Splake situations. Hence, splake are well suited for stocking in a variety of coldwater lakes and ponds. The maximum size is about 9 kg (20 lb), but fish over 4 kg (9 lb) are rare and are considered trophies. An example would be in Ontario, where both F1 splake and the lake trout backcross have been planted for several years. The backcross is the result of an F1 splake male being crossed with a female lake trout ("i.e.", 75% lake trout and 25% brook trout). Although splake were first described in 1880, Ontario began experimenting with the hybrids in the 1960s
Splake in an effort to replace collapsed lake trout stocks in the Great Lakes. Due to mediocre results, the experiment never really progressed beyond Georgian Bay. The theory was that splake would grow more quickly and mature sooner than lake trout with the hope that they would be able to reproduce before being attacked by the invasive sea lamprey. Unfortunately, although splake are relatively unusual among hybrids in that they are fertile, fertility in nature is behaviourally problematic—very few natural progeny are produced by introduced splake populations. After some experimentation in the late 1970s, stocking in the Great Lakes and, especially,