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The spawning process is arguably the most important event of a trout’s life. The best trout in the system spawn every year. And as long term anglers, we should understand the process — not only because we then know how to give trout their space, but because the process is a fascinating look at a fish that we spend so much time chasing.
We do not advocate fishing for actively spawning trout. But in many watersheds, it’s easy to stay away from the redds and give trout plenty of room by simply understanding the process. That’s the focus of our conversation in this episode: where, when and how do trout spawn in a river? This podcast is a follow up to another that we published a few years ago, with Episode 2 of Season 9 — Trout Fishing and the Spawn.
My friends, Austin Dando, Bill Dell and Matt Grobe join me for a great conversation.
Resources
READ: Troutbitten | Redd Fish – Should we fish for trout through the spawn or stay home?
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Trout Fishing and the Spawn. S9, Ep2
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Enjoy the day.
Domenick Swentosky
T R O U T B I T T E N
domenick@troutbitten.com
It’s sad but the CT Guides thst guide on the Farmington targeted the spawning browns the entire spawn. Then those catches are held for pictures and make the report page of the local fly shop. Kind of sad.
Yeah, I’m not a fan of that.
I’m seeing brown trout still on redds this first week in January on my local warm spring creek in Eastern PA. Is there a way to know when it’s safe to fish this stream again? Am I waiting for fish to be off the redds to know it’s over and I can fish again or waiting for a specific time period? Newer angler trying to learn my local waters and it seems to be much later than most info online suggests.
Thanks, Alec
Hi Alec,
I don’t think we said anywhere in this podcast that it’s unsafe to fish during the spawn. In fact, we did another podcast all about the ethics of fishing during the spawn. That is linked above, and I mentioned it in our talk. Also, here’s an article about with the same thoughts.
https://troutbitten.com/2018/11/07/redd-fish-should-we-fish-for-trout-through-the-spawn-or-stay-home/
The point is, it’s easy to avoid redds while you’re out there, if you have the discipline not fish fish close to them.
Also, yes, in some creeks and streams, it’s not uncommon to see trout spawning earlier or later, even in the same region. Again, that’s why I think it’s important to be able to recognize redds, understand the process of spawning trout and make decisions based on your own waters.
Lastly, remember that the eggs are in those redds until the end of March. And once the spawn is over, you won’t recognize the redds in a couple of week — meaning they won’t be light in color any longer. So if you don’t know where trout spawn in your river or what the gravel looks like, it’s probably best to stay out of the water until April, or you’ll be doing more damage to the system than you actually would while fishing during the spawn. Make sense?
Cheers.
Dom