# Hot day at Rockport



## Keystonecop (Nov 5, 2010)

Went to Rockport today, got on the ice around 7 am and headed across the lake. Set up camp and started to catch fish in 10-18 feet of water. We were fishing in 45 feet but the bites and fish were at 10-18. I was using Rat Finkee’s and Cutter bugs. The bite was steady all day till we left at 2 pm. The ice was a solid 10-12 inches. I ran the Rhino and a wheeler with no problem. There is about 4 inches of snow on top of the ice. 

We caught plenty of the 10-15 inch rainbows and no perch. I did catch one 18 inch rainbow that was fat as could be with eggs. She was at 10 feet under the ice.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Nice color on that one! Sounds like a steady day of good fishing. Nice job.


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## manysteps (Sep 28, 2009)

Looks like a good time. That's sure a pretty Rainbow. Thanks for sharing the pics!


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## Ton_Def (Dec 23, 2008)

Give that fish some Ibuprofen, it looks all swollen!! Nice catch!


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## Keystonecop (Nov 5, 2010)

I think she had at least a pound of eggs in her. Oh, we were tipping the jigs with mealies. They seemed to do best.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Beautiful fish!


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

Keystonecop said:


> I think she had at least a pound of eggs in her. Oh, we were tipping the jigs with mealies. They seemed to do best.


I don't mean to sound like a know-it-all, but I don't think that fish had any eggs in it at all...I believe it is a pre-spawn male. Big males get dark this time of year (much darker than the silvery females), some will get a bit of a kype (a "hookjaw"), and generally they'll leak milt (sperm) like crazy. Did you notice any white liquid coming from its butthole?

My dad and I fished at Echo yesterday, and we each caught a big, dark rainbow like the one in your pics (although not nearly as big...kudos on the PIG!). When we got home and cleaned them yesterday, the dark males had engorged milt sacks inside, where the lighter, silvery colored females all had small egg sacks inside. The rainbows are coming into pre-spawn form right now, which would explain when the males and females are looking so different.

Maybe someone who has a bit more experience with fish biology can chime in here?


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## roxfan (Oct 25, 2007)

If you look close at the pic you can see some eggs that have already squirted out. I caught several dark bows yesterday also and half had eggs and half had milt. I think it has to do with the strain of rainbow they have put in there.


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## Keystonecop (Nov 5, 2010)

Roxfan is right, look close and you will see the eggs. I gutted and ate this fish and she literally had a pound of eggs in her. I could have filled a watter bottle with all those eggs.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

So that brings me to a question I had on Saturday as we caught the fish we did. Are there different strains of rainbows planted in the same bodies of water as each other? Besides being darker, the ones we caught had bigger and fewer spots overall than the lighter colored ones. It made me wonder if they were different strains or what. 

Looking more closely at your pics, I can see the eggs now. Also, you can see that the fish doesn't have a kype. So is this a different strain of 'bow that spawns early? I have caught lots of 'bows at ice off that are dark like this as well, so are they a different strain that spawns later? From time to time I will hear about "Leopard" rainbows, as well as "kamloops" 'bows, but I have never really noticed too much of a difference from one bow to the next, besides spots and shades. And all this time I thought I could tell the boys from the girls! ;o)


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

The DWR is able to get Rainbow Trout to spawn in the spring and in the fall.
Trout that spawn in the spring do not spawn again in the fall though.
There are several different strains of Rainbow Trout that are raised by the DWR. Most of the fish that are raised in the hatcheries are sterile. These Trout normally grow at a faster rate.
You can get a lot of info from the DWR's Web site.
The majority of the eggs that are produced in Utah come from the Egan Hatchery in Centeral Utah.
They are then transported to the various hatcheries to be raised for stocking.


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## Sageflyfish (Feb 22, 2008)

That is a good looking fish. Toad. That would be sweet to find that one in the river when it spawns. Good catch.


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## JCR (Sep 17, 2007)

Wow! Nice fish. I wish I could get out there soon.  Thanks for posting!


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