Spawning Brookies

Nome - Flygal - November 14th, 2008 · No Comments

Moody’s spawning is in full swing for all of this year stockies (brook, bow and browns) and I’ve been doing more observing and underwater filming than fishing as of recent.

The past couple of days the pond has been covered in milt and large spawning beds have been cleared. I caught a rainbow a week ago that was dropping eggs when I inspected it. I always look the fish over for disease and health. Fishing has stopped to allow the fish to get down to business without interruption.

I know where the brookie beds are I’m not sure browns and bows can spawn in still water. With the brookies, I’ve been watching the females do a jig to release eggs and the males hanging above her to drop his milt. Lots of energy is spent chasing the other males out of the area using tactics like biting, nipping and nose butting.

The really neat thing is I spotted a few brookie fingerling parr which are native born from last year’s spawning, trying to participate in current ritual. Those same parr in early early spring were running with large packs of minnows. Fascinating to have a predator living with the pray.

It seems that one male dominates a large area with several females. The beds consist of multiple depressions about 3″ deep and 8″ wide. The female rest within the depression and the male mills about keeping other males at bay. When the female does her jig he races over to her and it looks like he drops some milt hard to tell. I’d say there are more males to females ratio which keeps the dominate male quite busy.

A couple of pictures of a male and female brook trout on the spawning bed.

Video of the milling males..

Note the small brookie and the even smaller fingerling in the mix….Most are males duke-ing it out and a few females check out all the action. Females tend to just rest on the bottom of the gravel and the males hover.

This was filmed with me in my kayak just cruising by the spawning beds slowly….Music is fitting….LOL