Do some trout winter in rivers and then return to their stream?

[Stick500]

During this warm stretch I checked out a trout stream (catch and release-no stocking- reproducing browns) that empties into the Minnesota River. I walked the entire lower stretch that empties into the river, figuring the bigger water would be where they were wintering.

Well, there wasn't much water and it was clear and I didn't see a fish. And then another feeder joined in and clouded up the water, but no bites on a wiggling crawler in the holes. I can't imagine there was more water upstream and deeper holes, but I guess it could be possible.

My question is, if there's big browns in here reproducing (they did an electro-fish survey a year or so ago and confirmed this), then where in the he!! were they today?

Is it possible they would winter in the channel of the Minnesota and then make their way back into their home stream for the spring, summer and fall?

[JIvers]

I've seen brown and rainbow trout caught out of the main channel of the Mississippi below the lock and dams in the early spring and late fall as far south as Bellevue, Iowa. They aren't being stocked in there.

During cold water periods it makes sense for trout to migrate downstream to larger water with more food and cover, be that the lower Root River, the Mississippi, or the Minnesota River. The catch for them is to find their way back to colder water come summer.

So yeah, I think you would find some trout in the Minnesota this time of year.

[outdoors247]

Simple answer, yes it happens. To what extent we'll probably never know as our winters don't allow too many sampling techniques.

There are reports of people catching browns around Hay Creek every year. It's a very popular area on Pool 4 for walleye anglers but a few "accidents" happen. There are also a lot of the SE trout streams that dump into the Miss and trout are incidentally caught around those areas too.

[Stick500]

yeh, I knew that some anglers catch trout in the rivers after they dump out of the cold-water streams, but I never envisioned almost all of them (seemingly) going into the river for winter, and then making their way back in the stream!

this creek is supposedly a strong fishery with big, reproducing browns, and yet the stream appeared to be completely devoid of fish yesterday

guess we'll find the answer in May or June if they do indeed come back