Rainbow trout have been running up Liawenee Canal for the past couple of weeks to spawn.

We use our trap on the canal to observe the spawning run. We weigh and measure some fish as part of our long-term monitoring program.

We sort the fish and place them into channels. This assists them to spawn naturally, away from where the brown trout spawned over winter. This gives the newly hatched rainbow fry the best chance to grow without competition from the more advanced brown trout.

This year’s spawning rainbows are in excellent condition. So far, 418 fish have passed through the trap, 314 were male and 104 were female. The males typically run first and wait for the females to arrive!

The largest fish so far weighed 2 160g which was one of three fish over 2kg.

Canal Bay on yingina/Great Lake remains closed until Saturday 1 December to help protect the rainbow trout.