2/8 pics from Russian River trib spawner survey

I know this is not a typical fishing report, but during the lull in steelhead fishing right now due to high flows I thought I'd share a few pictures from spawner surveys I've been running on a Russian River tributary.

Pic.#1 - Steelhead jumping a 7 foot waterfall
Pic.#2 - same thing, different fish
Pic.#3 - Steelhead (3X) on a redd, actually a rare sight.  The female is on the bottom and the "dominant male" is on the top with an additional male in the middle that was chased out of there by the dominant male right after I took the picture.  This other male would continue to hang just downstream.
Pic.#4 - typical steelhead redd, note the pot (depression with larger boulders in the middle) and the tailspill (which the eggs are under; pile of cobble downstream of the pot; notice the gravel/cobble in the tailspill has been cleared of all fine sediment).

Enjoy

Great stuff, Joe.  I love those little river-cleaners!   

Great photos thanks.

Man, you are one LUCKY dude.  I'd give just about anything to have that job.   Serious envy here.

How large of a fish would you say that is in the first picture.  Hard to tell I know, but close to 3 ft?

The redd in picture 4 looks dangerously shallow or is it just me?  At least compared to picture 3 where it is 2 ft deep but probably closer to 3 or 4 ft.

Great stuff Joe!  I always appreciate your posts.  Keep 'em coming.

Michael

Nice Joe 

The redd in picture number 4 is in somewhat shallow water. The water over the pot is about 1.25 feet deep, which is probably about as deep as the eggs under the upstream side of the tailspill.  Sometimes we do find redds that become dewatered, but sometimes there is water under the substrate.  If the water stays at the same level they'll hatch in about a month.

The fish in the first picture is probably around 10, maybe 12 pounds.

Yes, I am lucky, but it really is a lot of hard work and sometimes hard on the family, but then again most jobs are.  I can't imagine doing anything else.

Great photos, thanks!  Keep'em coming.

Awesome pics!!! That is so cool!

Thanks for the lesson Joe!  I think I'm learning to read a redd from the best! 
now hit the lights and leave them alone...they need a little privacy too!