Steelhead Trout
Onchorhynchus Mykiss (Sea run)
By Timothy Kusherets
Steelhead is a seagoing rainbow trout. A steelhead’s mouth and gum line is white.
Steelhead have a red stripe that begins at the gill plate and runs the length
of the body along the lateral line. The stripe becomes darker as the fish
get closer to the predetermined spawning cycle. The twelve rays on the anal
fin make it a trout. Many fishermen describe returning steelhead by the
“salt” age. A three year salt hatchery fish is actually a four-year
old fish. Since natives spend an average of two years in the natal stream
add those years to the salt age of returning natives, so if a returning
native has spent three years at sea add 2 years making the fish 5 years
old; this is a relatively reliable way of gauging a fish’s age by
the size of the fish without removing scales thus preventing the imminent
spread of fungal disease.
Steelhead will feed on squid, copepods, crustaceans, and smaller baitfish
such as sand lance and smelt. Though salmon can often be found holding in
the same area steelhead will often not take the same baits or lures. The problem
with reliably predicting food sources that will stimulate steelhead is they
don’t school in the ocean the way salmon do. They tend to run deeper
and away from major commercial fishing lanes; therefore making it that much
more difficult to track their feeding habits; however; steelhead that are
caught in estuaries are taken on offerings too small for Chinook but larger
than that of Coho.
Fishing for steelhead in an estuary can be risky business if you don’t
make the distinction in tackle. Steelhead prefer spinners fished very deep
or they will hit small zingers and buzz-bombs that are fished deep but slowly.
Scent and cover is the thing to remember when fishing for them in the estuary.
Don’t fish for them from shore without getting into the water at least
knee high to hide yourself from sight. Fisherman that fish from the shoreline
are often seen by this elusive fish because they are higher than the waterline
and that makes them easy to see and it will be enough to put any fish in
the area off the bite. The best way to fight a steelhead is pretty much
the same way you would in a river; they’re every bit as acrobatic
in the estuary and that’s what makes them so hard to land. In an estuary
they have room to run and flail about but one of the first things they tend
to do is head for the nearest structure and if there’s nothing in
the water for them to swim to then you’re the next best thing and
they’ll head straight for you at top speed. As it streaks towards
you reel and walk backwards at the same time until it turns. As a steelhead makes its
run make sure to palm or thumb the spool to give maximum tension on the line,
but only for a few seconds at a time. Don’t reel against the drag.
Each time it jumps lower the rod tip into the water to take up any slack,
the moment it is back in the water put your rod tip back up high and play
it out. Typically, when a steelhead has done all it can to throw the hook
it will come in relatively easy but be prepared for the fish to bolt the
second you attempt to tail or net it.
Cover is the key to finding steelhead e.g. log jams, overhanging bushes, and boulders,
but drop-offs are an excellent place for holding steelhead too.
Migration into freshwater systems are another distinction that steelhead
have over salmon. Salmon will wait for an inundation of rivers and streams
before attempting to go upstream, steelhead do not, they can go up anytime
that oxygen and temperatures permit. They will also migrate in high muddy
water as well while salmon will hold close to the banks waiting for the
river to recede. Finding steelhead once they enter rivers is broken down
into two seasonal tactics. During the fall and winter months, where rivers
and streams often run high and muddy, make it easy to approach holds without
spooking fish. Summer run fish are harder to approach only because waters
run low and clear; getting to the river at dawn or dusk is the best approach.
Drifting downriver into deep holds are excellent places to fish when the
sun is high. The most reliable times to get them to bite are at dusk and
dawn, but that doesn’t mean they won’t bite any other time.
Consider that their eyes acclimate to dark much better than light and that
is why your presentation during times of dusk and dawn should be well thought
out and prepared in advance.
Offerings in rivers are much more diverse than is with salmon making them
much more finicky to catch. Eggs, sand shrimp, earthworms, flies, corkies,
spinners, and spoons are just a sampling of what they will take but knowing
what the prevailing offering is during times of high pressure from fishermen
is the thing that will get you fish. Changing your offering to something
that hasn’t been used almost always garners a strike immediately.
Winter run steelhead enter rivers as maturing adults and only spend 1 to 2
months before they spawn and head back to sea. Summer run steelhead enter rivers
sexually immature and will spend months in a river before spawning. Though steelhead
will strike at natural offerings in rivers it’s understood by many ecologists
and fishermen that they do not feed. It has been said many times that steelhead
are territorial enough that holding areas that are preferred are cleaned of
debris and unwanted offerings are taken into their mouths, moving backwards
downstream, and spit back out away from the area without fishermen feeling a
thing (this is called "mouthing"); that is why using highly-visible mainline
line will help you detect strikes. Lines that travel the drift and suddenly
slow down or stop are, more often than not, strikes; when it happens set the
hook and the fight will be on.
© Timothy Kusherets 2004/08
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