Avoiding Spawners - Video
Redington
In this episode of In The Loop, Bob Frankfurter goes over the signs of spawning fish and how to avoid them.
As tempting as it is, targeting spawning fish can negatively impact a fishery. Rainbows and cuts typically spawn early spring, while browns will spawn in the fall. During these time periods, beware of shallow gravel tail outs and watch out for redds. Avoid wading through redds and remember that you can still affect the eggs in the redd by walking directly above, over, or below them, because some eggs may have drifted. Other signs of spawning fish are, fish that are paired up, beat up tail from cleaning gravel, and darker colors. Avoiding redds and spawning fishing during these times can be difficult, but by watching for the right signs you can help preserve your favorite trout stream.
Originally published here.