Trout are commonly known to be a fun game fish to catch all year round but have you ever taken a closer look at their mouth and seen how trout teeth look to see how different they are compared to other fish?
If you’ve never caught a trout before but have seen them from afar then you probably thought that they didn’t have any teeth at all but trout do have teeth and I go in-depth on the kind of teeth that they have and the way that they use their teeth to consume its prey.
Did you know that trout also have teeth on the roof of their mouth? Their called vomerine teeth and they play a major part when trout feed. In this article, I talk about how sharp trout teeth are if trout are capable of biting through fishing line and also the best type of lure that trout will bite on the most.
By the end of this article, you will learn about trout teeth facts and helpful tips for fishing trout so that you can catch more of them in no time.
We’re an affiliate We hope you love the products we recommend! Just so you know, we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. Thank you if you use our links, we really appreciate it!
Table Of Contents
Do Trout Have Teeth?
Yes, trout have teeth not only do they have small needle-like teeth on both their upper and lower jaw but they also have sharp incisor-like vomerine teeth on the roof of their mouth which are similar to the vomerine teeth that salmon have.
Unlike salmon that only have one row of vomerine teeth, trout have two rows of vomerine teeth and they grow bigger as well. Since some fishermen confuse trout and salmon with each other a good thing to do for telling them apart is to count the rows of vomerine teeth that they have.
If you ever catch a trout and think it’s a salmon take a look at the roof of its mouth if you see that there are two rows of teeth then it’s a trout but if it only has one row of teeth it’s a salmon. Depending on the trout species some trout even have small needle-like basibranchial teeth on the top of their tongues and others at the bottom of their mouth under the tongue.
The teeth that trout grow on their jaws are needle-like and quite small compared to the vomerine teeth that grow on the roof of their mouth. You can usually find vomerine teeth in frogs for the most part and the way that they help trout consume their prey is by swallowing it down its throat just like a frog does.
With sharp vomerine teeth, trout are able to lock their prey in its mouth and gulp it down its throat without it escaping in the process. When a trout catches its prey its vomerine teeth are angled in the direction of its throat so that it can be swallowed whole with the help of its tongue it doesn’t need to chew its prey as much as pike do with their teeth when they eat other fish.
The smaller sharp teeth on their jaws also play an important role when it comes to feeding and that’s by mainly helping trout with tearing its prey and catching it.
Rainbow Trout Teeth
Rainbow trout have small sharp teeth and their teeth are hard to see unless you’re holding one from up close. From a distance, rainbow trout look toothless but they’re not, they just have small needle-like teeth.
They do not have basibranchial teeth under their tongues which is a distinct characteristic that cutthroat trout have and you can use this for identifying them between each other. Just like the majority of the trout species they also have incisor-like vomerine teeth on the top of their mouth for holding the small prey that they eat.
When adult male rainbow trout grow a kype on their upper jaw their vomerine teeth are a lot more hidden. This is because their upper jaw changes into a hooked-shaped jaw making the roof of their mouth not as visible compared to the bottom of its mouth.
Cutthroat Trout Teeth
Cutthroat trout have incisor-like vomerine teeth on the roof area of their mouth and they also have needle-like basibranchial teeth on top of their tongue and under it. The basibranchial teeth that are on their tongue are small but sharp. Their upper and lower jaw teeth are sharp small needle-like teeth and they get larger as they grow but not too big.
Speckled Trout Teeth
Speckled trout do not have vomerine teeth or basibranchial teeth but they do have teeth that are larger than most trout species. This is because speckled trout are not actually a trout species, they are part of the drum family.
Adult speckled trout end up growing two large canine-like teeth that are sharp at the front of their upper jaw. At the bottom of their jaw is where almost all of their teeth are and they are smaller in size but still very sharp. They can also open their mouths pretty wide so if your fishing with a large fishing lure they will go for the bite.
Lake Trout Teeth
Since lake trout can get quite big their teeth are bigger than the teeth of rainbow trout but compared to the size that they can reach which is up to one hundred pounds in weight and be as long as fifty-nine inches in length their teeth don’t seem as big.
Their teeth are sharp and just like speckled trout having trout in its name but not being a real trout species, lake trout are also not a trout species but a cousin of trout which are char. But unlike speckled trout, lake trout do have vomerine teeth on the roof of their mouth. Lake trout have many nicknames they go by and since they look so similar to trout they were nicknamed lake trout for that reason.
Brown Trout Teeth
Brown trout have similar teeth to cutthroat trout and they also look like the same fish but they’re not and you can easily tell them apart by looking at the red-colored markings near their jaws. If there are no red marks around its jaws then it’s a brown trout and if there are then it’s a cutthroat trout.
Just like cutthroat trout, brown trout also have two rows of incisor-like vomerine teeth on the roof of their mouth and basibranchial teeth on their tongues usually around five and sometimes more depending on how big the trout is. The teeth on their jaws are small needle-like teeth and I remember when I caught an eleven-pound brown trout and I was surprised at how small its teeth were.
Sea Trout Teeth
Sea trout and brown trout are both the same fish species the difference in name is just the nickname that fishermen name them depending on if their an anadromous form of trout. If a trout is anadromous that means it will migrate from freshwater to the sea and then return to freshwater to spawn like salmon do when they go back to spawn upstream.
Although the main difference between brown trout and sea trout is body color when they migrate back to freshwater so that they can spawn the silver-colored body of the sea trout changes to brown which is the same body color of brown trout.
Brook Trout Teeth
Brook trout have a set of sharp teeth that are small and needle-like on both the top and bottom row of their jaws. They don’t have two rows of vomerine teeth like trout usually do but they do have a concave-shaped bone on the roof of their mouth. The concave-shaped bone has small teeth which are in a patch similar to the roof teeth of a northern pike.
