Metolius redband trout population on the rise

Volunteer Gene McMullen surveys with a staff.

Metolius redband counts are up -- way up -- again this year; and counting isn't even complete yet.

"Redband" is the name now applied to native populations of what we used to know as rainbow trout.

They're still rainbows, of course, but "redband" is kind of an aristocratic appellation used by fish aficionados. It's intended to distinguish the wild variety.

Scott Cotter is Assistant District Fisheries Biologist for the Sisters Ranger District of the Deschutes National Forest, and he's been helping to oversee this year's redband count.

"Redband trout redd surveys are in full swing on the Metolius and selected tributaries," said Cotter.

Redds are the trout "nests" that the fish excavate in the gravel stream beds.

The redd counts are being conducted by the Forest Service and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The agencies alternate the every-other-week surveys.

For many years, a semi-domestic subspecies of hatchery rainbow was stocked in the Metolius, but hatchery stocking was discontinued at the end of 1995.

A survey conducted after that year revealed a count of only 158 redband redds for the Metolius mainstem. Since that time, wild fish numbers have risen steadily, with a record 825 redds counted last year.

The annual surveys take place from mid-December through May.

Cotter attributes the rising redband population to several possible factors, including discontinued competition with hatchery fish, catch and release angling with barbless hooks, seasonal closures in spawning areas, and habitat restoration.

With May additions still to come, the redd count has already reached 1,021.

Counting fish nests isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world.

Cotter described the process.

"We carefully wade downstream using chest waders, a walking stick for balance, and polarized glasses to cut the glare which helps in spotting the redds," he said.

The people making the tallies walk abreast in the river and mark each redd.

"We couldn't do it without the volunteers from the Central Oregon Flyfishers," Cotter said. "They've always been eager to assist with this data collection. This year was no exception."

Cotter, who has a Master's degree from Southern Oregon University in Environmental Education, said that the surveyors make their way downstream from the headwaters, taking care to avoid stepping on previously counted redds.

When counted, each redd is marked with a white stone to indicate that it has already been tallied.

"We look for telltale bright spots in the gravel where the female redband has recently dug out a depression," he explained. "Redd construction may take up to two days and its size is proportional to the size of the redband trout constructing it.

"We occasionally find some pretty big redds indicating there are some large redbands in the river."

For those who might be concerned about visual pollution of the river, Cotter emphasized, "Each white rock will be picked up after the last survey."

Cotter and his volunteers certainly seem to enjoy what they do.

"Regardless if one is counting redband redds or casting a fly," he said, "a day spent on the Metolius is a good day in most everyone's book."