Four strains of yearling lake trout Salvelinus namaycush from the 1985 and 1986 year-classes at the Allegheny National Fish Hatchery were evaluated for nuclear cataracts prior to stocking in Lake Ontario in June 1986 and 1987. Lake trout recaptured by bottom trawling from April to August 1987 and 1988 were examined for cataracts. Cataract frequencies in three strains of yearling lake trout at stocking in 1986 and after 14 and 26 months in the lake were: Seneca Lake–35, 24, and 29%; Lake Ontario–32,24, and 42%; and Lake Superior–7,4, and 6%. Cataract frequencies for yearlings at stocking in 1987 and after 2 and 14 months were: Seneca Lake–51, 37, and 51 %; Lake Superior–7,12, and 12%; and Jenny Lake–46,13, and 36%. Cataract frequency was lower (P < 0.05) at capture in three of the six groups recaptured in 1987 and in two of the six groups in 1988. Fish with cataracts in the 1987 recovery had survival ratios of 17–186% after 2 months in the lake and 48–67% after 14 months, compared with normal-eyed fish of the same strain. Nuclear cataract frequency was relatively stable after the first year of lake residency, when equilibrium was achieved between the increased mortality of cataract phenotypes and the rate of cataract development in normal-eyed phenotypes. Within groups, weight and length were not different between healthy fish and fish with cataracts. The absence of growth depression in fish with cataracts and the reduced survival rate suggested that faster growing fish were more susceptible to cataract formation.