Egg survival on redds

[laszlo]

I was fishing this afternoon and came across a large redd. Didn't see any fish on it but wondered what happens to the eggs once laid. I"ve caught loads of little guys on this stream so I know they survive but always curious of the percentage of survival. I don't exactly know how the process works but I imagine once the eggs are laid they become embedded or stuck in the rocks in the redd and remain there for about 60 days until hatched. They seem so exposed setting there in the redd all that time easy pickings for other fish, herons, mink or any other predators. Plus water conditions, temperature, pollution , how do any survive? Anyone else curious about this?

 

[Arminacast]

This is interesting to me also. I am blessed to have a trout stream that is 20 feet behind my house, I can watch trout build a redd and go through the motions of spawning, but I don't see any eggs. I have stood as close as I dare without disturbing the redd yet I can't see any eggs. I do know that there are wild trout present. Also interesting is the fact that I have observed brown trout building a redd in the same location (within a few feet) for at lest the last 6 years.

 

[CRB]

2%

 

[Fish Sticks]

One large factor, although not in the egg stage, is large flow events within 30 -70 days of when brook trout fry emerge cause large mortality. They can get washed out of the stream or displaced very far down stream. I don’t know as much about the egg stage beyond dewatering and redd scour being harmful.

 

[ryansheehan]

2%

Brown trout produce about 900 eggs per pound of body weight at spawning. 2% seems to get the job done but only the strongest(luckiest?) survive.

 

[MBWCC]

Everything you wanted to know about brown trout spawning, redds, eggs, etc. : https://www.wildtrout.org/content/trout-lifecycle

 

[Silent Ocelot]

Brown trout produce about 900 eggs per pound of body weight at spawning. 2% seems to get the job done but only the strongest(luckiest?) survive.

Survival of the fittest.

 

[CRB]

That is life. The others are/well be too week to survive and procreate the species.

 

[sandflyx]

Watch wading beds are still full of eggs, brooks hatch late Feb. To April. I stay out of brookie streams till then.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Watch wading beds are still full of eggs, brooks hatch late Feb. To April. I stay out of brookie streams till then.

I do exactly the same, the “brook trout streams” are smaller and its not like penns or the breeches frequently where you can find an obvious silty mucky area or just hit the trail and go around alot of the time.

Now that being said I still fish for brook trout, just not in streams PA fish and Boat calls brook trout streams or not where they spawn. All 86,000 stream miles are cold enough much of the year.