They also have large teeth at the back of their throats and small needle-like basibranchial teeth on their tongues. If you’re wondering why brook trout don’t have vomerine teeth like most trout species do that’s because brook trout are like lake trout which are not really a trout species and are from the char family.
Tiger Trout Teeth
Since tiger trout is a hybrid fish made from two trout species a cross between a male brook trout and a female brown trout its teeth look similar to its parents. Just like brown and brook trout, tiger trout also have small needle-like jaw teeth.
White Trout Teeth
White trout are like speckled trout they both are from the drum family meaning that white trout isn’t a trout species. In the front of their mouth on their upper jaw, they have two big canine-like teeth. These two front teeth are sharp and help pierce their prey to hold it so that it can’t escape.
Its bottom row jaw has more teeth than its upper jaw but they are much smaller. When a white trout catches its prey, its larger canine-like teeth will hold it and its small bottom set of teeth will shred it to pieces. Also unlike most trout, there are no basibranchial teeth and no vomerine teeth in their mouth.
Are Trout Teeth Sharp?
Yes trout teeth are sharp, for trout to keep its prey inside of its mouth long enough to swallow it both its incisor like vomerine teeth on the roof of its mouth and the small needle-like teeth on its jaws must be sharp, or else they would not be able to hold its prey and it would just getaway.
Since trout consume small fish with hard scales and prey with tough shells like crayfish their sharp vomerine teeth are used to pierce right through their hard bodies to get a hold of them. Out of all of their teeth in their mouth from their tongue teeth to their jaw teeth, their vomerine teeth are the sharpest and can grow the largest too.
The bigger the trout is the larger its teeth are and also the sharper its teeth become so always be careful when you’re handling a big trout.
What Do Trout Bite On?
Trout bite on lifelike fishing lures that can swim in a realistic way just like a real fish so if you’re looking for one of the best trout lures for ponds or just an incredible lure for catching trout in general then you’re going to want to fish with a lure that is multi-jointed.
A lure that is designed with a multi-jointed body is able to swim like a real-life fish and will trick the trout into thinking that your lure is a real fish to attract it and make it strike. Along with that, the lure should also have a built-in rattle to trigger trout that aren’t near with its loud rattling noise and a high-quality painted body to make it look like an actual fish and give trout a natural presentation.
Once I catch them I keep the trout fresh in my fishing bucket that has an aerator so that they can stay fresh without ice on the way back home.
What Kind Of Teeth Do Trout Have?
Trout have incisor-like vomerine teeth on the roof of their mouth and as they grow bigger their vomerine teeth can get larger and sharper than their jaw teeth. Some trout species like cutthroat trout also have basibranchial teeth which are small needle-like teeth on top of their tongue and under their tongue on the floor of its mouth.
Since rainbow trout don’t have basibranchial teeth at bottom of their mouth you can tell the difference in trout species right away by looking at its teeth. The teeth that trout have on their jaws are also needle-like teeth and small in size like the basibranchial teeth that they have on their tongues. Even with most of their teeth being small they are still very sharp so make sure that you use a fish hook remover when you’re taking out the hook from a trout’s mouth.
Can Trout Bite Through Fishing Line?
No trout cannot bite through fishing line even with their teeth being sharp. Trout have strong jaws and can bite pretty hard but their teeth are somewhat small and are shaped too pointed. Their teeth are just not flat or big enough to be able to bite through fishing line so using either monofilament or braided line will be fine for trout fishing applications.
But just like every fishing line its abrasion resistance gets worn over time as you use the same line on many fishing trips and the line will get weaker in strength so it can still get cut while your reeling in trout.
Also just cause trout cant bite through fishing line doesn’t mean that a leader isn’t needed. If your fishing in a clear river that’s not as muddy then trout will be able to see your fishing line much better and could get scared when it sees it and swim away causing you to lose a possible trout catch.
Do You Need A Leader For Trout Fishing?
Although you don’t need a leader for trout fishing using a fluorocarbon leader can increase your chances of catching more trout and give you an upper hand over other fishermen that don’t use a fluorocarbon leader. This is because trout are the type of species that are commonly known for being line shy so when a trout spots your line it will just avoid it most of the time.
With fluorocarbon line as a leader, trout won’t be able to see your line since it nearly looks invisible in the water and this will give trout a natural presentation that will help in making them bite. Along with that fluorocarbon line also has more abrasion resistance than both braided and monofilament line so you won’t have to change it as often.
I remember fishing for trout in a river that had clear water with a friend, he was using braided line and I was using the same type of line but the only difference was that I had a fluorocarbon leader at the end of my line. By the end of the day I ended up catching three times more trout than my friend and I was surprised at how much of a difference using a fluorocarbon leader made.
Now when I go trout fishing I always make sure to use a fluorocarbon leader. One thing that I did notice throughout my trout fishing trips was that the longer my leader was the harder it would be for the trout to see my braided mainline. That’s why I recommend using a three feet long leader just so that you can have that extra line invisibility.
As for the pound test I recommend a six-pound test fluorocarbon leader if your fishing for trout in ponds but if your fishing for larger trout in lakes and rivers then an eight-pound test fluorocarbon leader will be sufficient. And for fishing big-sized lake trout a fifteen-pound test fluorocarbon leader for that extra line strength.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, trout have teeth that do a great job of holding their prey inside of its mouth to swallow it down its throat without having to chew it.
Now that you have learned about trout teeth whenever you catch a trout take a look at its hidden vomerine teeth on the roof of its upper jaw to get a good view of how bizarre they look.