1. Troutnut Forum
›
2. Fly Fishing
›
3. migrating brookies?

There are brook trout in a 2 small streams in my area they are on opposite sides of the main river which does not support trout and are 1/8 miles apart from each other. I live in an area where wild trout are rare( se pa). Do you think these trout move back and forth? If not in the summer when the main river is to warm what about in the cooler months. Also how often do wild trout migrate in general and what are the factors involved ( species, region, ect.)obviously some species like steelhead run to the sea but im more interested in fresh water migration. This site would be awesome if it had a section devoted to science and history of trout like timelines on when and where they were introduced by man, the effects and things like studies done on trout habitat, movement, ect.

Join your local FFF or TU or both. Ask for suggestions on books, people (DCNR biologists, for example) and online resources. Hit the library and/or use interlibrary loan.

Another advantage of joining FFF or TU is that if you decide to get involved in tying and flyfishing, you can often meet up with mentors who will loan you equipment. At the very least you will get lots of advice that separates the good ideas from the bad ones. For the latter I am thinking of common beginner gimmicks such as line to leader connectors and such. Avoid buying stuff as much as possible until you can make informed decisions.

Yes they likely "migrate", or a subset of the popn does. The more marginal the habitat the more likely the fish move seasonally, by definition -the alternative is extinction. In general, migration/seasonal movement within a watershed is common in all trout. Temperature extremes, spawning requirements, and food abundance/availability (often linked to stream productivity), as well as genetics (derived from the other factors), are key.

Get yourself a copy of Robert Behnke's, "Trout and Salmon of North America".

Spence