As Mick points out, its good to be able to recognise where our fish have been laying eggs (they are very sensitive to shock and treading on the gravels at certain developmentat stages will kill off more than 95% of them)

Trout cutting a "redd"


What we are trying to avoid - cr@ppy unsorted gravels with lots of sand infiltrating the gaps between gravel particles. Note the plucky attempts at cutting redds though!! The small light patches are where trout have had a go at spawning on this Cumbrian stream


Spot the redds in the following bits of spawning tributary on Lough Corrib (which, btw, are under huge pressure to prop up the rate of catch and kill practiced by huge increases in boat visits compared to years gone by...)