The brook trout is found throughout the Maritimes, Newfoundland, and Labrador. It is common in Quebec and Ontario, as well as the northeastern corner of Manitoba. In the United States the brook trout occurs in the northeastern states, in the Appalachian Mountains south to Georgia, in the upper Mississippi and in the Great Lakes drainage areas of Minnesota. It has also been widely introduced in river systems in western Canada.

The Brook is the only species of trout native to the Newfoundland and Labrador and the maritimes of Canada. Also known as "spec" or "speckled trout" by some, the brook is not a true trout, but a ""char"." The brook trout cannot tolerate high temperatures, environmental abuses like pollution or heavy angling pressure. Due to its smaller size, the brook trout is at a competitive disadvantage when it occurs with rainbow trout and retreats upstream to avoid competition.