Where Do Rainbow Trout Spawn

River conditions vary year to year and place to place but here is a general idea of how it all happens here in Colorado.

Where do rainbow trout spawn. More than 90 of rainbow trout return to their stream of natal origin ie the stream in which they hatched to spawn. Higher in the same river systems temperatures are much colder and the rainbow trout will spawn in March and April. At lower elevations like near our Mystic Headquarters in Denver and along the Colorado Front Range rainbows will frequently spawn in February and March.

Brown trout spawn in the fall Oct-Dec when water temperatures drop into their ideal range. Rainbow trout are also found on the Kamchatka Peninsula on the Pacific coast of Russia not far from Alaska. In late winter and early spring the fish can be found migrating upstream to spawn in shallow gravel riffles or pools.

They will enter lake or ocean tributaries in fall and remain in the stream most of winter before spawning in the spring and heading back to the lake usually by April. Rainbow Trout are considered spring spawners but steelhead may enter streams to spawn from late fall through spring. At high elevations the spawn may start later than at low elevations and end later as well.

Spring steelheading truly is a sign of spring and fishing can be fun and easy at this time of year. The rainbow trout is native to the rivers and lakes draining into the Pacific on the west coast of North America. After the male has fertilized the eggs the female will stay near the redd guarding it.

Rainbow trout look for gravel-bottomed streams for their spawning grounds. Their range extends from Mexico in the south to Alaska in the north. Anadromous trout species like rainbow trout and the brown trout return to the streams and tributaries in which they were born to spawn.

2015-03-09 Rainbow and cutthroat trout generally spawn in the spring March-May as the days grow longer and water temperatures increase to the optimum spawning range. Spawning takes place when the water temperature is about 50 degrees over gravel beds with good water flow. 2018-03-20 Trout Spawning Season Depends on the Species.