Fishing in fall and winter (with as little impact on spawning as possible)

[jifigz]

Winter trout fishing is lousy. You gotta wait till March or April when they stock more. Everybody knows that!

Then you only got a few good weeks till it's all fished out and wait till next year....

 

[Mike]

Love watching this every year in the mouth of “the run” every april
View attachment 1641233214

Fish Sticks,
Only pointing this ID out because a lot of anglers don’t know that white suckers color up like that in spring…as seen in your pic above. Good pic.

 

[jifigz]

Honestly, yinz' guys are all nuts. Go fishing! Brown trout are fine. Even if you waded through a redd or targeted spawners, they'll be fine.

Either nymph or fish streamers. If one doesn't work, then try the other!

This board has been on an obnoxious repeat for months.. Wait.... Maybe years by now.

 

[McSneek]

This **** is getting old. Three or four self impressed individuals pretty much hijacking the site. Yes, we could just ignore their posts, but I think they should just establish their own whining site and be miserable together! Misery does love company!

Couldn’t agree more. There are a lot of good posters on this site but there are three or four that are doing their best to ruin it.

 

[jifigz]

There's nothing wrong with my question. It's very relevant.

If all stocking of brown ended, do you think brown trout populations would decline? If so, how much?

Brown trout populations would not decline at all if the stocking of brown trout ended.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Fish Sticks,
Only pointing this ID out because a lot of anglers don’t know that white suckers color up like that in spring…as seen in your pic above. Good pic.

I can never see their nests i just see the fish so maybe not big mounds like fall fish?

 

[Mike]

Brown trout populations would not decline at all if the stocking of brown trout ended.

Correct, but with only one possible exception…the very few BT streams that depend upon fingerling stockings.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Swattie posted a really nice sucker a while back that was in the golden phase its quite a contrast

 

[Mike]

I can never see their nests i just see the fish so maybe not big mounds like fall fish?

That’s because suckers are broadcast spawners…no nest.

 

[Troy]

without scrolling up, who can tell me name of this thread?

I can't tell you the name of the thread, but I can let you know the synopsis. Fish Sticks is one annoying dude.

 

[Fish Sticks]

That’s because suckers are broadcast spawners…no nest.

Makes sense. I wonder how many species use those massive fall fish redds. Stone rollers?

 

[JeremyW]

I've never done much trout fishing in November–January. But this year, I've been getting more into fly fishing, and was hoping to extend my season. Then I found out about the spawn.

I now know not to step on redds or target spawning fish with deep nymphs. However, when wading deeper water, it's not always clear to me when there might be a redd (or are redds only in relatively shallow water, where they'd be clearly visible?). I've also read on this forum that redds should be avoided through January to protect the eggs and fry.

Before finding out about the redds, I was enjoying some great midge hatches. I know that targeting rising fish is fine, according to what I've read... I'm more concerned with how feasible it is to wade and know you're not disturbing redds. I'd seen all the articles and videos about winter streamer fishing, and now I'm wondering, does that just have to happen from February onwards?

In your experience, is there a responsible way to fish this time of year? I suppose hitting streams that don't have wild populations is an obvious option.

Feeding behavior is not spawing behavior, if you fish dries and small emergers during winter, you should not have much impact. Spawning fish will not typically rise for a dry, they will however chase away a threat i.e. streamer.

Most biologists seem to think that fishing during spawn has little effect... for me I tend to be mindful where I step and just stay on the surface. Means you will catch less fish...

 

[krayfish2]

Caught this beautiful brook trout recently

 

[hooker-of-men]

Caught this beautiful brook trout recently

I hope you bludgeoned it, threw it on the bank, trampled any nearby redds, and poured poison in the river to make sure nothing reproduces there like a good conservationist.

 

[krayfish2]

I hope you bludgeoned it, threw it on the bank, trampled any nearby redds, and poured poison in the river to make sure nothing reproduces there like a good conservationist.

I actually chopped it up and fed it to invasives.

While walking near a stream, I found a fossilized shark tooth. It appears that they were once native to this area. Is anyone doing anything to re-establish this population?

 

[Silent Ocelot]

I hope you bludgeoned it, threw it on the bank, trampled any nearby redds, and poured poison in the river to make sure nothing reproduces there like a good conservationist.

It's a start.

 

[silverfox]

Feeding behavior is not spawing behavior, if you fish dries and small emergers during winter, you should not have much impact. Spawning fish will not typically rise for a dry, they will however chase away a threat i.e. streamer.

Most biologists seem to think that fishing during spawn has little effect... for me I tend to be mindful where I step and just stay on the surface. Means you will catch less fish...

Exactly. Fish that are actively spawning (on a redd, in the act) aren't generally going to eat unless you're harassing them with streamers, and they hit out of aggression/defense. It's gonna be pretty hard to get a spawning trout to eat.

The only caveat might be that spawning is exhausting, and I suppose there could be a greater risk to the fish if it's caught directly after spawning, is already worn out/unhealthy, and is then fought/played for too long or held out of water for too long.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

The only caveat might be that spawning is exhausting, and I suppose there could be a greater risk to the fish if it's caught directly after spawning, is already worn out/unhealthy, and is then fought/played for too long or held out of water for too long.

This is what ya want for steelhead. The more worn they are, the easier they come in. I'm especially happy when I can just hand-line them in and get them up quickly for that good ol' Instagram photo so that I may validate my existence.

 

[DomR]

The only caveat might be that spawning is exhausting,

Darn right, that's why a smoke and a nap are usually in order shortly afterwards. 🤣

 

[Brown71]

Honestly, yinz' guys are all nuts. Go fishing! Brown trout are fine. Even if you waded through a redd or targeted spawners, they'll be fine.

Either nymph or fish streamers. If one doesn't work, then try the other!

This board has been on an obnoxious repeat for months.. Wait.... Maybe years by now.

Lol truth!!! I fish during the spawn every year at several of the same steams. Always plenty of trout!! I can’t believe this argument goes on over and over. Go fish and forget about it. I actually get a kick out of the guys you run into on the stream in fall advising you to not fish over spawning fish, as they wander around all over themselves. I’ve fished several great well known pa limestoners and their tribs all November long, and also some not well known tribs to a larger river system that I routinely catch very large trout at. They’ll be plenty of fish at these places going forward, and has been for the last 20 years or so I’ve been doing this.