American Steelhead?

[ripdlip]

I know this is a FF board but I had a question. I caugt this " Steelhead?" last night while throwing plugs for striper in the American but I'm not sure if it is a Steelhead or a big native rainbow. I only ask because it was so thick and wide...I am not used to steelhead being thick. It had its Adipose Fin which I guess could mean they missed it at the hatchery or it is a wild fish. Are there native rainbows in the American and do they grow this large? P.S. I released it after this brief photo...

http://www.calfishing.com/albums/ripdlip/aan.sized.jpg

[Adam Grace]

Awsome fish there Ripdlip! Way to go!

That looks like a Fatty Steelhead, enourmmous belly on that fish.

How did it fight :?:

The whole board would like to know!

[David Lee]

Summer run Steelhead -

A rare creature , hope it did ok on the release .

( a PLUG rod ??!? What were ya thinkin' ??) :P

David

[ripdlip]

Well, I thought I had hooked into a jet boat heading downriver! Really had a good time throwing the old plugs around..sometimes you just have to, right David? I did manage to catch one other steelhead and several nice stripers...alot of fun.



http://www.calfishing.com/albums/ripdlip/aam.sized.jpg[/url]

[David Lee]

I hear ya , Rip ...

I almost broke down and got out the surf gear when the flows were at 12,000 CFS . I still keep all of my spinning gear and Rapalas , etc. , in working order .

But .... I'm afraid of what would happen to me if one of the board members saw me ... :oops: , given the amount of raggin' I've shared w/ my fellow flyrodders :twisted:

It's ALL good (nice Stripe , by the way !) . David

[Jasonh]

Nice catch. That looks like a native steelie. There really is no torout population in the American just half pound steelies throughout the year. Not atypical to catch a summer run fish like that. They are few and far between. Two years ago i floated from sunrise to goethe and landed three fish over 22" in augustand they were all wild fish. Definately not half pounders in my opinion. The largest fish i taped at 27" and about 8 lbs. Nice and fat like yours. They are in there but just hard to target this time of your because there are not a lot of them.

Any guess on how long it was? Looked really heavy and i'm sure put up a great fight.

Jason Hartwick

[Jasonh]

ripdlip, i was just curious where on the river you caught those steelies. They seem to occupy certain areas and water in teh summer. At least from what i have experienced.

Jason Hartwick

[ripdlip]

Well, I would guess her lenght at 25" to 26" and her weight to be around 6lbs to 7lbs. I can tell you that she was very aggresive, I was rippin that plug through the water very fast. I caught her in the Sunrise area. This is a picture of the other steelie I caught doing the same thing on the same day. By the way, all these fish were released unharmed and in good, no, great condition. :D

http://www.calfishing.com/albums/ripdlip/aal.sized.jpg

[Jasonh]

Thanks ripdlip. Must have been fun. Just shows you that those steelies are aggressive and chasing smolts. I cant wait to get back and hopefully hook into a few.

Jason Hartwick

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Where were you?

That is the fastest Steelhead/Rainbow I have ever seen in 40 years out of the Lower American River.

Could be a Rainbow Trout that came over the Nimbus Dam?


And thanks for the great photos.

[Darian]

Hey Rip,.... Didja look inside the mouth of this fish :?: :?: Was the gumline white or black :?: :?: Did it have a slightly forked tail :?: :?:

Very interesting..... Ya know, the more I look at it, the more I see some traits of a fresh run Silver Salmon.

Can't see inside the mouth or the tail but the cuadal peduncle is narrower than the Steelhead in the other picture and the cuadal fin is longer than a Trouts. :? The lateral line is tinged pink as in Silvers I've taken on the coast. :? No spots below the lateral line and the body is clearly fatter than the more streamlined Steelhead..... 8) 8) 8)

I'm probably hoping for too much, here :roll: :roll: :roll:

[ripdlip]

Guys,
First, I caught the fish in the Upper Sunrise area in a very deep pool. I was able to see inside the mouth and it had a white gum line. The tail was definatly square. I was sure it was a Steelhead when I first landed it and even after I released her but after looking at the photos and reflecting on all the steelhead I have caught before I was not sure. It was just so thick, wide and tall! No matter what it was a beautifull fish and I was glad to watch her swim back to her hideout.

[oonchie]

could that big fish have been from lake natomas that spilled over?

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Yes, but it actually looks a lot better than they usaul look.

They are fat with no tales.

They istalled a device where they can take water off at different depths on Folsom Dam to control the temperiture below on the river so all they have to do now is leave some water in Folsom this year.

[Tony Buzolich]

With no disrespect intended, that's a great fish no matter what you call it.
Steelhead or rainbow can only be determined by a scale sample under a microscope. Scales have rings like those on a tree. Each time a "steelhead" enters the salt, a color change occurs in the ring. As true steelhead commonly return several times to spawn and then go back to the salt, they develop several light and dark patterns to each scale.
One steelhead that I saw mounted in BC had returned and spawned seven times, weighted just under thirty pounds, and was over twenty year old. You can also tell how long each stay was in fresh or salt.

All this from just a scale.
TONY