Redds

[Black Cloud]

I went up to Nimbus to see the the new spawning area for salmon and this is what I see. When I told them that they were standing in the redds they ask where should they stand. I told them out of the water. They eventually left. The other pictures are at Sailor Bar. People have been fishing out there so long I think it is a lost cause. If anyone knows these guys let them know . These pics were taken sat the 24th.

[BigOkieWhiteBoy916]

I went up to Nimbus to see the the new spawning area for salmon and this is what I see. When I told them that they were standing in the redds they ask where should they stand. I told them out of the water. They eventually left. The other pictures are at Sailor Bar. People have been fishing out there so long I think it is a lost cause. If anyone knows these guys let them know . These pics were taken sat the 24th.

It definitely make you mad watching these guys. Its even worse at the lower section of Sailor Bar by the island. People just don't know what they are doing.

Hopefully DFG will just shut it off to fishing.

[Bob Laskodi]

"Redd rakers" is the MO for the majority of fisherman on the upper A. This also includes fly fishers and I see an alarming number of them with spey/switch rods. Quite the comedy to see them chasing a butt hooked steelie all over the place trying to land it. Quite sad also, IMNSHO. It is a waste of time to even inform/educate them about it. The only real solution is to close the upper river all year long.

[Black Cloud]

Bob, two of those guys at Sailor were using spey rods. I also think that upper section should be closed during the spawning season.

James

[mr. 3 wt.]

I also agree. The sooner the better. Should have gotten a closer up pic. And the sign perhaps could be bigger and more of them.

[Fats]

How long to the reds stay bright and polished in the American River?

[Chris Gearhart]

When we see guys in areas like this how do we know if they are actually causing dammage to the redds? I dont fish the A but I fish a nearby river and I wade around redds alot. I always stay away from the polished areas (especially behind them). I am not being critical, I really want to make sure I dont do any dammage. Thanks for the input.

Chris

[Black Cloud]

They have signs up on both sides of the river at the hatchery. People don't read or they ignore them. As far as walking around, I think in front of a redd would stir up debris and silt. Walking behind would be better with a good distance.

James

[Notch]

I think there is a common misconception about fishing on or around redds. I have seen studies conducted by DFG on the Sacramento River when the flows are drastically reduced, exposing new redds. The redds were dug-up to find the eggs, which were all burried ~2ft deep. At this depth there would be no damage done to the embryos from a misplaced boot. These studies were conducted on salmon redds, but I'm sure steelhead dig their redds just as deep, but in different sized gravels. In either case I wouldn't walk on redds out of respect for the offspring. Hopefully this data clarifies any questions on the subject

[Fats]

I'll ask again, does anybody know (approx.) how long the redds stay polished up on the American River? The reason I ask is that I've always gone by the rule of thumb to stay off the "bright" gravel and try to walk through the darker stuff. If the redds are turning dark in a week after Momma has left... I'm really going to have to be more careful!

It's a problem for sure but when you are fishing for fish that are on a spawning run, you will end up damaging the fishery in some aspect no matter how careful you are. I guess the part that we have to be concerned about is that we leave as small of a "dent" as we can.