Studies were conducted to determine the length of time required to purge a muddy–earthy flavor taint from pond cultured rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) transferred to two different clear water environments. Sensory data from trained judges show that this required 5 days for fish transferred to a rapidly changing purified artificial water environment and 16 days for fish transferred to a relatively static natural water environment to reduce this taint to or below threshold levels of recognition.