GungasUncle
The fish in the pic that he posted....call it what you want! I'll tell you one thing, that fish has never been to the salt!
Well...if your wife says it's a steelhead....it must be a steelhead! :lol:
Considering the information provided....the experts and Biologist's say that a rainbow under 20" is a trout! :lol:
some coastal rivers include cutts over a certain size as steelhead.
No, I'm saying that on certain coastal streams, ODFW lumps Cutthroat Trout over 20" into the "STEELHEAD" category. You can't KEEP those fish, even on streams that now allow them to be retained, because you can't keep WILD steelhead, and there are no Cutthroat stocking programs.
What I'm suggesting, is that ODFW *NOT* lump cutthroat trout into being called "Steelhead" because it's biologically inaccurate. There's no NEED to do it. They simply could've said "NO retention of cutthroat over 19 inches", or otherwise include a slot limit for retention on streams that allow retention of cutthroat trout.
Don't be such a dick.
It seems that Mrs. Van has other ideas about it. See, she is a fisheries biologist by training and before she moved up into corporate financials she was a senior fisheries person doing salmon, steelhead and trout work that included surveys and habitat restoration. According to her the main stem of the Clack does not have a resident Rainbow population. The feeder streams do however. She thinks that it is a Jack. So, tomorrow she is emailing the pic up to a coworker in Seattle who is a trout guy for his input. lol.
It seems my wife is coming to the rescue of my lost first steelhead. lol
A juvenile jab? Cute. Considering my wife is a principal level fisheries biologist with years and years of field experience compared to your fishing past time it really is obvious who is correct. Federal and State agencies and massive natural resource extraction companies listen to her and her coworkers. You, not so much...
I suppose that might be the case if you completely ignored what was posted and where the fish was caught. As stated, the only way to know for sure is with a scale sample test. Since we dont have that we could all argue till we are blue in the face.
No, I'm saying that on certain coastal streams, ODFW lumps Cutthroat Trout over 20" into the "STEELHEAD" category. You can't KEEP those fish, even on streams that now allow them to be retained, because you can't keep WILD steelhead, and there are no Cutthroat stocking programs.
What I'm suggesting, is that ODFW *NOT* lump cutthroat trout into being called "Steelhead" because it's biologically inaccurate. There's no NEED to do it. They simply could've said "NO retention of cutthroat over 19 inches", or otherwise include a slot limit for retention on streams that allow retention of cutthroat trout.
Don't be such a dick.
A jack refers to a small sexually mature salmon, did she sex the fish?
Massive natural resource extraction companies!!! Who can argue with that....they must be right!
Good post.Sorry but a jack only applies to salmon...not steelhead. Look in the regulations. If that "steelhead" was a "jack" you could tag it. People would just be tagging larger trout as "jack steelhead".
Page 8. Jack salmon are coho between 15 and 20 inches in length and any other salmon species between 15 and 24 inches in length when in fresh-water or bays. Jack salmon are not a separate species of salmon, but a life-history stage of various species of salmon that return to fresh-water and become sexually mature after only a short period in the ocean. Thus, there are jack coho and jack Chinook salmon, for example
Sea-run rainbow trout over 20 inches in length except in Northwest and Southwest Zone streams where rainbow trout over 16 inches in length are defined as steelhead
The italics and bold parts are put there by ODFW. Probably to emphasize the distinction of jacks being a salmon. By any definition by ODFW that is a rainbow trout.
There ARE resident trout in the lower Clackamas but they're hatchery fish that come down from the dam. http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/or...f/2009/05/trout_fishing_reopens_on_clack.html
My quasi-professional opinion is that it is an offspring (from either steelhead or rainbow) that decided to become a resident in the lower section. Heck, even a upper tributary wild bow could have made its way downstream, crazier things have happened.
Sorry but a jack only applies to salmon...not steelhead. Look in the regulations.
Good post.
You are correct that the term "jack" refers to a life stage; however you are wrong in saying that "jack" doesn't apply to steelhead. A jack is an anadromous salmonid that returns to it's natal stream earlier than it's counterparts. A coho, chum, and steelhead can all come back as jacks. You're reference above is a salmon reg that has nothing to do with steelhead what-so-ever.
Don't take my word for it, check out the WDFW steelhead creel survey data. Their state fisheries biologist have noted several steelhead jacks. The same is true for Oregon.
With this last bit to back up my position, i am done trying to convince some of what they are determined not to be convinced of.
I agree. It was a good, well written post.
It wasn't me that ruined the thread, but i sure learned something about a few around here...