Redd Alert!!! Fishing Spawning Season

It's almost that time of year again, when the rainbows get their love on...Soon, you may notice changes in the coloration of the rainbows as they prepare for their annual spawn. They become brighter or darker due to physiological changes associated with reproduction. They also become, well, a bit more dumb, visible, and easily fooled to the fly. Some decide not to fish the spawning periods entirely, for their own ethical reasons. Others love to fish the spawn seasons for all the reasons listed above. This entry is directed to the latter, ourselves included.

Yes, it can be an awesome time of year to fish, sometimes the best. However, it's important for everyone to understand that this does only happen once a year for rainbows and that future stocks are dependent upon the success of each year's spawn. So, what's all the fuss about? Well, trout love to spawn in shallow gravel areas. Specifically, research from the CDOW has shown that rainbows prefer the following habitat characteristics for spawning

First off, they prefer to spawn when water temps range from 45-56 F. Ideal gravel sizes range from 1/4 to 2 inches in diameter although a range of sizes from pea gravel to 3 inch diameter is usable. Water depths from 6 inches to 3 feet are used and velocities ranging from 1/2 to 3 feet per second are desirable (Hooper 1973). The lower ends of pools seem to be the preferred locations for redds.

Okay, think about what you just read. That description of river characteristics, specifically the depth, speed, and location often resemble the exact same places that fisherman love to wade in and cross rivers. This is what we hope to avoid! This is a good trick to learn when crossing streams in the fall and spring - find areas where you see bigger rock bottoms, slightly deeper water (knee high ish), and/or vegetation. These areas are typically not used by spawning trout. But wait, what's a redd. Aren't there too many "d"s in that word. Nope, a redd is a spawning bed. These are the things we want to try our best to avoid. All it takes is a simple glance in the water before you go trudging in to fish or cross, and you can easily avoid disturbing these redds and potentially interrupting the spawning of rainbows and future stocks of fish. One person can't make too much of a disturbance, but over the course of the spawning period (Feb-May), some spawning areas may get completely trashed. PRIME EXAMPLE: Just above the confluence of the North Fork Gunnison and Gunnison Rivers at Pleasure Park. That half mile long slow shallow stretch just above the confluence is a prime spawning area and it gets hammered with folks wading in it. Please be aware of the redds and avoid disturbing. So, what the hell do these things look like...

A redd is essentially the spawning bed for male and female trout. This is the spot where trout "clean" off an area of gravel in the stream where the female lays her eggs and the male covers those eggs with his white milt. For some people who are unaware of what a redd is and how important they are to protect, the sight of dozens of fish congregated in a stream clouds their thinking and they can't resist disturbing these fish. While we're not saying that you can't fish, we want everyone to be on the same page about not walking through their spawning beds and educating others on the water when you have a chance. This is our fishery at stake. So, we're going to post some photos of what Redds look like below and a video from another fly shop that helps as well. One thing to remember as well is, if you find yourself in the middle of the stream during spawning season and discover that you're really close to a redd and are trying to avoid it, often times they are surrounded by other redds, and you have to pick your way through them. Please remember that the important part of the redd, the area of that cleaned off gravel that contains the eggs, is actually the HUMP not the downstream and biggest portion of the cleaned gravel. This is contrary to what you would assume, but if you think about it, it makes sense. So, if you're stuck in a spawning area suddenly, remember that if you absolutely have to, step on the downstream portion of the gravel, and not the raised upstream hump. That's where eggs are!

Here's some photos of redds. They are almost always found in shallow gravel areas, where the gravel is golf ball sized. If you see moss in the stream, you can assume that section has no redds and can dance your way across. Lastly, remember that individual redds can be one right behind the other for hundreds of yards, if the stream conditions allow. So, it may be harder to tell the difference between cleaned gravel and surrounding non-spawning gravel, since all you see is clean gravel. Do a good check upstream and down before crossing. Now, go have fun!

Click HERE for a great article on fishing the spawn from Fly Fisherman Magazine.

All of the images of various redds in the slideshow below came from a quick google search of "rainbow trout redd" and are not ours.

Trout Beads

If you've ever been on fishing trip to Alaska, you know how popular beads are. For good reason. They are extremely effective for salmon, steelhead, dolly varden, and resident rainbows. 

And that's no different for our trout here in Colorado. The best times to use trout beads are the same times you would typically use egg patterns; from October-May. Why use beads at all, if you can just tie on a traditional egg pattern? Both will work, no question. However, we and a lot of other anglers find that trout beads are a more effective way to fish eggs because they are more realistic and you can have success with just about all the colors available too. Brown trout and Rainbow trout eggs can be very specific in size. Trout beads around here range from 5-7 mm in size and typically we use only 6mm beads, since they are only offered in even number mm sizes. Below, we'll show you how to "peg a bead." You can find all of these materials at our shop.

Here are the three things you'll need to start fishing beads.

Tiemco's 2488H size 12 is a great hook for bead fishing. The come barbless as well. 

These are 6mm beads. The only size we carry and the only size you need around these parts (unless you're fishing for Kokanee, then you'll need 8mm, which we can get for you). Each pack costs from $2-$3 depending on color and paint pattern - 40-50 per pack.

Although you can use simple toothpicks to peg your beads, we find that these double tapered rubber stoppers work great and provide a yolk color to your bead that could be the key to success. Since they are double tapered you can use each peggz twice to maximize your money. These come in pink, clear, and orange.

Here is just another example of the many different patterns of beads that we carry. This is a mottled blood dot pattern. Brighter color eggs typically work better early in spawning times, and whiter or more opaque colors work better in mid winter as most of the real eggs turn white as they remain in the water. Fresh eggs = bright, dead eggs = creamy colors.

After you've tied on your tippet and crimped your split shot just like you would with any other nymph rig, thread on your bead first, then tie on your bead hook. Then, position your bead about 1 1/2 inches above your hook and slide in your toothpick or trout peggz until the bead is tight. You should still be able to slide the bead with some force, but it won't slide around when fishing. The bead is pegged above the hook because you want to cause the least amount of damage to the fish as possible. By having the bead above the hook, you will more than likely hook the fish in the upper jaw or outside of it's mouth on the side of the jaw. This is intentional and allows you to land the fish quicker and not cause internal damage to the fish. Remember to crimp your barb before fishing. 

Here's what the final product should look like. Feel free to fish another fly below this as you would any other double nymph rig. You can also fish the bead below another nymph pattern if you wish. 

Another view of the final product.

You can also thread a bead on your hook to use for Egg Sucking Leaches. This makes the ESLs look sweet! You'll have to cut the hook to thread the bead, so these patterns are articulated. Also, you can always just thread on the bead in front of your wooly bugger or other streamers while fishing too.

Here's the cheaters guide to attaching a bead directly to your hook. A Dai Riki 135 is a good hook for this. Heat up your hook and quickly press your bead down on the hook and it'll melt right on. 

Blowout Sale

Come on down to the shop, we've got a whole bunch of stuff on clearance. We're making way for new products. Some highlights include Rep Your Water hats/shirts, midge beads, hooks, books, fly box sleeves, etc. Up to 50% off!

New Changes Coming

Just a quick note that we've got some major changes coming to the shop. New products etc. Stay tuned...