Technical Abstract: This study was conducted to determine the effects of increasing dietary lipid concentrations on fillet characteristics of post-juvenile rainbow trout. A feeding trial was conducted with fish meal based diets containing 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30% lipid for 24 wk. Menhaden oil was the lipid ingredient. Weight gain was significantly greater in fish fed the 30% lipid diet than in fish fed either 10%, 15%, or 20% lipid diets. There were no significant differences in visceral somatic index. Fillet lipid concentration of fish fed the 30% lipid diet (9.2-g lipid/100-g fillet) was significantly higher (P< 0.05) than fish fed either the 10% or 15% lipid diets (5.8- and 6.9-g lipid/100g fillet, respectively). In samples stored for 3 d at 5 C or 8 wk at -20 C, sensory panelists reported that the cooked fillets from fish fed the 30% lipid diet were “more fishy” than fish fed the 15% lipid diet, and preferred the cooked fillets from the 15% lipid treatment over the 30% lipid treatment. Triangle tests and fillet colorimetry showed no significant differences between fillets from fish fed the 15% and 30% lipid diets at any sampling time point. No significant differences in fillet concentrations of thiobarbituric reactive substances were observed among dietary treatments stored at either 5 C or -20 C. These results suggest that two main effects of feeding a 30% lipid diet (with fish oil as the lipid source) are higher lipid concentration in the fillet and a “fishier” aroma compared to fillets from fish fed a 15% lipid diet.