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mezzfin
Spent Saturday before the deluge hunting steel and had a few bites before landing this pretty girl. Can confirm that steel is all the way through the lower section up to the Pelton Dam. Only gets better from here on out 
Steel is all the way up
Admin
Good job mezzfin! :thumb:
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FlyBum
Nice Redside!
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perfectg03
FlyBum said:
It's a steelhead
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hydropsyche
Nice fin clipped hatchery redside? I got one nyphing yesterday up high. 22" hen sure was bright for a redside missing a fin. They taste great too. I was surprised to find fish that high up this early. I wonder if its gonna be early on the john day after all this rain and cold water. Probably gonna check it out next week.
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perfectg03
hydropsyche said:
Are you serious? These are steelhead, not trout.
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hydropsyche
Last year i was very confused when i swung up a 23" redside adipose fin intact i never really knew if it was a nate or a trout till i caught my first/last steelhead up there. The redsides are way fatter and deep red trough they're anal and pectoral fins. The Steelhead i got was skinny, chrome and faintly blushing on the cheeks no fin. I also got a 20" redside before the steelhead very different fish. I know there are people with a lot more experience up there than me but there is no adipose fin in that pic so it must be steel.
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FlyBum
I thought only steelhead came from the Great Lakes??
They both are genetically identical according to biologists...
They both are genetically identical according to biologists...
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perfectg03
This is absolutely hilarious. You guys should really learn about fish of the pacific northwest. These are not rainbow trout, these are steelhead. They are a migratory fish, much larger than rainbow trout.
Rainbow trout and steelhead are of the same species, the difference is steelhead are ocean bound, returning only to spawn.
Rainbow trout and steelhead are of the same species, the difference is steelhead are ocean bound, returning only to spawn.
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hydropsyche
Thanks for the clarification. But i thought there were no steelhead in the great lakes because the only difference between trout and steel were that steel went to the ocean. Touche! I'm just bored at work thanks for the entertainment. Maybe if i catch a b run people will believe its not a trout. Oh yeah i forgot i live in bendifornia, where is the Pacific nw? Is that Idaho or Montana?
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FlyBum
Bendifornia.... AWESOME!
See... Steelhead and Rainbows have the same scientific name (Oncorhynchus mykiss) just one decides to go to the ocean and one remains in the river... Some "steelhead" smolt will remain resident and become "redsides" or rainbows if you must... Steelhead can even pair with Redsides and spawn together... Then what? I guess Steelsides! LOL But ODFW has deemed that rainbows over 20 inches are steelhead... So now what???
See... Steelhead and Rainbows have the same scientific name (Oncorhynchus mykiss) just one decides to go to the ocean and one remains in the river... Some "steelhead" smolt will remain resident and become "redsides" or rainbows if you must... Steelhead can even pair with Redsides and spawn together... Then what? I guess Steelsides! LOL But ODFW has deemed that rainbows over 20 inches are steelhead... So now what???
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hydropsyche
Valid point Flybum i got my steel not 3 feet away from 20" super colored up buck redside. Possible spawning partner? That's why i always bonk hatchery steel. On the alsea i would frequently catch/see smaller fish and hatchery fish hanging out with native spawning steel late in the season, however i have never caught a rainbow that wasn't a smolt on that river. Some of the cutties were very rainbowish except for they're slashes. Now open Pandoras box. A few years ago my buddy got a 22" cut bow on the north santiam it was legitimate size and nates were keepable (summer regs) so we kept it, cut bright orange but had huge slashes under the gills Skamania/cutty . On another note when should i go tho the john day to catch some trout sized steelhead. Or should i just go to the coast and try to entice a coho to the fly.
hobster
hydropsyche said:
There are steelhead in the great lakes and i'm pretty sure most fish were planted there from the NW. The fish go into the rivers and streams to spawn from the lakes (which is their ocean) just like the kokanee at Odell lake for example.
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FlyBum
Great Lakes steelhead... Ha ha.... Lake-run Rainbows sounds a lot better!
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DirectDrive
FlyBum said:
The original Great Lakes steelhead plants in the 1960s were from the hatchery on Washougal River.FlyBum said:
Skamania strain steelhead.
When the plants took hold well enough to support new fisheries the Great Lakes locals called the happening "Skamania Mania".
So yes these are "lake-run" fish there but they are not all 'bows and browns.
