Don’t Tread The Redd
By: Sarah Reish
Our sticker this month was inspired by Steve’s cousin Eric about a year ago. That means we had to wait a year for the trout spawning season before we could write and create this “trout fishing” issue. Wyoming is known for amazing trout fishing, thousands of miles of river and we are also home to dozens of types of trout. You can read more about our rivers and trout in this months issue.
What does redd mean?
Each year, between April and May, trout begin to spawn. If you look closely you can see “clouds” in the water. To the untrained eye it is just a variation in the river bed color. But for those who know, it is very visibly a trout redd. The female trout make nests called a redd and these little cloudy areas are where the eggs nest awaiting maturity to hatch.
Why should we protect the Redd?
Common sense, it is because they are nests with hundreds to thousands of eggs. A female trout can lay anywhere from a couple of hundred eggs to several thousand eggs. When wading into the water keep an eye out for trout redds. Educating ourselves on nature and our aquatic life means we can protect it and keep the trout population up. Those who are unaware of the redd could unknowingly walk through a trout nest and destroy hundreds if not thousands of trout eggs, killing the next generation of trout and lowering the trout population.
Cutthroat Trout Spawning in Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar Valley. Photo Credit: Yellowstone National Park: Jay Flemming on FLKR Where can redd be found
Most often, female trout look for shallow gravel river areas to nest. Typically close to the edge of river banks. It is often where we enter and wade into the river. The females clean up the nesting area of silt so the eggs are nesting on clean gravel and have clean river water flowing around the eggs. Pictured is a trout redd, it is lighter in color, but the river gravel is still visible so it is important to know what you are looking for as it is easy for untrained eyes to miss.
When do trout spawn?
Trout spawning happens twice a year, once per species of trout. Currently, Rainbow, Golden and Cutthroat will begin spawning in April and May. It is also right when the weather begins to improve and folks begin to enjoy our amazing Wyoming outdoor recreation. The incubation of the eggs is over a month. Depending on the actual date of spawning it could be June before the eggs hatch.
Tell others
Our focus is to protect our aquatic life and the amazing trout species that call Wyoming home. The trout redd is meant to be a safe home for trout to spawn and for their eggs to hatch into trout who will begin their tiny life of survival swimming the Wyoming rivers. Help us spread the word about our trout redd’s so we can continue to have large populations of trout and great fishing.
Show us!
Get your Don’t Tread The Redd stickers and show it off. Share a photo on social media and tag us @LiveWYldMag and use #LiveWYld