FishUSA.com Fishing Tackle

Author Topic: Steelhead & Domestic Rainbow Trout Strains discussion  (Read 56439 times)

trapper2000

  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 9,531
  • live the dream...........wear it!!!
Re: Steelhead & Domestic Rainbow Trout Strains discussion
« Reply #150 on: Nov 11, 2011, 08:20 AM »
hey  Bob  i  been  having  some  fun  and   i  even  got  a  few  new  ideas  for  you  to  think  about

Steelhead are an anadromous strain of rainbow trout. That is, they spend most of there life in the ocean or in the Great Lakes and return to tributary streams to spawn.
Rainbow trout are the landlocked form, so to speak, as they do not have a tendency to migrate from one body of water to another. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission plants steelhead rather than rainbow trout in the Lake Erie drainage.

Identifying Steelhead

There isn't an easy way to tell one from the other, because they are the same species, Oncorhynchus mykiss. If you fish tributaries to the Great Lakes you are catching steelhead.
 
Steelhead can be separated from similar-looking coho and chinook salmon by looking at the inside of the mouth. The mouth is completely white in the steelhead. In the salmons, the mouth has some gray or black. Steelhead and other deepwater, big-lake rainbows are more silvery than stream fish, with less of a side stripe.

Their genetic background traces back to ocean run (migratory) rainbow trout brought here from the Pacific Northwest. Our landlocked rainbows have also come from the West, but probably did not come from ocean running strains.

An even bigger debate among steelheaders is the genetic variety or strain of steelhead caught. Some fish come from stock from the Skamania River, maybe you've heard anglers say they catch these steelhead. Often they are more sleek, not as wide at the 'shoulders' but fight like mad.

Landlocked rainbows will migrate and take on some color characteristics you will see in steelhead, but don't grow as large.

http://www.fish.state.pa.us/pafish/steelhead/id.htm


heres  more
Note that due to the ambiguity in identification, many states consider any rainbow trout caught above a certain size as “steelhead” (typically 16”).  Sea-run Redband Trout are also called Steelhead and migrate along some of the same rivers.

http://wildtroutstreams.com/index.php/steelhead

 i  have  also   been  reading  alot  from  the  state  of  washington  and  the  univristy    we   automaticlly  consider  the    steelhead   a  off  shoot  of  the  rainbow   when in  fact  this  is   backwards  the  steelhead   (being  a  salmoniod) is  the  normal!   the  rainbow   is  simple  the  land  locked  verison ...like  alantic  salmon  vs landlocks .

you can destroy buildings  you can't  destroy the  american spirit

Simplecarppieguy

  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 2,390
  • Established in 1969, Fisherman by 1975..
Re: Steelhead & Domestic Rainbow Trout Strains discussion
« Reply #151 on: Nov 12, 2011, 05:10 PM »
Shouldn't the label on that box hat say FULTON ? ;D
16 kings, 100 dropped!! Its not all about how many you get to the bank, its about the fun and friendship!

esox v

  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 4,509
Re: Steelhead & Domestic Rainbow Trout Strains discussion
« Reply #152 on: Nov 12, 2011, 05:55 PM »

He isn't from Fulton... He doesn't have love tattooed on his  knuckles in Indian ink !! 
"There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetrated
under the shield of law and in the name of justice."
--Charles de Montesquieu (1689-1755)
For tyranny to work some idiots are required…

The most dangerous thing any nation faces..  is a citizenry capable of trusting a liar to lead them....

Special Ed

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 274
Re: Steelhead & Domestic Rainbow Trout Strains discussion
« Reply #153 on: Nov 12, 2011, 06:25 PM »
He isn't from Fulton... He doesn't have love tattooed on his  knuckles in Indian ink !!  
;D ;D ;D  That's because he's been dragging them  ;D

fishgalore

  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 1,170
Re: Steelhead & Domestic Rainbow Trout Strains discussion
« Reply #154 on: Nov 12, 2011, 07:18 PM »
Bob if you fish oz Sunday you will clearly see the difference before you even see the fish. Rainbows will have a much redder gill plate. They willfight but not like a steels. Rainbows do that fast short darting around where the steelies will make a run. The bows fight alot like a brown but more towards the surface withe the darting action. If you catch both you will clearly see. I used to think they where hard yo tell apart then this thread got me thinking and last Sunday we went and you could easily tell the difference as soon as the float dropped.

