A bit more Gold this morning 10/12

[netboy]

I went to the Dam C&R access this morning and the water was pretty low when I got there. They bumped it up to around 20mw which made the fishing better. Ended the morning with a couple dozen nice rainbows and then when I was walking out, I saw this Golden Rainbow swimming towards me in about a foot of water. Poor things look like a neon light in the water. I had an apricot egg on and he took it on the first cast.

[N9BOW]

Saw one like that in the Shallows at the walk in Sunday afternoon before they generated and drove me and the dog out...
Could not get him to bite..

Ended up with 10 for that short excursion and a 20" fat rainbow in 30 min of fishing on a brown Jig... No flies this time....

Well done... I wanted to hook that golden I saw.. could be the same one (seeing lots lately).. Also saw one the week before about the same size up against the seam on the very upper end of the state park on the park side of the river..

Caught 3 Tiger trout Sunday morning in the boat on the state park side of the river just above the park.

looking forward to wading with you soon!
gonna have to do that before they close the section Nov1!

Eric - N9BOW

[N9BOW]

Look at her tail looks beat up like nesting or maybe just navigating the shallows?
Seen lots of dorsal fins in the shallows along the edge in low water...
Also seen a few smaller breeding pairs and lots of nesting activity there already...

Could that mean an early winter? or is that normal this time of year?.. IDK.. have to do some research unless someone more informed then I has some insight on breeding time on the White.

[netboy]

It is normal to see rainbows on redds in October through January. I also see cutthroats on redds in early summer as that is when they spawn, at least that is what an AFGC biologist told me. I haven't seen any browns on redds yet, but I am sure they are working their way up towards the dam. 

[Johnsfolly]

1 hour ago, netboy said:

Poor things look like a neon light in the water.

The ospreys around here really like those golden trout 😉. We have an urban pond that gets a few every fall where I have see the opsreys sit in the trees along the pond before dropping down and picking off a couple goldens.

[netboy]

7 minutes ago, Johnsfolly said:

The ospreys around here really like those golden trout 😉. We have an urban pond that gets a few every fall where I have see the opsreys sit in the trees along the pond before dropping down and picking off a couple goldens.

I am sure the eagles around here get their fair share as well as the herons. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

2 hours ago, N9BOW said:

Look at her tail looks beat up like nesting or maybe just navigating the shallows?

Looks more like a hatchery tail to me.  Since the top of the tail is all beat up too.

[Quillback]

48 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Looks more like a hatchery tail to me.  Since the top of the tail is all beat up too.

I thought that might be a possibility too.  

[Quillback]

Did some searching, found this article mentioning stocking goldens in September.  Look at the tail on the fish in the pic:

Anglers strike 'gold' at trout stream (nwaonline.com)

[netboy]

All the Goldens I have ever caught have had messed up tails. It is like they clip them at the hatchery for some reason. They first stocked them back in 2017 after the big flood damaged the Mammoth Spring (Jim Hinkle) hatchery. They get them mixed in with normal rainbows from Crystal Lakes hatchery in Missouri. The money came from the Federal Govt as mitigation for flood damages and subsequent reduced output at Jim Hinkle hatchery. 

Also glad to see that AGFC just started a $6 million renovation to the Jim Hinkle hatchery.