Wild Brown Spawning?

[3sip]

Here is a video I shot on Sunday, November 1, on a small Class A. I was out walking with the kids and saw the trout going kind of nuts. I put a Gopro in for 20 minutes and this video starts 9 minutes in. The location of the camera was not the best but I was not going to get wet.
Not sure if this is pre spawn behavior or actual spawning. I didn't see a redd and I have not seen trout act this way on this stream in the 6 years that I have lived here. Tell me what you think. Thanks

https://youtu.be/mkYQNcupBCI

 

[krayfish2]

Looks like it might have been too smaller males jockeying for position with the female who was at the very bottom of the frame and only seen a few times. Just a guess. Always cool to see.

 

[krayfish2]

I'd also like to point out the amount of leaf litter and debris in the water. Yes, I'm the guy in favor of closed season so that the wild fish can add new members to the population.

The redd might be nearly impossible to see many times. Really watch your step or give them a break until January or February.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

It looks there were some Brookies there as well? GG

 

[3sip]

Totally. That is why I'm out with the camera. Same in July and August when the water is low or too warm. Only fish I catch is with camera, when wild fish are at high risk.

https://youtu.be/lgVrb7LMwFY

Just got back from checking another area farther down stream. Saw 3 redds in 30 yards, all with fish holding on them. Stream is healthy. About a month ago I was walking with the kids along the stream. We saw so many salamanders it was incredible. Like 3-5 under every rock.
I haven't seen salamanders on this stream in 4 years after last big drought, we had higher water the last 3 years and this is the first time seeing salamanders since.

Browns are moving back up. Winter fishing is one of my favorite times of year. I love having water all to myself.

 

[3sip]

I have only caught Browns in this stream. I have seen a Rainbow about a mile upstream, I may have spooked what I though was a Brook, however this stream is listed as Brown only and seeing what I thought was a Rainbow and maybe spooking a few Brook, I don't know if that is a Brook. What makes you think so? White tipped dorsal fin?

 

[laszlo]

It looked to me like one of those fish was a brookie too.

 

[Mike]

The number of young trout produced each year is seldom limited by the number of adult spawners and, therefore, the number of redds. If adult trout densities are so low that their abundance limits YOY production, it is unlikely that anglers fish in those streams or, if they do, they do so very infrequently, especially in fall.

 

[krayfish2]

Mike,

Great to know that you see nothing wrong with stomping around the redd's or on them. Utilize the fish. So much for staying clear and letting nature provide the next generation. Hey, if you prohibit enough wild reproduction, you can get the stream back on the stocking list....if there's enough angler use.

 

[3sip]

Don't fish spawning fish, why risk it?

 

[Mike]

I have zero problem with anglers fishing for wild trout in fall and winter. Their impact at the population level will be minimal as indicated above. Localized weather conditions in fall and winter primarily determine year class strength. And lets not forget the compensatory mechanisms at play in fish populations.

As for fishing over spawning fish, anyone who has ever done so with brown trout, wild or freshly stocked and spawning, probably has recognized that they are highly unlikely to be interested in any legal presentation.

 

[fritz]

I see numerous fishing reports from shops asking to be careful not to wade through/on redds. Out west reports too. Some ask to be careful not to wade 5 feet or so downstream of redds as eggs will settle there.

It all makes sense to me not to wade through them.

 

[Mike]

Nothing wrong with educating people to identify redds and avoid stepping on them. Avoiding fishing in fall or winter in wild trout streams because one might step on a redd is unnecessary. Remember that the vast majority of wild trout streams in Pa see very little angling pressure from opening day until Sept. They will see no or very minimal pressure after that.

 

[Dave_W]

Neat video. I watched it carefully and am confident in saying I saw only BTs, no brookies (watch the pectoral fins - brookies have white edges, BTs do not). I'm less confident in saying this is spawning behavior, although it certainly could be. The stream bottom where the fish are holding is not visible and if clear gravel were visible we'd have a winner. However, fish skirting back and forth in a holding lane is common activity. Watch any Ozzie Ossofovich video and this behavior by trout is clearly common.

I saw some spawning browns while fishing on Spring Creek yesterday, although not many. I thought about trying to get some underwater video but I didn't think I could get close enough without spooking them. We left them alone (as always). I would be more concerned about heron depredation as the spawners we saw were right at the water's edge and close to shoreline vegetation where a bird could hide.

Get out and fish for trout or whatever game fish you like in the fall. The tree colors are still gorgeous in center state right now. There are better places to be than in front of a computer this weekend.

 

[larkmark]

Wild trout streams that I observe get quite a bit of pressure in winter months. It didn't used to be like that but now it isn't uncommon at all to see cars in pull offs even on weekdays on many of the streams. With the glare on the water and people just being ignorant or not caring I am sure plenty of redd's get trampled.

 

[fritz]

I've see more pressure on wild trout streams overall this year. May be due partly because of the covid situation.

 

[Mike]

Larkmark,
See #8 above.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

I think what Mike is trying to present is that at the population level, anglers fishing in the fall have a very minimal impact on the success of the spawn on any given year. Factors such as flooding or drastic changes in flow during critical stages of development are more likely to affect an age class at a population level for a given stream. There is relatively recent research from Susquehanna University that documents the substantial decline in the success of spawning during years where a significant flood occurred in late Oct or Nov. The interesting observation from that work is that in watersheds where fish were able to migrate back into those streams, the following years spawn produced exceptionally large yr classes compared over ~10 year trend.

Wade with caution, avoid obvious redds and likely spawning habitat and enjoy time on the water if you're not pursuing terrestrial game for the table.

 

[fritz]

There is an article on Flyfisher Paradise website that I enjoy reading about this time each year. I think it's called "to fish or not to fish".

It's the possibility of someone who knows nothing about the spawning activity wading a half mile or more through a four to five foot wide wild trout stream that is somewhat concerning and make one wonder just how much detrimental that could be.

Some people are clueless like I once was. That's not a crime but just a fact.

 

[larkmark]

Or a person or two a day doing it for three months straight. Certainly not inconceivable on some of our streams.

Also the bigger spawners are already stressed and die easily. I have caught larger wild fish this time of year that were not actively spawning and they died even with careful handling. A month or more like two from now not so much of a problem. This is just my experience.