Central WA's husky rainbows 2/22/2024

[Starman77]

Rex, those bigger fish in shallow water are likely pre-spawn attempts. I’ve seen a lot of that behavior this time of year through the years.

You could be right, especially if those rainbows were diploids, but I believe these rainbows are triploids, as all the ones I've cleaned have no eggs or milt sacs, have their adipose fin clipped, and theoretically would not be spawning. For wild rainbows, I could definitely see your point, but with the adipose fin clipped, they are not wild. Also, these shallow areas I'm fishing are not gravelly, but big, sharp boulders that would not be suitable for spawning. These big rainbows also show no signs of spawning coloration, like turning reddish or dark gray. But keep those ideas flowing...

 

[Buzzy]

Rex, those bigger fish in shallow water are likely pre-spawn attempts. I’ve seen a lot of that behavior this time of year through the years.

My "wow" emoji should be a "huh" emoji (hey mods!) - All this time I thought these fish were triploids; do triploids have some gene, something in their DNA that makes them think spawn?

 

[Wetswinger]

Could they be seeking warmer, shallow water.?.

 

[Starman77]

Could they be seeking warmer, shallow water.?.

Good thinking... I thought the same thing, but could not detect any temperature difference with my fish finder between the deep water and shallow water, both being at 42 degrees. Also, if the fish were seeking warmer water, it seems that all the fish would seek the warmer water, but I am hooking smaller fish in the deeper water and the big fish in the shallow water.

 

[Merle]

Good thinking... I thought the same thing, but could not detect any temperature difference with my fish finder between the deep water and shallow water, both being at 42 degrees. Also, if the fish were seeking warmer water, it seems that all the fish would seek the warmer water, but I am hooking smaller fish in the deeper water and the big fish in the shallow water.

Are the big boys maybe preying on a food source that’s swimming in the shallower water? A source that the little guys aren’t after?

But you said the stomachs were empty so that part doesn’t track.

But those are dandy fish you’re getting- nice work!

 

[Irafly]

You could be right, especially if those rainbows were diploids, but I believe these rainbows are triploids, as all the ones I've cleaned have no eggs or milt sacs, have their adipose fin clipped, and theoretically would not be spawning. For wild rainbows, I could definitely see your point, but with the adipose fin clipped, they are not wild. Also, these shallow areas I'm fishing are not gravelly, but big, sharp boulders that would not be suitable for spawning. These big rainbows also show no signs of spawning coloration, like turning reddish or dark gray. But keep those ideas flowing...

Triploid trout, mostly males, even though they can’t produce gonads, will still attempt to spawn.

Do you know that these fish are stocked as Triploids.

 

[Starman77]

Here's what that 23 incher looked like after getting time-out in the smoker (before removing the skin, pin bones and fat line):



Very tasty, if I say so myself! The fat content in these fish is amazingly high, which makes them taste really great.

I don't know for sure if these big fish are triploids or not, but I believe they are.

 

[Jonnytutu]

Triploid trout, mostly males, even though they can’t produce gonads, will still attempt to spawn.

Do you know that these fish are stocked as Triploids.

in bc, all the triploids are female. no sure if it's the same down there or not.

Why We Stock Triploid and All-Female Trout - | Go Fish BC

We use fish sterility, all-female technology and fish size at stocking to enhance the performance of stocked fish and protect wild fisheries.

www.gofishbc.com

Fin

 

[dep]

nice work Rex.

 

[Starman77]

in bc, all the triploids are female. no sure if it's the same down there or not.

Why We Stock Triploid and All-Female Trout - | Go Fish BC

We use fish sterility, all-female technology and fish size at stocking to enhance the performance of stocked fish and protect wild fisheries.

www.gofishbc.com

Fin

I'm no fisheries biologist, but I believe it is the same in WA as well.

 

[Buzzy]

Here's what that 23 incher looked like after getting time-out in the smoker (before removing the skin, pin bones and fat line):

View attachment 106372

Very tasty, if I say so myself! The fat content in these fish is amazingly high, which makes them taste really great.

I don't know for sure if these big fish are triploids or not, but I believe they are.

I was fortunate enough to be gifted a trout that Rex caught - my filets don't look as nice as the filet pieces Rex shows above but the end result after smoking the fish was some superb smoked fish. Last night my wife and I ate part of the smoked filet while it was still warm from the smoker. This fish was so fat (how fat was it?) the belly meat was completely encapsulated in fat and was just dripping with delicous smoke flavored fat. The belly meat: YUM! Today for lunch my wife fixed ochazuke - Oh my! More YUM!



Some of the best smoked fish I've ever had. Thanks Rex!!

(By the way, Rex has a very tasty brine recipe.)

 

[Wanative]

I was fortunate enough to be gifted a trout that Rex caught - my filets don't look as nice as the filet pieces Rex shows above but the end result after smoking the fish was some superb smoked fish. Last night my wife and I ate part of the smoked filet while it was still warm from the smoker. This fish was so fat (how fat was it?) the belly meat was completely encapsulated in fat and was just dripping with delicous smoke flavored fat. The belly meat: YUM! Today for lunch my wife fixed ochazuke - Oh my! More YUM!

View attachment 106461

Some of the best smoked fish I've ever had. Thanks Rex!!

