November 20, 2011
By Paul Weamer
Below are 3 photos I shot last week of wild brown trout spawning in a Pennsylvania limestone stream.
The smaller brown trout's red coloration is amazing! It looks almost like an arctic char.
If you're fishing in the fall, please be careful where you walk, and don't harass fish on active redds. These trout are busy creating our future fishing opportunities. Let them spawn in peace. Avoid wading through depressions of clean gravel even after the fish have left. The eggs won't hatch until spring. Here's a little more information about the brown trout spawn from the PA Fish and Boat Commission's web site:
Brown trout spawn in the fall, a little later than brook trout, when water temperatures are in the mid-40s to high 40s. Eggs are deposited in a stream gravel depression that the female prepares with swimming actions of her fins and body. Large females produce 4,000 to 12,000 eggs. Several males may accompany the female during spawning. The eggs hatch the following spring, with no parental attention. Their life span in the wild can be 10 to 12 years
AMAZING!