Adam, don't know if you are onto something but I noted that before when Gillripper1 went with Catch the Drift. However, your analogy has me thinking too. I caught what I thought was a small 15" Rainbow today on the CP. When I told Shane what it did he said it was probably a Steelie. Here's the confusing part and what it did. First, what it did was immediately launched out of the water about 5 times and it did as much of an attempted run as possible. The confusing part is that's what happens in the Pequest River when I catch  "Rainbows". They run and they jump. So at this point I'm not really buying the fight ordeal. Maybe if I hooked a bigger one comparable to the 8.5 lb Steelie I landed yesterday I would have a better gauge but right now it's just more confusing. Add to that what JJLeaf noted about what if a fish was recently caught then recaught. That might have an impact on the theory. Fishthefalls123 caught 2 Domestics yesterday on the drift boat, Northwoods said that it was the same exact Domestic both times. Fishthefalls123 did say, however, that the fight was different when compared to his 9.5 lb Steelie. So his analysis would concur with your observations. IMO I'm still not convinced. Maybe if we hit Oz tomorow I'll see for myself.

fishgalore

  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 1,170
Re: Steelhead & Domestic Rainbow Trout Strains discussion
« Reply #155 on: Nov 12, 2011, 07:19 PM »
hey  Bob  i  been  having  some  fun  and   i  even  got  a  few  new  ideas  for  you  to  think  about

Steelhead are an anadromous strain of rainbow trout. That is, they spend most of there life in the ocean or in the Great Lakes and return to tributary streams to spawn.
Rainbow trout are the landlocked form, so to speak, as they do not have a tendency to migrate from one body of water to another. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission plants steelhead rather than rainbow trout in the Lake Erie drainage.

Identifying Steelhead

There isn't an easy way to tell one from the other, because they are the same species, Oncorhynchus mykiss. If you fish tributaries to the Great Lakes you are catching steelhead.
 
I read some of that on the links that were posted. Good stuff.
Steelhead can be separated from similar-looking coho and chinook salmon by looking at the inside of the mouth. The mouth is completely white in the steelhead. In the salmons, the mouth has some gray or black. Steelhead and other deepwater, big-lake rainbows are more silvery than stream fish, with less of a side stripe.

Their genetic background traces back to ocean run (migratory) rainbow trout brought here from the Pacific Northwest. Our landlocked rainbows have also come from the West, but probably did not come from ocean running strains.

An even bigger debate among steelheaders is the genetic variety or strain of steelhead caught. Some fish come from stock from the Skamania River, maybe you've heard anglers say they catch these steelhead. Often they are more sleek, not as wide at the 'shoulders' but fight like mad.

Landlocked rainbows will migrate and take on some color characteristics you will see in steelhead, but don't grow as large.

http://www.fish.state.pa.us/pafish/steelhead/id.htm


heres  more
Note that due to the ambiguity in identification, many states consider any rainbow trout caught above a certain size as “steelhead” (typically 16”).  Sea-run Redband Trout are also called Steelhead and migrate along some of the same rivers.

http://wildtroutstreams.com/index.php/steelhead

 i  have  also   been  reading  alot  from  the  state  of  washington  and  the  univristy    we   automaticlly  consider  the    steelhead   a  off  shoot  of  the  rainbow   when in  fact  this  is   backwards  the  steelhead   (being  a  salmoniod) is  the  normal!   the  rainbow   is  simple  the  land  locked  verison ...like  alantic  salmon  vs landlocks .



