Ohrid Trout Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Deep-bodied, laterally compressed trout with a relatively small head compared to other large trout
• Flanks show dense black and reddish-brown spots, often ringed with pale halos, scattered above and below the lateral line
• Background color ranges from golden-brown to silvery, darker on the back and paling toward the belly
• Adipose fin present behind the dorsal fin, a small fatty fin typical of salmonids
• Adults can reach substantial size, often well over 40 cm, with older individuals appearing noticeably deep-bodied and robust

Common look-alikes

• Brown trout (Salmo trutta): very similar overall pattern, but Ohrid trout is restricted to Lake Ohrid and its tributaries and tends to run deeper-bodied with denser spotting
• Sea trout: the migratory brown trout form is more silvery and streamlined with fewer visible spots than the resident, heavily marked Ohrid trout
• Danube salmon (Hucho hucho): much more elongated and torpedo-shaped with sparser, smaller spotting, unlike the deep, compact Ohrid trout body

Where you'll see one

Ohrid trout is endemic to Lake Ohrid on the border of North Macedonia and Albania, where it spawns in the lake's tributary streams and spends most of its life foraging in the lake's clear, cold, oxygen-rich waters.