Spawning trout

afishinado

afishinado

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Link below to a great article about spawning trout, written by Steve Swensky of Fly Fishers Paradise in State College.

http://flyfishersparadise.com/learning-center/to-fish-or-not-to-fish
 
Nice article. Thanks for this one.
 
Thanks for posting this...
I was having this conversation this weekend with non-members. I will be forwarding it.
 
Typically don't bother them from mid Oct to mid December. It's the polite thing to do .....plus......you want them to make more young uns.
 
The Nature Boy wrote:

Typically don't bother them from mid Oct to mid December. It's the polite thing to do .....plus......you want them to make more young uns.
Only my 2nd season fishin so I'm still new to this. Should I not be fishing from now until Dec 15th-ish?
 
Fall fishing is generally good fishing. I just stay away from the redds if I see them. I haven't seen any yet this year although I've mostly been nymphing pools since the water is low and clear. Even the riffles aren't producing like they should for the conditions.
 
There is still some brown trout spawning activity going on in the Cumberland Valley this week. This may persist another week or so.

[/quote]
Stagger_Lee wrote:
Only my 2nd season fishin so I'm still new to this. Should I not be fishing from now until Dec 15th-ish? [/quote]

It's up to you and is a matter of personal ethics.
I love trout fishing this time of year and simply avoid fishing (or wading) over spawning fish or redds. There are certain streams or areas of certain streams that I'll avoid during the spawn.....but generally I see no reason not to go fishing. I'm actually a bit more careful during bass spawning season and usually don't do much bass fishing in the period from about late April until early June. Unlike trout, which leave their fertilized eggs after spawning, bass actually guard over their redds after the eggs hatch. Removing a male bass from the redd it is defending, even if only for a few minutes, can result in the young being devoured by opportunistic sunfish and other critters that the male bass is constantly keeping at bay.
 
Good article - I never knew that 25% decease. Anyone ever noticed trout belly up in the late fall ?
 
I was on a brookies stream yesterday where there were plenty on spawning beds evident, and they were fresh, so if you are in SEPA there probably are brookies still spawning, and probably at Big Spring too.
 
geebee wrote:
Good article - I never knew that 25% decease. Anyone ever noticed trout belly up in the late fall ?

I’ve never noticed any floating necessarily, but I do note that many wild, post spawn Trout are often very thin this time of year. I often wonder if these fish make it over the Winter without putting some mass back on.

I fished a steep trickle of a Brookie stream yesterday and caught two very thin, big headed post spawn males. Both were about 5 or 6”, which is about as big as you can expect a Brookie to get in a stream like this. Water was fairly low and very clear, but they both let me approach their tiny plunge pools close enough to sight fish them, and they still violently attacked my fly when I cast it to them. Normally I would have expected these fish to spook at that distance in yesterday’s conditions…may very well be a product of them prioritizing food over safety to a higher degree, temporarily at least. I also caught a very long – 11”, but very thin, female Brookie a couple weeks ago that was also obviously post spawn. I wouldn’t be surprised if these older, adult fish don’t make it over the Winter after their spawning efforts.
 
Stagger_Lee wrote:
The Nature Boy wrote:

Typically don't bother them from mid Oct to mid December. It's the polite thing to do .....plus......you want them to make more young uns.
Only my 2nd season fishin so I'm still new to this. Should I not be fishing from now until Dec 15th-ish?

Stagger if you don't know what to look for then I recommend not fishing. Kudos to you for at least inquiring. As you get more experienced you will learn how to avoid the redds and fish ethically during the spawn.
 
Because of the stresses to trout caused by spawning, many don't survive the winter. Especially in infertile streams they loose a lot of body fat due to the spawn and never gain it back, causing starvation during winter.
I've ever seen much in the way of unusually high numbers of dead fish after the spawn, I think in most streams dead fish go un-noticed. I see dead fish now and then, but nothing close to being a 'fish kill.'
It is good that we have had some pretty cold weather right after the spawn though, it keeps people off streams if only for a few days. I typically curtail my fishing in the fall around the hunting seasons, because I mosly fish on public land, but also because the hatches are pretty much finished for the year on most of the streams I fish.
 
Chaz wrote:
....so if you are in SEPA there probably are brookies still spawning, and probably at Big Spring too.

Absolutely. Saw two paired up on a redd last week when I was there.
 
I've seen brookies still on their redds in Big Spring in late January, or maybe even into February. Maybe Fishidiot can remember the exact date?
 
Afish,

I think we went the middle of February and still saw some of the brook trout spawning.
 
dkile wrote:
Afish,

I think we went the middle of February and still saw some of the brook trout spawning.

Correct. Brook trout in Big Spring are winter spawners and spawn mostly in Dec/Jan. However, this is unusual as brook trout are typically done spawning elsewhere in PA by November.
 
Good article. Our TU did a redd count on the Bushkill and there were more redds this year than last. That is a good sign.
I will fish but I follow the rules that the writer does. Stay away from redds and spawning fish. All the others are fair game. I do try to release them quickly, since the don't have much energy to spare after the spawn.
Bill
 
To each his own. To me its the best time to get the larger fish since a) they are less skitterish and b) more accesible due to their presence in streams that barely cover their backs. Its also a good time to get out and see what a stream really holds. You think your favorite lil' crick doesn't hold big trout but all evidence to the contrary when you go there November 1st. It really is an eye opener even when you don't see fish but see redds that are 3 to 4 feet long. Its also very humbling seeing all of them and wondering where the f they go the rest of the year. lol
 
afishinado wrote:
I've seen brookies still on their redds in Big Spring in late January, or maybe even into February. Maybe Fishidiot can remember the exact date?
The original brookies at Big Spring spawned as late as January, maybe some of those fish are still present, yet another reason to favor the brookies there.
 
NJAngler wrote:
To each his own. To me its the best time to get the larger fish since a) they are less skitterish and b) more accesible due to their presence in streams that barely cover their backs. Its also a good time to get out and see what a stream really holds. You think your favorite lil' crick doesn't hold big trout but all evidence to the contrary when you go there November 1st. It really is an eye opener even when you don't see fish but see redds that are 3 to 4 feet long. Its also very humbling seeing all of them and wondering where the f they go the rest of the year. lol


I agree 100%.
 
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