Low water and the Spawn?

[Alpabuck]

I went out for a walk today just to kinda gauge the damage on a local freestone wild trout stream caused by the low warm water we had this year. Water temp was 64 and the fish were very spooky which is to be expected, but in the few holes that I managed to approach with out spooking any fish I noticed they seemed to be fairly active which I thought was a good sign. If we dont get much rain and the fish stay holed up how do you think the spawning season will go?

 

[wildtrout2]

Great question. I can't wait to hear some thoughts on this. Some of the little native streams I fish were lower than I've ever seen them.

 

[troutbert]

The forecast is for rain on Mon and Tues, at least for central PA. The forecast says "heavy at times." I don't know of any websites that predict the amount of rainfall, they just say it's going to rain. But I'm hopeful we will finally get some flow back in the creeks.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

Ditto, the freestone streams are VERY low in my area. The limestones are not much better. It will be nice to get some much needed rain!

 

[DGC]

Wildtrout2 wrote:

Some of the little native streams I fish were lower than I've ever seen them.

That's the advantage of being a wild trout. You have an instinct about these things. There have been many bad droughts, perhaps not as bad as this one in some locations, but still very bad. The wild trout can cope. They know how to choose a location. That bears repeating and emphasis--they really do know how to choose a location for a redd that is uncanny. When we finally get a series of storms to raise levels better in October and November, they will likely be fine. If looking for a silver lining, the survivors this year you could say are the best of the best, and their genes will be passed on, with the less adaptable and less robust wild trout that couldn't survive--well obviously those genes won't be getting in the pool. The higher mortality of the adult fish during the drought also means a larger percentage of each redd's fry surviving as partial compensation for fewer eggs to begin with--theoretically.

Brown trout, in particular, are ingenious survivors and adapters, which is a mixed blessing since I am partial to the char.

I tend to be pretty optimistic about these things, however.

 

[fishfuzz]

If you have low flows, average seasonal flows, or moderately high flows from the start of the spawn until late March there is a good chance wild trout eggs/fry will thrive. Sometimes the best year classes occur under such circumstances.

In contrast, if high water events occur, and spawning redds are scoured between the start of the spawn and late March, a young of the year class can be diminished significantly. For example, if we have high water events later this year, expect fewer wild trout in the 7-10 inch range on your favorite streams in 2013/2014.

The bottom line is that every wild trout fisherman needs to understand wild trout populations are cyclical. Some years Mother Nature favors wild trout and some years she doesn’t.

 

[stevehalupka]

yup... bows spawn in late winter/early spring.

brooks/browns will be fine... rain will come soon.

I have not fished for freestone wilds in months. Was supposed to meet a friend in the highlands today and am glad I didn't. Water levels were dangerously low, and the fish were on edge so I hear.

 

[JackM]

DGC wrote:
.... If looking for a silver lining, the survivors this year you could say are the best of the best, and their genes will be passed on, with the less adaptable and less robust wild trout that couldn't survive--well obviously those genes won't be getting in the pool. The higher mortality of the adult fish during the drought also means a larger percentage of each redd's fry surviving as partial compensation for fewer eggs to begin with--theoretically....

Does this same theory hold true for harvested trout? That is, does the culling of the herd by feathered, baited or trebled hook have the same or different silver lining? Food for thought.

 

[jdaddy]

Does this same theory hold true for harvested trout? That is, does the culling of the herd by feathered, baited or trebled hook have the same or different silver lining? Food for thought.

If that is true then the down side is that it results in an uber strain of trout who are so smart they cannot be lulled into your fishing trickery.

 

[gfen]

jdaddy wrote:
If that is true then the down side is that it results in an uber strain of trout who are so smart they cannot be lulled into your fishing trickery.

Science is already on it!

 

[gulfgreyhound]

What about their biological clock?length of darkness ,water temp, water flow?A lot plays into the spawn.Creek fish vs lake run fish?I haven't looked ,but there should be plenty of research in this area.