(By the way, Rex has a very tasty brine recipe.)

Yum. I want some.

 

[Florida Man]

These are some absolute monsters. Well done Rex. I realized after seeing your photos that I bumped into you a few years ago in the Seep Lakes area. Glad to see you are finding some lunkers. Wish I had managed a few big ones like this before I moved. Keep the pics coming.

 

[Ronbow]

Are the big boys maybe preying on a food source that’s swimming in the shallower water? A source that the little guys aren’t after?

But you said the stomachs were empty so that part doesn’t track.

But those are dandy fish you’re getting- nice work!

I was fortunate enough to be gifted a trout that Rex caught - my filets don't look as nice as the filet pieces Rex shows above but the end result after smoking the fish was some superb smoked fish. Last night my wife and I ate part of the smoked filet while it was still warm from the smoker. This fish was so fat (how fat was it?) the belly meat was completely encapsulated in fat and was just dripping with delicous smoke flavored fat. The belly meat: YUM! Today for lunch my wife fixed ochazuke - Oh my! More YUM!

View attachment 106461

Some of the best smoked fish I've ever had. Thanks Rex!!

(By the way, Rex has a very tasty brine recipe.)

Oh, ochazuke, taihen oishii des!

 

[Robert Engleheart]

There are a couple high desert reservoirs in NE California that have chunky cuttbows with flesh that is as red as fresh Copper River sockeye. The local game warden told me the waters are full of freshwater (mysid?) shrimp.

 

[joefromchicago]

You could be right, especially if those rainbows were diploids, but I believe these rainbows are triploids, as all the ones I've cleaned have no eggs or milt sacs, have their adipose fin clipped, and theoretically would not be spawning. For wild rainbows, I could definitely see your point, but with the adipose fin clipped, they are not wild. Also, these shallow areas I'm fishing are not gravelly, but big, sharp boulders that would not be suitable for spawning. These big rainbows also show no signs of spawning coloration, like turning reddish or dark gray. But keep those ideas flowing...

This reminds me of a time at DFL when I climbed the path from the parking lot to a cliff overlooking the far side of the lake that afforded a clear view of the lake bottom. There I saw a small pod of aggressive trout displaying spawning behavior over the only visible patch of gravel. Was a real eye opener for me. Perhaps a fish biologist may explain it better but my take was that you may be able to breed the ability out of the fish but not the instinct. I would be interested to learn more about this from a more educated perspective. Saw two fishermen there and thought "Man, if you dragged a streamer through there I bet you would find some action.

 

[Stonedfish]

This reminds me of a time at DFL when I climbed the path from the parking lot to a cliff overlooking the far side of the lake that afforded a clear view of the lake bottom. There I saw a small pod of aggressive trout displaying spawning behavior over the only visible patch of gravel. Was a real eye opener for me. Perhaps a fish biologist may explain it better but my take was that you may be able to breed the ability out of the fish but not the instinct. I would be interested to learn more about this from a more educated perspective. Saw two fishermen there and thought "Man, if you dragged a streamer through there I bet you would find some action.

I've seen that behavior in a number of lakes, especially in areas like around gravel boat launches. I've seen it referred to as mock spawning, but I not sure if that is correct term.
A guy I knew had property with a lake on it that he wanted to plant rainbows in to make it play for pay deal. One thing that was suggested to him was to dig a trench, fill it with gravel then pump lake water back into it in the spring. Basically creating a flow like a natural stream entering the lake. The flow would attract fish up into the trench and have them spawn. The goal wasn't to reproduce more fish but to get the sperm and eggs out of the fish to lengthen their lifespan. Its my understand if a diploid can't spawn, they may absorb the milt or eggs back into their body which shortens their lifespan. I'm no bio so if this is incorrect, please feel free to correct me. This of course was before triploids were the in thing, but unfortunately he died in a car accident before his dream came true.
SF

 

[Starman77]

I went back to this fishery on Sunday 3/17/2024 to see if I could find any fish in locations where there was better substrate for any fish that might be responding to their spawning instinctual urges. I even found this small inlet creek:



This small creek is too small for spawning, but it seems that if the big fish were really interested in spawning, then they might gather around the mouth of this creek. I spent most of the day fishing over good spawning substrate and found no fish and saw no signs of fish. The only place I hooked a big fish was right alongside the big, sharp rocks that are not suitable spawning habitat. I don't know that any solid conclusions can be drawn from such a small sample size, but my feeling is that the big fish (probably triploids) are not interested in spawning.

 

[Chadk]

I went back to this fishery on Sunday 3/17/2024 to see if I could find any fish in locations where there was better substrate for any fish that might be responding to their spawning instinctual urges. I even found this small inlet creek:

View attachment 107525

This small creek is too small for spawning, but it seems that if the big fish were really interested in spawning, then they might gather around the mouth of this creek. I spent most of the day fishing over good spawning substrate and found no fish and saw no signs of fish. The only place I hooked a big fish was right alongside the big, sharp rocks that are not suitable spawning habitat. I don't know that any solid conclusions can be drawn from such a small sample size, but my feeling is that the big fish (probably triploids) are not interested in spawning.

have you tried crawfish or sculpin patterns around the big sharp rock areas?

 

[Islander]

I was thinking the same thing, big fish looking for a big meal.