Spawning precautions?

M

mikesl

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Sep 30, 2012
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Hi all - been lurking here for a few months as the flyfishing bug has gotten me and seems to have a firm grip. Started in summer, and have been fishing mostly Valley Creek - yay for clear, low water, heavily fished wild browns, and abundant trees :)

I was wondering how to approach fishing during spawning season... will I destroy redds and eggs everywhere I step, or is it pretty clear what areas to avoid, so no big deal if i am careful? Fish from banks only?


Thanks for any advice.

PS thanks for the good info on this site; and to any of you I may have met on the streams, thanks for your help in getting a newbie hooked.

-mikesl


 
First thing Mike is my first name is Mike too , glad to meet ya Mike.Second thing is , when they are activly spawning , up on the redds spawning they are tough to catch , i imagine they have somfhing else on their minds. Third and final thing is that this is their one shot per year of reroducing , let em have a break , try not to bother actively spawning trout at all , go fish another section or go to another strean alltogether.
 
osprey wrote:
First thing Mike is my first name is Mike too , glad to meet ya Mike.Second thing is , when they are activly spawning , up on the redds spawning they are tough to catch , i imagine they have somfhing else on their minds. Third and final thing is that this is their one shot per year of reroducing , let em have a break , try not to bother actively spawning trout at all , go fish another section or go to another strean alltogether.
Click to expand...


+1

A wild trout stream is a treasure, and Valley is the only Class A in SE PA. The stream sees an awful lot of pressure all year round. Give the trout a break during the spawning season.
 
I don't fish over actively spawning fish...... But I just find it curious the differences between hunting and fishing. Being a hunter most of my life it was/is almost encouraged to hunt during the rut (and I understand the reasons behind hunting during the rut). But in fly fishing it is taboo.
 
Thanks guys - no intention of disturbing spawning fish, just wondering if it is "don't fish at all" or "don't fish in spawning areas" or "don't wade in any gravel bottom areas" or what.

But to play it safe, will hit up pennypack stockies this sat, as I may be in that area anyway.

 
Yeah I think it's more dangerous to fish the weeks after spawning because of disrupting the eggs and fry.

Freshly spawned redds are sometimes easy to see, but other times fish use ares of the stream that are just natural spawning areas.
As the weeks go on, the redds will be less visable, especially if it's sunny and warm (the algae will start to grow back).
 
Hello to everyone,
I had some time early yesterday morning and cautiously wadded my way only when I had to. I caught 5 or 6 of the smallest Browns with perhaps one 7 inches or so. My question is - these tiny fish- could this be because the adult fish are actively spawning? As Mike mentioned above, I started the addiction in late spring and have become as obsessed as anyone.

 
Valley Creek isn't even the only Class A stream in Montgomery Cty. let alone SE PA, but don't wade in the tail outs of pools or in runs where there is small gravel or anywhere there is gravel that looks clean. After a couple of weeks gravel will get covered again with algae, so just be careful where you wade.
It is unethical to fish over actively spawning trout. Do not fish for trout that are on spawning beds. Lastly trout in wild trout streams aren't legal game, so you can't keep them. You must throw them back unharmed immediately.
 
I always thought of VC as being in Chester Cty. But I guess you are correct, even if the vast majority of it is in Chester, the mouth is actually in Montgomery.
 
Chaz wrote:
Valley Creek isn't even the only Class A stream in Montgomery Cty. let alone SE PA, but don't wade in the tail outs of pools or in runs where there is small gravel or anywhere there is gravel that looks clean. After a couple of weeks gravel will get covered again with algae, so just be careful where you wade.
It is unethical to fish over actively spawning trout. Do not fish for trout that are on spawning beds. Lastly trout in wild trout streams aren't legal game, so you can't keep them. You must throw them back unharmed immediately.
Click to expand...

Click on the FBC Map (below) zoom in on SE PA and click on Class A. There is only one Class A trout stream in the 5 county region (Phila, Del, Chester, Mont and Bucks) with the exception of Cooks Creek, way up in the northern part of Bucks County (according to the FBC anyway).

http://www.fish.state.pa.us/county.htm

I agree above, don't fish over spawning trout.
 
