Flood

[steve l]

The gauge down at 160 is pushing 10 feet. looks like the best(?) river-long flood in years. If this doesn't clean off some of the gravel what's it gonna take?

[Brian Sloss]

It is over 11ft now and still on the rise. Here is a picture from the Riverton bridge (160). The pic is from the West side looking to the East. Notice how the boat ramp and canoe launch are under water. No fishing for a while I guess.

[Brian Sloss]

We crested at just over 12 ft and are at just over about half that now. It is coming down fast but will be high for a little while now. It will be intersting to see what changes the water caused. Also, I wonder if this will help or hurt the spawn.

[steve l]

Brian, thanks for the update & picture. That's a lot of water.

Once your able to get back on the water give some updates of what the flood wrought. Be curious if it gave any new gravel, or at least cleaned what was there off. At a minimum we should have a pretty good restocking of the firewood!

When do the rainbows begin to spawn?

[Brian Sloss]

We have trout that spawn in the fall, generally the McCloud strain, and those that spawn in through the spring. I've been told a reason for our relatively smaller success rate the last few years in spawning was the lack of fall floods to wash the gravel. Well if this flood didn't wash the gravel, I don't know what will.

[Brian Wise]

Brian,

So your wild rainbows spawn with the browns? This water could be perfect or hurt your spawn...depends on a few different things. The rainbows on the North Fork of the White spawn around January and we have had big water come through during a couple spaws recently, one of the times was the best spawn in several years....the other....the worst.

Brian

[snap]

The rainbows do not spawn with the browns on the eleven point! There are no browns in the eleven point! Wish there were though!

[Gavin]

Yep, no browns in the 11pt...Wish there were, but the USFS wont allow MDC to stock them. As for fall spawners, most hatchery strain rainbows have been bred to spawn in the fall like browns and brook trout. Wild rainbows usually spawn in January-February, and cutthroats spawn in late spring. Cheers.

[Brian Sloss]

You can find spawning rainbows in the 11 Point from Nov. - April as a rule. I was told once by the MDC and I may be mistaken, but the fall spawners were probably the McCloud strain rainbows (crossed with hatchery fish) they put in like 15 years ago. Over the years when they didn't stock, the McCloud DNA seemed to come to the forefront and that they were spawning from Nov. (fall) through the winter. I have come accross spawning wild fish since Nov. of this year and that has also been my experience in the past. I have found fish with clipped fins (hatchery trying to spawn) all the way through spring. That is not to say there are no McClouds reproducing in the spring, I just have not come accross any yet.