Steelhead trout

Average Weight: 4.8 lb. - 11.2 lb.
Peak Weight: 48.0 lb.
IGFA Record: 67.4 lb.

An excellent fighter and highly regarded gamefish, the steelhead trout is the migratory form of the rainbow trout--meaning it’s a rainbow that hatches in a stream or river, migrates to the sea (or in some cases a large lake) where it lives, feeds, and grows, then migrates back to the original river to spawn. Unlike Pacific salmon, a percentage of these fish survive the spawn and may make this migration several times in a lifetime. When a steelhead first enters a river to spawn, it has silvery sides, a few dark spots near the tail, and a cold, steel-blue back, from which it gets it’s name. The longer a steelhead is in a river before and during spawning, the more it resembles the nonmigratory rainbow. Steelhead are found in numerous streams and rivers that empty into the Pacific Ocean, from northern California to Alaska, as well as in the Great Lakes and its tributaries (and some other freshwater lakes and rivers) where they provide good sport for inland anglers. Although steelhead may enter rivers to spawn at any time of the year, their runs are generally separated into two categories: the summer run, which might start as early as April or as late as August; and the winter run wich might begin in October and last Until March or later. Summer runs occur on fewer rivers and streams and the fish thereof average between 3 and 7 pounds. Winter-run fish are more common and are bigger, often weighing between 15 and 20 pounds and sometimes going 30 or more. The all-tackle world-record steelhead was caught in Alaska at Bell Island in 1970 and weighed 42 pounds, 2 ounces.
Most seasons for steelhead fishing are long, and on rivers where there is a winter run of fish, neither sleet nor snow can keep a dedicated steelhead fisherman off the water when fish are present. Steelhead can be difficult to locate and catch, and in the fast-tumbling rivers where they are often found, they can also be difficult to land. In any water, they are excellent fighters that run hard, leap often, and generally offer plenty of challange to novice and expert alike.