Is the rainbow TOTALLY incapable of breeding in European waters

[Moggy]

I am at present writing a piece on why it is important to keep down numbers of rainbow trout in some rivers, especially where scraping a living is difficult for the indigenous brownie. Question: I know that generally rainbows don't breed in European waters, but do cicumstances never occur that are conducive to their breeding? Here in scandinavia we do catch steelheads that are returning from saltier climes, but the belief is that they can't successfully produce offspring. Is this so? If so...why not?

 

Cheers...Moggy

[Tony U]

There are a few rivers here in the UK which have indigenous breeding Rainbow Trout the Dove in Derbyshire is one, but it is likely there are others, I have heard rumours there may be a small population in the Coquet, perhaps one of my Northern Colleagues could confirm this.

There are also small escapee Steelhead runs in Northern English and in Scottish Rivers though whether these fish actually successfully breed is another matter.

As for the fish affecting our native Brown Trout it is hard to judge as the Rainbow populations, where they exist are so small.

Edited January 10, 2007 by Tony U

[salmo6934]

Plenty of "wee" rainbows in Loch Awe.

[Moggy]

There are a few rivers here in the UK which have indigenous breeding Rainbow Trout the Dove in Derbyshire is one, but it is likely there are others, I have heard rumours there may be a small population in the Coquet, perhaps one of my Northern Colleagues could confirm this.

There are also small escapee Steelhead runs in Northern English and in Scottish Rivers though whether these fish actually successfully breed is another matter.

As for the fish affecting our native Brown Trout it is hard to judge as the Rainbow populatetions, where they exist are so small.

[Tog]

Yup a lot of chalk streams could support rainbows, the top end of The Bourne (a Test tributary) used to have a lot but 76 saw to most of 'em although I caught quite a lot in the early 90's.

Must have another pop at 'em one day. (He-he - we used to shoot 'em in the cress beds - you'd stun 'em & they go belly up so you can net 'em - not a mark on them & 50p a brace in the pub;)

[charlieH]

I didn't know the Dove had them, but there are definitely wild rainbows in the Derbyshire Wye - the Haddon Hall fishery is very proud of them! There used to be a population in the Chess in Buckinghamshire, and possibly a couple of other rivers round there, but they were very hard hit by abstraction and I think the fish may have been wiped out. Further afield in Europe, I have a feeling that rainbows may perhaps also breed in a few places in Slovenia and Austria.

 

I seem to recall that the Warren Slaney, river keeper at Haddon Hall doesn't believe the rainbows compete with the browns or grayling - they tend to occupy different lies, etc. You can contact him through the Peacock Hotel's website: thepeacockatrowsley.com.

[Ducktape Corkfeet]

I seem to recall that the Warren Slaney, river keeper at Haddon Hall doesn't believe the rainbows compete with the browns or grayling - they tend to occupy different lies,

 

 

Got to Bakewell, and the "swim" below main bridge, and you will see the Rainbows, Brownies, and Grayling all inhabiting the same swims. I am told this is very common throughout the whole system, by someone who fishes it alot.

[Moggy]

Got to Bakewell, and the "swim" below main bridge, and you will see the Rainbows, Brownies, and Grayling all inhabiting the same swims. I am told this is very common throughout the whole system, by someone who fishes it alot.

Thanks for clearing all that up. I want to believe that they could co-exist peacefully, it occurred to me that I' got the theory that these "aggressive interlopers" bullied their way into the good lies from a chap who's made questionable statements regarding trout behavior in the past.

 

By a quirk of fate; I was out for a worm-drowning session with a fishing companion on new years eve afternoon, just to round off the year, and hooked a very fat, pure silver steelhead, about 40 cms long, and with absolutely PERFECT fins! The fish had never spent any time in a fish farm by the looks of it, and I assumed it to be one of the breeding individuals in our river system. There is no closed season on rainbow here in Denmark, but I felt duty bound to return it anyway.

 

Moggy

[thedogs]

What about steel heads, have any rainbows decided to migrate?