I was looking into a couple of rivers the other night and noticed a term that was used to describe a particular river that I have never seen before.

I know what a blue ribbon river is but does anyone know what a red ribbon river is?

I'm not sure this is right but I found some fine print on a study and thought I might share for those that don't know. If anyone can tell me is this is true that would be great, as this is a speculation.


Categories based on pounds of trout per mile are: Blue Ribbon (national importance) >600pounds per mile, Red Ribbon (statewide importance) 300 to 600 pounds per mile, Yellow Ribbon (regional importance) 50-300 pounds per mile, Green Ribbon (local importance) <50 pounds per mile.

Aggieraf

I watched a Wyoming Fish and Game 3 person crew electro fishing a small creek in Wyoming once.
Very interesting set up, all contained in backpacks. Anyhow, that's definitely how they described what they were
measuring. They were measuring "pounds of fish per mile". Additionally and were taking note of the species and
some of their stomach contents.

Anyhow, there can be a lot more than just that number taken into account when designating a Blue Ribbon fishery. Beyond
that, the criteria vary by state and except for Montana, many would say they tend to be applied "loosely".
Lastly in some cases there is a large emphasis on criteria that many purist would discount
such as public access to the water.

My conclusion has been blue ribbon designation is fairly arbitrary and has at least as
much to do with selling fishing licenses as it does objectively ranking trout waters nationally. It also
can steer conservation projects towards a few flagship waters at the expense of others
that might have greater need.

Gold Medal Water in CO