Yea I agree with JMO32. I was just reading in The Behavior and Ecology of Pacific Trout and Salmon how pumped full of hormones spawning fish are. I'll bet this causes them to fight harder than they would normally and thus stress them out a bit more. It may be better to just bring a nice camera and watch them.

Vince

well i love fishing the lower stretch of the LT, near Boca. figured id check out upstream mid meadow and fish the deeper pools and give a look to see if any brownies are spawning, and if they are, then ill fish behind them. hooked some really nice fish behind the redds as well as the deeper pools. but now with it only flowing at 18 i dont even want to think about fishing the deeper pools, no flow what so ever.

and as far as what can i do, i was thinking of takin pics of the redds out of the water. and giving them to someone that can do something about it.

hey JMO32, do u steelhead fish???? do u fish putah or the truckee in the winter time??? how about the american and the yuba during jan to april????

if so, maybe u should put away YOUR rod as well so u can let them spawn in peace too. we all know that isnt going to happen. there is a reason why we fish the spawn, big fish and u can thrown a glo bug or bead and wack the heck out of fish behind the redds or in the deeper pools near them. there is a safe way and a wrong way to fish in the spawning season. fish behind the redds, not on. there are many fish chillin behind these redds eating eggs as well as any insects dug up from the spawning fish.

so jmo32 please dont be a hypocrite and tell me to put my rod away, cuz we all fish durin spawning season, its just who fishes it ethically and unethically (aka lining fish or snaggin) BUT LEFT ME GUESS U JUST DONT FISH IN THE WINTER TIME RIGHT.

Brown and Brook Trout are here to stay and are a great game fish regardless if they are an invasive species or not. The fact of the matter is that most fisheries don't have enough "native" trout left anymore. If one were to take all the "wild" trout out of the fisheries, there would be even less places to fish and even more crowding which would lead to overfishing and ultimately hurt the "native" trout.

You should cherish the fishery and respect the fish that are there regardless. If you are bothering Brown and Brook trout on their reds, than you are no better than the snaggers. My two cents.

-Jon

It was my understanding there are two groups of trout: wild and stocked. Then, there are sub-groups of each: non-native wild trout (Putah, since before the dam it was too warm; or Browns everywhere in the states), and native wild trout (golden trout in Sierras), stocked natives (CO does this with their native cutties with aerial droppings), and stocked non-native (1st generation Browns everywhere in the states). A wild fish can be the offspring of a hatchery fish, as long as it hatched from egg in a redd. If I'm wrong, feel free to correct me.

I like fishing for non-native wild fish. These are strong fish with good genetics, and while they may not be native there is often no hope of restoring native populations in the same waterways.

I don't like fishing for hatchery fish, as their behavior will push wild trout out of holding lies, and their poor genetics could corrupt the stronger genetics of wild fish. I would have no problem keeping hatchery fish for this reason (I'd even keep wild fish from a river like the MF of the Feather due to their abundance).

Vince

Was up there this weekend fished the Truckee. As one of my partners in crime will attest hooked a few but still have this problem of them getting unbuttoned??? O well only one way to fix that ........ practice, practice and more practice....O Darn

Anyway back to the topic went to have a look at the LT to see what was going on there ....... not good news Looks like the flows were back up however, at a well known spot  I counted 9 dead fish??? Is this because of the sudden low flows???

Vince-don't be so sure that the trout in PC are non-native-that still needs to be determined. There are possible native population remnants in the upper creek well above Berryessa that thrive in tributaries to PC. Before the dam they could easily move down. Some fascinating science to be done on the question.

ya very well could be the kokes, do u remember what they looked like or their color

Packrat wrote:

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SK60 wrote:

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Vince-don't be so sure that the trout in PC are non-native-that still needs to be determined. There are possible native population remnants in the upper creek well above Berryessa that thrive in tributaries to PC. Before the dam they could easily move down. Some fascinating science to be done on the question.

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I always thought the water above the lake got too warm and low in summer to support a trout population.

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Bows can handle water temps. into the mid 80's. Of course there are some other factors involved. They are true survivors.

-- Edited by DrBombay on Thursday 12th of November 2009 03:19:58 PM

-- Edited by DrBombay on Thursday 12th of November 2009 03:32:19 PM

Alpen Glow wrote:

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I think what Brian is bringing up is a great Forum opportunity for us to share  like minded ethics on our rivers.

I found that they, the people who release the water from most of the dams, are not thinking.

I also believe that  the distinction of fishing "Native" trout on there reds and "Wild" trout on there reds sometimes get blurred.

I think that Brooke and Brown trout are basically invasive species California's the river systems and i don't have any problem with someone fishing them at any time. They were planted in the system for sport fishing at some time in the past, maybe long ago but still planted to be fished for sport.

However i think when fishing on or disturbing "Native Trout", like on Putah creek or maybe the Lower Yuba, and on other rivers where the term of Native trout can be determined is an issue. maybe its not an issue for some but it is for me...

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Lol, Raibows are invasive to man only thing native to the Sierra's were cutthroat I believe

 

The native trout of California are listed on the DFG website under the recreation heading on the Heritage and Wild Trout page

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fish/Fishing/Recognition/HTC/HTC_Trout.asp

The wild fish in PC are likely native coastal rainbow since the CR has been the source for many hatchery raised and developed "strains". The question needing answering is how pure the PC fish are in relation to the ancestral strainand whether they should be included in the Native Trout Water designation. May seem of little importance, but makes a big difference in how the water is going to be managed.