Listen to the Song – Crystal Brooke – Brook Trout
The complete lyrics are included in the companion book, Our Jewels in the Water, allowing readers to follow every song while learning about Britain’s remarkable freshwater fish.
Enjoying the music?
The companion book Our Jewels in the Water includes the full lyrics, additional stories, exclusive photographs and beautiful illustrations for every species.
The Brook Trout
The Jewel of the Crystal Brook
“Where crystal waters dance over shining stones lives a fish so beautifully coloured it seems almost too perfect to be real.”
Species Profile
The Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) is one of the most beautifully coloured freshwater fish in the world. Despite its name, it is not a true trout at all, but a member of the char family, closely related to the Arctic Char.
Native to the cool streams, rivers and lakes of eastern North America, the Brook Trout has been introduced into a small number of carefully managed waters in Britain, where its dazzling colours have earned it admiration from anglers and naturalists alike.
Its dark olive back is beautifully marbled with lighter markings, while its flanks are decorated with bright red spots surrounded by delicate blue halos. During the spawning season, its orange fins, edged with striking bands of white and black, make it one of nature’s finest works of art.
It is truly a jewel of the crystal brook.
Clive’s Match Angler’s Notes
Some fish impress through their size.
Others through their fighting ability.
The Brook Trout captures your heart through its sheer beauty.
The first time I saw one, I could hardly believe that a fish could possess such remarkable colours.
It looked as though an artist had carefully painted every marking by hand.
Its marbled back blended perfectly with the rocks and gravel beneath the water, while the brilliant red spots and brightly coloured fins shone like tiny jewels whenever the sunlight reached them.
Standing beside a crystal-clear stream, watching such a magnificent fish glide effortlessly through the current, is an experience no angler ever forgets.
The Brook Trout reminds us that some of nature’s greatest masterpieces are found in the quietest places.
Natural History
Brook Trout thrive in cold, exceptionally clean, well-oxygenated streams and lakes.
Unlike many fish, they are highly sensitive to rising water temperatures and pollution, making them excellent indicators of healthy aquatic environments.
Their diet consists mainly of aquatic insects, freshwater crustaceans, worms and, as they grow larger, small fish.
During autumn, the fish develop even richer colours as they prepare to spawn over clean gravel beds, where the next generation begins its life.
Although introduced into Britain, Brook Trout require the same pristine conditions they enjoy in their native North American waters.
Where they flourish, the water is usually of the highest quality.
Interesting Facts
- Scientific name: Salvelinus fontinalis.
- Family: Salmonidae.
- Despite its name, the Brook Trout is actually a char, not a true trout.
- Native to eastern North America.
- Introduced into selected British fisheries.
- One of the most beautifully coloured freshwater fish in the world.
- Prefers cold, crystal-clear streams and lakes.
- Becomes even more brilliantly coloured during the spawning season.
- Highly sensitive to pollution and warming water.
Behind the Song
When writing By the Crystal Brook, I wanted the music to reflect peace, beauty and the purity of flowing water.
The gentle melody follows the movement of a clear woodland stream, while the lyrics celebrate a fish whose colours seem almost too beautiful to belong to the natural world.
The song is not only about the Brook Trout.
It is about the crystal-clear waters that sustain it.
Protect the brook, and the jewel will always remain.
Conservation
Brook Trout depend upon some of the cleanest freshwater habitats on Earth.
Cold, oxygen-rich water, natural gravel beds and healthy insect life are essential for their survival.
Climate change, pollution and habitat degradation threaten these fragile environments.
Protecting clear streams benefits not only the Brook Trout but countless other species that depend upon the same pristine conditions.
Healthy brooks are among nature’s greatest treasures.
Clive’s Reflection
Some fish are admired for their strength.
Others for their size.
The Brook Trout reminds us that beauty alone can leave a lasting impression.
Whenever I think of this remarkable fish, I picture a crystal-clear stream flowing gently beneath overhanging trees, where every stone can be seen and every ripple sparkles in the sunlight.
There, among the dancing reflections, swims one of nature’s finest masterpieces.
Its colours are not there to impress us.
They are simply part of the wonderful design of the natural world.
That is why, to me, the Brook Trout will always be…
The Jewel of the Crystal Brook.
“The clearest waters often reveal nature’s most beautiful secrets.”