Abstract
Inlet and outlet spawners of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss were tagged in Lake Huechulafquen in the 1990 spawning season. In the fishing season, 8.3% and 10.0% of the spent trout tagged from the inlet and oulet, respectively, were recaptured in the lake by sport anglers. This demonstrated that outlet spent adults also migrated in the lake as well as inlet spawners. The monthly distribution of the tag-recovery locations showed that the spent adults dispersed throughout the lake one month after the spawning season, and they started migrating toward their spawning streams three months before the next spawning. A few tags from the inlet were also recovered 25km downstream from the lake. In the 1991 spawning season, 8.6% and 10.0% repeat homing to the inlet and outlet, respectively, were observed. A few stray homers were observed, but most repeat spawners returned to their home spawning streams.
