(Photo courtesy IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF FISH & GAME)
Unlike salmon and trout, burbot don’t build nests. They group together in “spawning balls” and eggs are fertilized in the water column before drifting down to the river bottom.
March 10, 2020
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March 10, 2020 1 a.m.
Burbot fishing ramps up on Kootenai
For much of the year, most burbot in the Kootenai River system reside in the deep, slow flowing pools or in the deep, cold waters of Kootenay Lake in British Columbia. But once February arrives, burbot rapidly begin transitioning to spawning mode and start moving to shallower water in the river and its tributaries.