Respect the Redds: Fishing Responsibly During the Fall Spawn
- flyfish19
- Oct 15
- 4 min read
By CRO Guide Brian Hilbert
Fall is my favorite time of year to be on the water. The air is crisp, the colors are stunning, and the brown trout are fired up. But with all that excitement comes responsibility. Fall is also spawning season, and as anglers, it’s on us to protect the resource. If we want to keep chasing big browns year after year, we have to approach the spawn with a fishery-first mindset.
What Is a Redd?
When brown trout spawn, the females sweep out a patch of clean gravel with their tails. This nest is called a redd. You’ll recognize it as a bright, clean spot on the river bottom, often in shallow gravel riffles or tailouts. Inside those redds are the eggs that will become the next generation of trout—so it’s absolutely critical that we avoid disturbing them.
How to Spot Spawning Fish and Redds
Spawning fish: They’re usually paired up in shallow gravel runs, not feeding, just focused on each other and the gravel. Males are darker with a hooked jaw, and their behavior is very different from fish feeding in the current.
Redds: Light, circular patches of gravel where the silt has been swept away. Once you start looking, they’re easy to spot.
If you see trout actively spawning or holding on redds, don’t fish to them. Step around those areas carefully and move on.
Why I Don’t Fish to Spawning Fish
I can’t emphasize this enough—fishing to trout on redds is harmful to the fish and the fishery. Not only do you stress them at their most vulnerable time, but you risk trampling or dislodging eggs. It may feel like “easy fishing,” but it comes at the cost of future fish populations. Ethical anglers respect that line.
How to Fish Responsibly During the Spawn
The good news is, the spawn can still be one of the best times of year to target big fish. The key is to focus on staging fish in deeper water before they spawn, rainbows and cutbows that are feeding on loose eggs and post-spawn fish looking to recover and feed. Again, brown trout sitting in shallow riffles are usually spawning, PLEASE leave these fish alone.
Fishing Egg Patterns
Loose eggs inevitably drift downstream during the spawn, and trout take full advantage of these high protein morsels. Egg patterns are a great way to target fish feeding naturally in the fall, without disturbing spawners.
The Pegged Bead System
A lot of anglers fish eggs with a pegged bead system, where a plastic bead imitates the egg and is pegged just above the hook. The concept is when the trout eats the bead and you set the hook, you hook right in the corner of the mouth. This technique prevents trout from taking egg flies deep and swallowing them. It’s effective, but there are a few things to get right to prevent harming the fish:
Keep it close. Peg the bead 1–1.5 inches above the hook to avoid foul-hooking fish. Pegging further than this will potentially hook the fish in the gill plate, eyes, or belly, instead of the corner of the mouth. This is the most common mistake.
Use a smaller, size 16 barbless hook. Avoid using large barbed hooks that damage fish.
Stay out of redds. Only fish this rig in deeper runs and buckets where trout are holding, not on spawning gravel.
Used responsibly, this is an effective ways to imitate an egg pattern.
Other Egg Imitations
Nuke Egg
There’s a ton of options for traditional egg patterns with actual material tied to the hook. My personal favorite is the “Nuke Egg”. This is a very easy egg pattern to tie that imitates an egg exactly. You can fish this pattern exactly like you would any other nymph below an indicator. Be sure to carry a bunch of different colors!
Streamer Fishing for Aggressive Browns
Streamer fishing in the fall is my personal favorite. During the spawn, browns get territorial and aggressive—perfect conditions for big, meaty flies.
Throw larger patterns in natural colors like black, white, and yellow.
Target drop-offs, banks, and structure where staging fish hold. Think “ambush spots”.
Mix up your retrieve until you find what triggers the aggression.
This is when you’ve got your best shot at a true trophy brown.
A Fishery-First Mindset
At Colorado River Outfitters, we live by this principle: the fishery comes first. Protecting the resource is more important than chasing one more fish. If you see someone fishing redds, take the time to politely educate them—it only makes the fishery stronger for all of us.
Fall is a special time, and with a little care, it can be both productive and sustainable. Let’s respect the spawn, fish smart, and ensure that these amazing trout are here for generations to come.
Questions about fly fishing in the fall? Interested in a guided trip? Give us a call or message us on Instagram, we’re here to help!
📞 970-236-1937
—Brian Hilbert, CRO Co-Owner & Guide
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