The mechanism by which gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and dopamine (DA) control gonadotropin (GTH) release was studied in male and female rainbow trout using cultured pituitary cells obtained at different reproductive stages. The mechanisms of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) release by GnRH and DA could not be determined yet. However, basal and salmon-type GnRH (sGnRH)- or chicken-II-type GnRH (cGnRH-II)- induced luteinizing hormone (LH) release increased with gonadal maturation in both sexes. LH release activity was higher after sGnRH stimulation than cGnRH-II stimulation at maturing stages in both sexes. The GnRH antagonist ([Ac-3, 4-dehydro-$Pro^1$, D-p-F-$Phe^2$, D-$Trp^{3,6}$] GnRH) suppressed LH release by sGnRH stimulation in a dose-dependent manner, although the effect was weak in maturing fish. The role of DA as a GTH-release inhibitory factor differs during the reproductive cycle: the inhibition of sGnRH-stimulated LH release by DA was stronger in immature fish than in maturing, ovulating, or spermiated fish. DA did not completely inhibit sGnRH-stimulated LH release, and DA alone did not alter basal LH release. Relatively high doses ($10^{-6}$ or $10^{-5}M$) of domperidone (DOM, a DA D2 antagonist) increased LH release, which did not change with reproductive stage in either sex. The potency of DOM to enhance sGnRH-stimulated LH release was higher in maturing and ovulated fish than in immature fish. These data suggest that LH release from the pituitary gland is controlled by dual neuroendocrine mechanisms by GnRH and DA in rainbow trout, as has been reported in other teleosts. The mechanism of control of FSH release, however, remains unknown.