By Dave Weaver

For several years, a friend and I have made it a New Year’s Day tradition to walk the Fly Fishing Only section of Big Spring to document brook trout spawning. We typically start at the willow tree parking area (the lower end of the phase 2 restored section) and walk up to the source at the ditch. The results this year were encouraging. Over the years, the number of redds and brookies we see on them has varied. In general, we have seen an increase in brook trout spawning further downstream. For example, in 2017 and 2018, we saw no redds and one redd in the lower part of phase 2, respectively. This year, in 2020, we saw two redds (and possibly two others lacking fish) in this lower section. One of the redds held several brookies on it.

Further up in the phase 2 stretch, we saw a redd with several fish, including a beauty I estimated to be around 13 inches long. If you fish Big Spring in winter, be careful not to disturb the spawning brookies, as some will be busy at this until well into January. Watch your step and avoid stepping on or disturbing redds.