The brook trout, or brookie, has been called the most beautiful fish in the world. Each one is a unique work of art. Their greenish back is packed with squiggly black markings. Fins are often bright red, with wide white leading edges that look almost artificial. Their sides are spotted with red and purple, and their bellies are white and orange. Brook trout are the smallest of our local salmonids, seldom reaching a pound in weight. But long ago, dozens of strains of "Coaster" brook trout thrived in lake superior. These fish were migratory, like salmon, and weighed in at several pounds average. Sadly, the coasters were exterminated from almost all US waters and today very few, if any, still survive.