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Fishing/Hunting
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Steelhead, the mention of this fish usually brings up dreams of the biggest fight you have ever had with any fish. Sought after by anglers all over world here in B.C. we are proud to have some of the biggest stocks you will find anywhere.
Steelhead are an anadramous fish (fresh to salt water) that share their origin with the Atlantic and Pacific Salmon. Steelhead are native to the West Coast of North America and the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia but have been introduced elsewhere but come to B.C. to find the best Steelhead fishing.
Description: A steelhead trout is basically a rainbow trout that has spent a part of its life in the ocean. There are no major physical differences between rainbow and steelhead trout; however, the nature of their differing lifestyles has resulted in subtle differences in color, shape, and general appearance. The average length of a steelhead trout is 51 to 76 centimetres. A mature steelhead usually weighs 3.6 to 4 kilograms, but has been recorded as high as 16 kilograms.
Like all trout, the steelhead are positively separated from the various salmon species by having eight to twelve rays in the anal fin. The rainbow trout/steelhead group are then separated from the brook trout, lake trout, and Dolly Varden by the complete absence of teeth at the base of the tongue.
On a general note, steelhead are more slender and streamlined than resident rainbow. Like rainbow, the coloration on the back is basically blue-green shading to olive with black, regularly spaced spots. The black spots also cover both lobes of the tail. The black coloration fades over the lateral line to a silver white coloration blending more to white on the stomach.
Steelhead from the ocean are much more silver than the resident rainbow. On steelhead the typical colors and spots of the trout appear to be coming from beneath a dominant silvery sheen. The silvery sheen gradually fades in fresh water, and steelhead become difficult to differentiate from resident rainbow trout as the spawning period approaches. Steelhead and rainbow lack the red slash on the underjaw characteristic of cutthroat trout, but do have white leading edges on the anal, pectoral, and pelvic fins. Spawning steelhead and rainbow develop a distinct pink to red strip-like colouration that blends along the side, both above and below the lateral line. On steelhead, the rainbow trout colouration gradually fades following spawning to the more characteristic silvery color that the fish display during their ocean journey. Steelhead also can go back and forth to the ocean with up to spawning 3 - 4 times but the biggest fish are the first time spawner being the biggest.
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