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Cayuga rainbow spawn


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I was out yesterday fishing a small part of a tributary of Cayuga lake. No exaggeration I counted 40 redds, in a very small stretch of water.Some with fish still on them. The future looks bright for the rainbows of Cayuga lake!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

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It has nothing to do with low water.

As the fish ascend the fishway, they end up in a trap. Fish are selected and placed in a holding pool while their eggs and milt ripen. The rest of the rainbows are released on the other side of the trap and they continue their spawning run. The breeders are stripped of their eggs and milt and result is transported to the Bath hatchery for rearing. The breeders are eventually released- with their "spawning" completed they return to the lake. Very few proceed upstream.

With minor variations, it's been that way for the last 50 years.

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Your original statement was that they were extracting eggs at the fishway due to low water. That's not true.

When the water level is high, many rainbows bypass the ladder. But, some still use the fishway and their eggs are collected there. It's been that way for decades- I watched them collect eggs there in the late 1960's!

 

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When the water is that high is when The Lamprey also can make it upstream to spawn.  They made it over a couple years ago.  Lets hope for a successful treatment.  

Edited by vogel451
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