Fall time

[Wildbrowntrout]

Should i stop fly fishing one of my favorite brook trout streams in the fall because of spawning? The water is crystal clear all year round and offers decent worm fishing for children. You can see the trout sitting on the beds while spawning. Does catching them affect them in any way when they are spawning?

 

[Chaz]

You should never fish over actively spawning fish. But that doesn't mean you quit altogether during the fall. All wild trout streams may be fish on a catch and release basis, just be aware of where and when trout spawn and you be okay. Generally Brook trout spawn during October and Brown Trout spawn in November.
They can and do overlap, with late spawning brook trout spawning during November in the Southeast Region. In the Northeast and North Central Regions they are usually finished spawning by mid-October.

 

[MKern]

Not wading is more important than not fishing.

If a fish swims over and eats your fly it probably wasn't obsessed with spawning yet.

 

[JeffK]

I fish egg patterns behind the redds and catch the fish waiting for the eggs to drop. In my experience the spawners wouldn't hit since they have sex on the mind. However, casting to them can spook them and keep them away from the business at hand and you run a risk of snagging fish on the redd. However, there are usually plenty of non-spawning fish just below the beds. The stocked rainbows are tricked into fall spawning at the hatchery and you can see some spawning (or trying to spawn) in Sept and Oct. I fish behind these fish a fair amount, but leave the wild brown and brookie streams alone at spawning time, or maybe go just to watch how the spawn is going.

 

[Wildbrowntrout]

I think that I will end up fishing anyway since some of the pools hold more than 20 trout. Every 100 yards theres a pool that is fishable without any brush. I love that creek.

 

[troutbert]

You've got the month of September to fish before spawning really gets going.

Sometimes you'll see a little bit of brookie spawning at the very end of Sept, but usually brookie spawning starts in the first week of October and the peak is usually around the second and third week.

Brownie spawning usually begins around October 20-something, and most of it occurs in November.

There is some variation in different areas based on temps. In cold areas (further north, higher elevation) the spawning starts somewhat earlier than in warm areas (further south, lower elevation.)