Gerrard Trout - Oncorhynchus spp.

Yes, it is that time of the year again. Gerrard Trout are spawning. It was my very first entry a couple years ago where I introduced these gigantic trout. 

Once again they've undergone their journey between Kootenay and Trout Lake.  For the next three or four weeks they shall occupy the the spot where the aquamarine waters of Lardeau River spill out of this large glacier lake.

This is a part of the river during the runoff of the last year. Many raging creeks have joined the river, crystal clear at other times, it is now brown with silt and mud.
But check out the following photo, taken on the same day, close to Trout lake from where the river departs.
The turquoise waters are Lardeau River, the muddy ones are from Mobbs Creek; the first of many tributaries that come hurtling down from the snow laden slopes..

Gerrard trout do not enter the muddy creek.
It is the clean, gravelly river bottom of Trout Lake that they seek during their spawn. One can watch them from a bridge; arriving and positioning, males chasing away their rivals, females searching for the best spots in which to build their redds. It is here, only here and nowhere else in the world that they will spawn.

On my first visit of April 30th , 2014 there were about 500-700 of these magnificent fish. 

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The setting sun illuminated the rainbow of colours
that gave these fish their name.

They have arrived in mid-April. They will stay until the second part of May. They will reproduce, but unlike salmon they will not die after their spawn. Leaving their fertilized roe hidden in the gravelly bottom of the headwaters of Lardeau River they will return to Kootenay Lake to continue feeding on kokanee salmon. 

They might return next May ... and the next one and the next. Their lifespan is about 8 years. Meanwhile they will grow into very large rainbow trout, the largest in the world, the record weight being 23 kg - read more here.

The fish Olympics have begun. In the water they fight for females. But they also leap out of water, high and far, ending their airborne journey with tremendous splashes. 
Why they do that is still a question - some say that they want to shake off parasites, some think that it is for another, not yet fully understood reason. 

Where there are egg-laying fish there are also others interested in nutritious meals. At this time of the year it is a squad of Common Mergansers,  Mergus merganser, patrolling the river. 

On a calm day they can be seen diving next to the big fish - they may be searching either for the trout eggs and /or for the little creatures disturbed by the fish. Probably for both.

They are shaped like torpedoes and they are just as FAST. It makes me wonder - how can they notice anything at that speed .... ?

Save the mergansers there are no other water birds at the headwaters of Lardeau River this year so far. 

Maybe they are all nesting in the nearby swamps or they have not yet arrived. 

Only the merganser quintet is constantly checking the fast, cold, crystal clear waters between the lake and the first tributary of the river that spills out of it.. 

There are others reaping the benefits of the season.  Three Bald Eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, live in the area and on the day I photographed this one they were all fighting over something on boulder strewn river bank. Two of them took off but this one stood its ground. 
When it became clear that my camera lens does not spit out bullets it resumed eating its sushi. 
Yes, it was a very large Gerrard Trout that the eagles were feeding on. 

Who knows what tragedy met the trout - perhaps it was overcome by its own kind and succumbed to its wounds. Or it might have carelessly detoured to the rocky edge where a furry animal ended its life.

As for myself, I would place my bet on the ever vigilant eagle patrol.

It is May 16th and the spawn is coming to its end. Snow is melting and the creeks are full, water in the lake must have risen by half a meter since our previous visit only a couple of days ago.

About 150 fish are still running and they still jump. But as the water level rises the fish have more space and less competition so the jumps are spaced out and it is really difficult to photograph them in the air. 

The spectacle is coming to an end.

Beautiful Lardeau River will now return to its own ways. It will threaten the valley by swollen waters, then subside during the hot and lazy summer months. September will bring a different kind of splashing when the red kokanee salmon arrive for their spawn. For Gerrard trout however we have to wait another year.