Little Valley. :)

Though I do agree with the spirit of Chaz's post. While it might be the only class A in the region, it is not, by any stretch of the imagination, the only worthwhile wild trout stream in the region.

I grew up fishing Forest County. It has only 1 class A. But it has close to 100 wild trout streams, several dozen which I'd consider to be "good", and that one class A probably ranks below 10th of my favorite wild trout streams in that county.

I also agree with the spirit of your post. Regardless of how many there are, a wild trout stream is a real treasure and it's best to error on the side of caution when making decisions like whether to fish during the spawn.
 
There's the Perkiomen, It's West Branch, the Monocacy, Lt Lehigh Bush Kill, Saucon. and Many Many more. There's 2 in Chester Cty. 4 in Bucks, 1 in Montco. 10 in Lehigh, a whole bunch in Berks, Northampton and Schuylkill Ctys. That's way more than 1.

As for where Valley Creek is, there's a long reach that is the boundary between the 2 counties, but most of it is in Chester. If you include Lancaster Cty. and Lebanon Cty. there's a lot more. All of these Ctys. are in SE PA.
 
How long is a "Spawning Season"
 
There is only one Class A trout stream in the 5 county region (Phila, Del, Chester, Mont and Bucks) with the exception of Cooks Creek, way up in the northern part of Bucks County
Click to expand...

Chaz, he defined pretty well what he meant by the SE region. Berks, Lehigh, Northampton, and Schuykill Cty's are not included in his version of "SE region". Just depends how far SE you go, I suppose.

Officially, there are 5 in his region. Valley, Little Valley, Cooks Creek, Hollow Run, and UNT to Cooks Creek. But the latter 3 are all in the same drainage, at the extreme northern fringe of his area.

It is kind of strange when you look at a map. The western edge of Chester, Mont, and Bucks cty's make a more or less straight SE-NW line. It's like a wall. SE of that line there ain't much in the class A category. But JUST on the NW side of it there's quite a bit.
 
But there are hundreds of stream on the Nt. Pro list in those counties.
His definition is wrong though, the Fish Commissions Boundaries for the SE region are much larger. I define the SE region as anything east of the Susquehanna and south of I 80. That make the most sense, though you could draw the line at Blue Mt. For instance anything south and east of Blue Mountain.
BTW the OP doesn't define the SE Region.
edit: Though most spawning in SE PA is in November the 'season lasts from November to the end of January.
 
Oh, I agree. But in your post #8, it looked like you were responding to Afish, he defended himself in #10, and it looked like you responded to him again in #12. Just trying to clear up the discrepency.

As I said, I agree with you, that even if you limit it to afish's smaller definition of the SE, Valley and Little Valley still aren't anywhere near the only worthwhile wild trout streams (even if they are the only class A's). And I agreed with him that they are all treasures and shouldn't be taken for granted.
 
Actually wasn't responding to afish, just stating a fact. Obviously afish and I don't agree on where SE PA is. I use the regional model of PFBC, but in reality it's south of Blue Mt. and west to the Susquehanna.
To the OP,
To be pointed about precautions though, if you don't know how to identify a redd, then be very cautious about where you wade. Don't wade tail-outs, don't wade runs with a lot of clean semi clean gravel, watch out for areas next to the banks that have fine gravel.
 
afishinado wrote:
osprey wrote:
First thing Mike is my first name is Mike too , glad to meet ya Mike.Second thing is , when they are activly spawning , up on the redds spawning they are tough to catch , i imagine they have somfhing else on their minds. Third and final thing is that this is their one shot per year of reroducing , let em have a break , try not to bother actively spawning trout at all , go fish another section or go to another strean alltogether.
Click to expand...


+1

A wild trout stream is a treasure, and Valley is the only Class A [d]in SE PA.[/d] within a double-haul of Philadelphia. The stream sees an awful lot of pressure all year round. Give the trout a break during the spawning season.
Click to expand...
 
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