Trout fishing seasons

[joshfish]

Fish-on, the guide chumming happened in the spring. The pics of spawning fish was a different time.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Maybe we need to close specific spawning areas at those critical times?

[Ralph]

Bill-
You ask the million dollar question. Why are rainbow trout waters such as the McCloud, Fall, Hat Creek, etc closed in the fall? These fish don't start spawning until late March. Why, of all places, are the Truckee and Little Truckee open through fall when water is at its lowest and browns are trying to spawn? California DFW regulations are a mish mash of incongruent rules that adhere to no coherent management policy.

In Montana which has arguably some of the finest fisheries and fisheries management in the world why do they shut down all fishing when stream temps rise above 73 degrees or below a certain flow? Because biology trumps politics.

When was the last time the Little Truckee was closed because it hit 20 cfs or the EF Walker was closed because its waters ran in the mid seventies? When I was on the Cal Trout board in the early 80's I asked exactly these questions and was shut down. The simple answer was that it might confuse people or effect license sales or local business revenue. BS. Our game management is so dumbed down as to be irrelevant.

[JasonB]

Sad situation for sure. It frustrates me to see how little care goes into fisheries management, or enforcement. I do have one small tidbit that I would differ on though. Perhaps it's just me, but I don't see a ton of trophy browns getting pulled off reds on the main Truckee during the fall. The little Truckee sure, but in general my impression has been that big browns are kind of few and far between for most anglers on the mainstem anytime of year. I say that becuase I certainly do enjoy fishing up on the Truckee in the fall and winter from time to time and have never felt that in any way I was shooting fish in a barrel or causing undue stress on spawning fish. In fact, I've come away humbled plenty, even during "prime times" when it's "fishing great".

As for some of the other stuff, I'm in agreement there. Things like having low flow, or high temp closures I would be in full favor of.
JB

[Ralph]

Jason, you make some very good points. The Big T below Boca generally has enough water and cover for fish to stay protected year round. A year round season probably makes sense down there. Upstream, near Glenshire or along 89 for example, it is ridiculously easy to identify redds and stake them out.

[JasonB]

Ralph, I can see the upper sections being more questionable for sure, especially with how low the flows are currently. The other part of the equation to all this of course is enforcement. I actually chased a couple off the LT this summer who were fishing with a giant jig with a nightcrawler dangling off it, and a friend of mine did the same to a trio of teenagers on the LT as well. Rules are one thing, people following them are a whole other...
JB

[Frank R. Pisciotta]

The age-old question is:

What are anglers' opinions about fishing below...at a respectable distance...active redds

I posit that most fly anglers would agree that it is unethical (although legal) to fish ON active redds.



Frank R. Pisciotta

[Mike O]

Then there are the guides from the OTHER local shop which regularly guide Putah...on the redds

[bigfly]

I didn't guide the Little T this year because it ran at 40 cfs mostly. My own ethics.
Thought it should have been closed at those flows, spawn or not. (The phrase "Fish in a barrel" comes to mind.)
You see fish with tattered lips, and nowhere to hide.
In my experience,(Several decades...) often people don't want to really learn how to fish, they just want a fish.
Consuming is taught at a young age....and ego is for life....
(I seem to be lucky here, I have mostly learning-enthused and respectful clients.)
When you only fish once or twice a year and still want a trophy, it leads guides and fishing public to do stuff like this.
Personally, I think you should lose your guide/fishing license if caught on the reds.
There was an un-permitted guide pummeling the reds last year on the LT. (Same guy hits Putah crk. reds I hear..)
He has been warned by locals up here, and will reap his rewards should he continue. (And I don't mean guide fees.)
The big fish pictures drive this behavior as well. I say catch them, and put them back, and walk on........
Do you really need to post to be fullfilled?
I know from watching stats that views go up when we post fish.
I put up a pic or two, but don't push piggys as the norm, because they aren't. Although it does happen.....

Get the Wardens # on your speed dial, and use it if you see this kind of behavior. Take pictures too.
Speak up, take action, public pressure can change laws....they hate bad PR.
The good news on the Truckee, is the upper river is closed all winter. Gives them a 6 month break from our pressure.
And the chance for quiet sex.....
I think they will eventually close the LT during winter, the snowmobile crowd hits it pretty hard, since it's open, but road isn't plowed......
Mostly, these are wild fish up here, let's treat them like gold, that we put back.

Jim

After some thought, I wanted to add....
I don't think our local guides would fish/guide over spawners.
Although, there is a gray area on this.
What if she's not on the reds yet. OK?
What if she's in a holding pool just below, resting, and guarding the reds. OK?
We each decide for our selves. Since the law doesn't act for us.....
But I can personally attest...
Sitting next to a bunch of spawning fish, year after year, watching a timeless ritual...has changed me.
Has given me respect for our local fishery.
And appreciation of other watersheds by extension.
They only need a little time off every year.....

[Dan LeCount]

I think one of the biggest things we can do is educate the public about the ethics through more mainstream channels. This was a huge boon for catch and release ethics, once the bass fishing shows started doing it, it became more mainstream. Although it still hasn't been as successful in trout fisheries as it has in warmwater fisheries, I think there's some room there for improvement and there are achievable goals if the right channels are used. Closing headwaters and low water fisheries during certain periods would be another partial solution, although def not a complete solution. I've seen rainbows spawn in August and browns in December, fish don't always follow calendars. Still it would probably be a step in the right direction for the health of the fishes. Another thing Ive always been a fan of, are fishing licenses that require the passing of a "test" much like a drivers license, with sections on regulations, ethics, proper fish handling/catch and release technique, etc like some European countries. I think that would probably be the greatest benefit to fishery health.