I read some of that stuff on the links that were posted. Good stuff.

lakerdave

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 194
Re: Steelhead & Domestic Rainbow Trout Strains discussion
« Reply #156 on: Nov 12, 2011, 09:11 PM »
Adam, don't know if you are onto something but I noted that before when Gillripper1 went with Catch the Drift. However, your analogy has me thinking too. I caught what I thought was a small 15" Rainbow today on the CP. When I told Shane what it did he said it was probably a Steelie. Here's the confusing part and what it did. First, what it did was immediately launched out of the water about 5 times and it did as much of an attempted run as possible. The confusing part is that's what happens in the Pequest River when I catch  "Rainbows". They run and they jump. So at this point I'm not really buying the fight ordeal. Maybe if I hooked a bigger one comparable to the 8.5 lb Steelie I landed yesterday I would have a better gauge but right now it's just more confusing. Add to that what JJLeaf noted about what if a fish was recently caught then recaught. That might have an impact on the theory. Fishthefalls123 caught 2 Domestics yesterday on the drift boat, Northwoods said that it was the same exact Domestic both times. Fishthefalls123 did say, however, that the fight was different when compared to his 9.5 lb Steelie. So his analysis would concur with your observations. IMO I'm still not convinced. Maybe if we hit Oz tomorow I'll see for myself.
   yeah I also notice that the rainbows hardly ever jump . And Steelhead jump numerous times ,Take long hard runs . And headshake a lot more. you can tell a lot easier on the Sr. When I was fishing out west , it seemed that we were gettin ones that looked totally different than either a rainbow our a Steelhead. All in the same place .

lakerdave

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 194
Re: Steelhead & Domestic Rainbow Trout Strains discussion
« Reply #157 on: Nov 12, 2011, 09:17 PM »
I know its a bad pic but what is this

lakerdave

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 194
Re: Steelhead & Domestic Rainbow Trout Strains discussion
« Reply #158 on: Nov 12, 2011, 09:23 PM »
I know this is a rainbow

lakerdave

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 194
Re: Steelhead & Domestic Rainbow Trout Strains discussion
« Reply #159 on: Nov 12, 2011, 09:37 PM »
Here's another one I didn't know what it was

trapper2000

  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 9,531
  • live the dream...........wear it!!!
Re: Steelhead & Domestic Rainbow Trout Strains discussion
« Reply #160 on: Nov 13, 2011, 04:21 AM »
bob  i'm sorry  i  didn't  get  to hook up  with you!  perhaps  next  time , good news all seems  well  just took a long time  at  the  hospital...  hop  ya  knock  the  spots  off them  good  luck
you can destroy buildings  you can't  destroy the  american spirit

lakerdave

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 194
Re: Steelhead & Domestic Rainbow Trout Strains discussion
« Reply #161 on: Nov 13, 2011, 08:59 AM »
And I know this is a Steelhead .

fishgalore

  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 1,170
Re: Steelhead & Domestic Rainbow Trout Strains discussion
« Reply #162 on: Nov 14, 2011, 04:38 AM »
And I know this is a Steelhead .

That's for sure LD!

fishgalore

  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 1,170
Re: Steelhead & Domestic Rainbow Trout Strains discussion
« Reply #163 on: Nov 14, 2011, 05:41 PM »
bob  i'm sorry  i  didn't  get  to hook up  with you!  perhaps  next  time , good news all seems  well  just took a long time  at  the  hospital...  hop  ya  knock  the  spots  off them  good  luck

Glad to hear all went well. Maybe in Dec. ............1st or 2nd weekend.

fishgalore

  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 1,170
Re: Steelhead & Domestic Rainbow Trout Strains discussion
« Reply #164 on: Nov 14, 2011, 05:49 PM »
Got the book "An Entirely Synthetic Fish" coming to my local library probably by the weeks end. Only one copy is in the system among the many libraries in the county. Maybe I'll get to start it this weekend.

 



Iceshanty | MyFishFinder | MyHuntingForum
Contact | Disclaimer | Sponsor
© 2004- MyFishFinder.com
All Rights Reserved.