 

[JackM]

Just some wild guesses:

1. Trout spawn at or near the same location year after year when they get the opportunity to spawn in multiple years.

2. Trout are programmed to seek "suitable" spawning habitat, and, while that could vary from year to year depending upon flows, I don't think it does so drastically;

3. While trout may choose location based upon the flow conditions at the time nature tells them to spawn, it is more likely that they will choose a location that would result in a successful spawn under most flow conditions, regardless of what prevails at the time of the deed.

4. Spawning habitat probably always involves areas of better oxidation with some protection from scouring and these same areas will be apparent under high flow and low flow conditions.

5. Finally, I think the success of the spawn has more to do with conditions after fertilization and in the first several weeks.

Caveat: I have no idea what I am talking about. (Is this needed anymore?)

 

[DGC]

JackM wrote:

Does this same theory hold true for harvested trout? That is, does the culling of the herd by feathered, baited or trebled hook have the same or different silver lining? Food for thought.

Fun to speculate sometimes. I suppose in a strict sense, any mortality including harvest by angling has an impact to the extent that it reduces the members contributing to the gene pool. The smaller the stream/system and the smaller the population, the more that could be a factor.

However, if the question is whether trout that survive angling pressure are passing that "wise to flies" trait on to their offspring, the answer is no.

Of this I am certain and rebuttal is futile ;-)

 

[troutbert]

JackM wrote:

DGC wrote:
.... If looking for a silver lining, the survivors this year you could say are the best of the best, and their genes will be passed on, with the less adaptable and less robust wild trout that couldn't survive--well obviously those genes won't be getting in the pool. The higher mortality of the adult fish during the drought also means a larger percentage of each redd's fry surviving as partial compensation for fewer eggs to begin with--theoretically....

Does this same theory hold true for harvested trout? That is, does the culling of the herd by feathered, baited or trebled hook have the same or different silver lining? Food for thought.

I don't know whether it's a silver lining or not, but it's very likely that the reason brown trout are far more difficult to catch than brook trout or cutthroat trout is because of genetic selection by hundreds of years of angling in Europe.

 

[troutbert]

According to Accuweather, most of PA is supposed to get 2 to 4 inches of rain in this storm. Should help a lot.

 

[scotto]

2 1/2 - 3" in HBG

 

[afishinado]

Oh no!...[d]drought[/d] flood will kill the fishies! :-o

I would relax, the fish know what they're doing. Besides, we have no control over floods or droughts anyway.

 

[JackM]

I agree with relaxing, but I do NOT think the trout know what they are doing. They are too simple minded and they Just Do It, like athletes that wear Nike.

 

[troutbert]

afishinado wrote:
Oh no!...[d]drought[/d] flood will kill the fishies! :-o

I would relax, the fish know what they're doing. Besides, we have no control over floods or droughts anyway.

Both floods and droughts do kill trout. They can cut trout populations in half.

It is true that we can't control the weather.

We do have some control over the physical habitat on streams though, and streams with good habitat have better survival during floods and droughts than streams with poor physical habitat.

 

[afishinado]

troutbert wrote:

afishinado wrote:
Oh no!...[d]drought[/d] flood will kill the fishies! :-o

I would relax, the fish know what they're doing. Besides, we have no control over floods or droughts anyway.

Both floods and droughts do kill trout. They can cut trout populations in half.

It is true that we can't control the weather.

[color=FF0000]We do have some control over the physical habitat on streams though, and streams with good habitat have better survival during floods and droughts than streams with poor physical habitat.[/color]

Very true, we should all support and help with projects that mitigate extreme conditions, but my point is many of us worry too much about natural occurrences that are beyond our control. Nature is.... natural after all. OMG flooding!...OMG drought!...what are the fish to do?! The fish have survived for millions of years, and I again agree, if we all do our part to conserve the resource, they will survive for another million years.