any biologists out there?-trout question

notice this every year;
when i keep a trout late in the year and they are in their deep, dark spawning colors, they seem to be almost scale-free!!!??!?!?
when i clean trout, i fillet them, scrape to scales off, de-bone, and i'm done.
the dark trout have very few scales to scrape off.
do they "molt", or maybe absorb them for needed nutrients to spawn, or what???
just curious,
cheers, gw

They don't molt, sometimes i notice they scrape them off, especially males in put in takes where attempts are made to move up little streams for a spawn. This isn't the case if its all over the body. The other thing it may be is when trout are stressed the slime layer can be damaged and it seems like the scales are a bit looser and easier to remove. Your talking early spring rainbows correct?

nope.
i'm talking about right now in stocked lakes.
the bigger trout are full of eggs and virtually scale-free.
i've been told stocked trout can't reproduce so i have no prob. keeping a few. noone can explain to lack of scales to me tho....

Not sure whats up with the fish your catching. I checked a few sources and didn't find anything like what you described.

The put and takes i mentioned don't have spawning either, fish do try and move up ditches and drains during the spring though (instinctively) and may damage themselves. I checked a few other sources to no avail. The scales may just be really small in rapidly developing fish, that would be my only guesse. Good luck finding your answer.