Redds

[trout_bum]

It was a gorgeous day on Crane today. I walked around the creek just below town and noticed quite a number of redds. I counted around twenty between the ball fields downstream to the trestle. I didn't see another soul all day long except for a group of kids that sent the trout darting for cover as they trampled down the bank to ask me if I had seen their lost dog. All-in-all, it was a very productive day with about 15 fish caught and sent back home. I hooked one eighteen incher that broke me off in some submerged branches.

As a side note, I would just like to remind anyone reading this that it is very important to be extra careful where you step while wading in Crane Creek right now and in the next few weeks. If you see any light oval patches of gravel two to three feet wide, avoid them. These are trout nests and are likely filled with hundreds of eggs. Wading through a redd can crush trout eggs or the trout fry that remain in the gravel for weeks after they hatch. In Crane Creek, they will almost always be located in medium size gravel at the tailouts of pools just before the water starts breaking up into riffles.

[Danoinark]

Excellent report TB. Very solid and sound advice about the redds. This area is so lucky to have a stream of Crane quality and the fact you saw alot of the spawning beds is great news. Sounds like a very productive day. Care to tell us what they were hitting? Thanks.

Dano

[Chief Grey Bear]

I concur with Dano there TB. Great advice.

[fishinwrench]

I read something awhile back that I had never considered, but feel it's worth passing on: Many eggs from the nest drift and settle downstream from the visable redd...so if you wade an area with redd(s) try to walk UPSTREAM of the nest.

[trout_bum]

Excellent report TB. Very solid and sound advice about the redds. This area is so lucky to have a stream of Crane quality and the fact you saw alot of the spawning beds is great news. Sounds like a very productive day. Care to tell us what they were hitting? Thanks.

Dano

Mainly egg patterns. I also did well on mohair leaches and a green caddis larva fly that I conjured up. If you turn over any rock in the stream bed, you will most likely find small dark green caddis larva around size 16 or 18. They will usually be snuggled up in their cases. I would occasionally notice a few rises here and there, but for the most part the fish were holding at the bottom of the deep pools and you had to put quite a bit of weight on to get your fly down fast.