05-23-2021, 06:51 PM
I suppose a wild card or two is that not all fish spawn when they are suppose to.
For years and years fisheries managers worked on genetic selection to make rainbow spawn at different times to allow them to get bigger fish for stalking at specific times. I seem to remember that the fish would revert back to normal in a couple of generations if they spawned in the wild. I don't think that they still use this method.
Still, "nature finds a way". I have caught Browns in the snake river that were spawning in the Spring, and Cutties in central Idaho that were spawning in the fall. Most of the fish were not spawning at this time, but enough that a viable population could have sustained themselves.
Last, Salmon and Steelhead "always" spawn at the place of their birth, Except when they don't. LOL Riddle me this Bat Man. Mount St. Helens blew it's top and destroyed the spawning rivers (massive mud flows for years). It was declared a study area so no trees could be replanted and no animals or fish could be stocked inside the boundaries. Yet, today, Salmon and Steelhead are slowing making a comeback. The prior lineage was wiped out due to the long time it took the rivers to fix themselves. Soooooo, somehow Salmon and Steelhead from other rivers got lost and "always" meant not always.
I know this does not help on planning a trip during the spawn, but it does show how variable the rules of the Spawn can be.
For years and years fisheries managers worked on genetic selection to make rainbow spawn at different times to allow them to get bigger fish for stalking at specific times. I seem to remember that the fish would revert back to normal in a couple of generations if they spawned in the wild. I don't think that they still use this method.
Still, "nature finds a way". I have caught Browns in the snake river that were spawning in the Spring, and Cutties in central Idaho that were spawning in the fall. Most of the fish were not spawning at this time, but enough that a viable population could have sustained themselves.
Last, Salmon and Steelhead "always" spawn at the place of their birth, Except when they don't. LOL Riddle me this Bat Man. Mount St. Helens blew it's top and destroyed the spawning rivers (massive mud flows for years). It was declared a study area so no trees could be replanted and no animals or fish could be stocked inside the boundaries. Yet, today, Salmon and Steelhead are slowing making a comeback. The prior lineage was wiped out due to the long time it took the rivers to fix themselves. Soooooo, somehow Salmon and Steelhead from other rivers got lost and "always" meant not always.
I know this does not help on planning a trip during the spawn, but it does show how variable the rules of the Spawn can be.