tiger trout, a hybrid is the result of crossing a female Brown trout [Salmo trutta] with a male brook trout [salvelinus fontinalis]. The result is a fish that carries traits from both parent species, both in general physical attributes as well as feeding habits. Tiger trout have particularly well developed teeth. They are known to be very aggressive to the fly. These hybrid trout are also known to be very piscivorous when they mature. Their appetite for smaller fish is one of the main reasons they are stocked into many lakes on the Boulder Mountain. The other reason is they offer exiting diversity to anglers. Since they are a sterile hybrid, they will not reproduce and are adept at controlling the population in other fish that may naturally reproduce and overcrowd the lake, such as brook trout. By the time tiger trout fully mature and reach trophy proportions, they have also grown an impressive set of teeth, like the trout in the image below.

Splake, another hybrid trout stocked on the Boulder Mountain [UDWR] are a cross between Brook trout [Salvelinus fontinalis] and Lake trout [Salvelinus namaycush]. They, like the tiger trout are also sterile and were stocked into the lakes of the Boulder Mountain for the same reasons as the tiger trout. Both parent species of the splake are char. When mature, the splake is very piscivorous and will readily attack streamer patterns. All of their teeth are very pronounced like those of the very large splake in the image below.

There are many sub-species of cutthroat trout. There are two distinct sub-species of cutthroat trout on the Boulder Mountain. The Bonneville Cutthroat trout [Oncorhynchus clarkii utah] and the Colorado River Cutthroat trout [Oncorhynchus clarkii pleuriticus] have been reintroduced by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources [UDWR]. Both of these cutthroat trout have teeth in the upper and lower mandibles as well as vomerine teeth [on the roof of the mouth] and basibranchial teeth [on the tongue and at the base or back of the tongue]. The Bonneville has two rows of vomerine teeth on the roof of the mouth. There are also teeth on the tongue as well as the rear area at the base of the tongue and on the gill arches. These vomerine teeth are clearly visible on the Bonneville cutthroat in the image below.

Colorado River cutthroat also display these vomerine and basibranchial teeth, though not as pronounced as those of the Bonneville cutthroat. The Colorado River cutthroats are also not as prone to eating other fish as are the Bonneville cutthroat. This may explain why their teeth have not evolved like those of the Bonneville cutthroat. The Colorado River cutthroat in the image below is of substantial proportions. However, this trout is content to feed upon a varied diet of caddis, mayflies, damselflies and scuds and does not show much interest in eating other fish. The Bonneville cutthroat feed on these insects as well, but they, like the brown, brook and tiger trout, will also show a great interest in large streamers representing minnows or fingerlings.

Rainbow trout [Oncorhynchus mykiss] are also found in some lakes and most of the streams of the Boulder Mountain and the surrounding area. Rainbows have very sharp teeth on both the upper and lower mandibles, although they lack the basibranchial teeth. However, some rainbows will have teeth on their tongues and at the rear or base of the tongue. Rainbows having the basibranchial teeth would indicate some hybridization with cutthroats. These trout are most often referred to as “cuttbows” by anglers. The very large wild cuttbow in the image below looks like any other wild rainbow except for the well pronounced teeth on the jaws, the tongue and on the roof of the mouth.

When it comes to teeth, trout do have them and the bigger the trout, the bigger the teeth. It is advisable to always have a good pair of hemostats on your vest to easily remove your flies from the trout’s mouth. It is much easier on the trout and also easier on your fingers.

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