Anonymous
12/11/2008 7:53:00 AMLooks like a hatchery fish to me. Check out the dorsel fin. A native will have a fully developed fin.
bazzdude
12/11/2008 6:20:00 PMYa looks like a hatchery fish to me, the fine is rounded from rubbing on other fish and walls. But all nice fryers. Where abouts where you fishing from on the lake? Other colors of powerbait was not working huh? That is strange.
fishinoriginal
12/12/2008 9:01:00 AMbecause they killed all the fish in sprague a year and a half ago, and that fish is probably two or three years old, it's probably not wild born.
Kfedka
12/12/2008 11:33:00 AMWell when I was reeling it in I noticed right away how much darker the fish was, almost twice as dark. The body was slightly differnt than the hatchery ones.
fishinoriginal
12/12/2008 2:10:00 PMYou do realize that a "wild fish" would look exacly like the hatchery variety as it's parents would also be hatchery fish. Rainbows spawn in the fall, Maybe this one was a late spawner. I don't, however, think this is the case. The fish pictured is probably just slightly different than the rest. It happens.
Anglinarcher
12/12/2008 3:16:00 PMActually Rainbows spawn in the Spring, unless it is a hatchery strain bread to be a fall spawner. Even then, if they can spawn in the wild, within just a couple of generations even the fall spawners become spring spawners.
Sprague has no running water coming into the lake, no gravel beds with oxygenated water flowing over them, therefore no spawning beds or "reds". Sprague has some flood water that runs into the lake in the spring, otherwise, it is spring fed only.
The fish is a hatchery fish, but it may have been one of the smaller fish planted this year. As for the color, Rainbow vary a lot from fish to fish, environment to environment. I suspect that this fish has been holding on the bottom, in one of the somewhat deeper holes, and has taken on the darker color to "match" the surroundings. The lighter fish are most likely fish that have been holding in the open, near surface, environment.
Sprague has no running water coming into the lake, no gravel beds with oxygenated water flowing over them, therefore no spawning beds or "reds". Sprague has some flood water that runs into the lake in the spring, otherwise, it is spring fed only.
The fish is a hatchery fish, but it may have been one of the smaller fish planted this year. As for the color, Rainbow vary a lot from fish to fish, environment to environment. I suspect that this fish has been holding on the bottom, in one of the somewhat deeper holes, and has taken on the darker color to "match" the surroundings. The lighter fish are most likely fish that have been holding in the open, near surface, environment.
KCDEIFE
12/14/2008 3:00:00 PMCould have been one of the steelhead fry we planted there. I worked at lyons ferry and we dumped our extra steelhead fry into sprague. Lord knows we can't have too many steelhead in the snake river.
Anglinarcher
12/15/2008 3:07:00 PMKCDEIFE, you kill me man (LOL). Perhaps you could plant a few in........ never mind, Sprague would be fine.