Life Cycles/Runs of Steelhead

[Chris Gearhart]

I wonder if some of you could help me understand the life cycles and different runs of steelhead. I am particularly interested in the Feather River. I have been told over and over by many different folks "there are always catchable steelhead in the river. I have also heard there is a seperate and distinct spring run. I was always under the impression steelhead entered the rivers usually after the salmon(fall/winter),spawned,hung around for awhile, then returned downstream(downers) to the sea. I know there are some smart guys out there, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Chris

[Tony Buzolich]

Chris,
I think there is a lot of confusion too about the identity of steelhead versus LARGE trout.

Unless a scale sample is taken and looked at under a microscope there is no way to physically tell any difference. The scale samples of a true steelhead will have a light-dark-light coloration on the scale and looks exactly like the rings of a tree. You can count the age of the steelhead and how many times he has entered and returned from the salt.

The problem comes about when some of the steelhead decide to stay in the stream instead of returning to the sea. These steelhead again take on the coloration of native non-migrating trout. They feed on the same food native trout feed on and act the same as well.

So, at this point, assumeing they are caught at various times throughout the year, they could actually be either large trout or true steelhead.

The Dept.of F&G doesn't make any distinction either, if it's over 16" in a river open to the ocean, then it "could" be a steelhead and you better have your steelhead card with you.

The other thought I had was about how steelhead follow the salmon. Obviously, the salmon's eggs provide a great food supply for the steelhead, along with a lot of other creatures as well. What I am getting to here is the fact that salmon do come in to the Feather almost every month of the year. This year, we started seeing them at the outlet in April and they haven't quit coming. We're still getting bright chrome fish being brought in to our shop every weekend for weighing and pictures. Last year while fishing steelhead in January and February, there were still salmon digging redds.
So unless March is a totally absent month, it's safe to say that salmon are in the river all year long. And if there are salmon here, there should also be steelhead here, or at least large carry over steelhead that have reverted acting like trout.

Just my thoughts,
TONY

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

We seem to be in a wet cycle now for the past few years which makes the local trout and Steelhead populations 'happier'.

In a drought cycle the lower American River get pretty warm.

I think the lower Sacramento River has a huge population of resident trout because it runs so steady and cold plus some Steelhead in the fall and winter.

The lower Feather River seems to have some resident trout and lots of Steelhead some years in the fall.

The lower American River seems to have a small population of smaller trout and then Halfpounders around for many months then the big winter run in Dec-Feb.

Seems like every river has it's own personality and then we have cycles too.

[slimfishin's]

This won't suffice as a replacement to some good reading of the literature, but it might give you the general idea.

Most of the salmon in the Feather river are "fall-run", entering freshwater in the fall - as salmon/steelhead runs are named by the season during which the fish enter fresh water. Those salmon that Tony mentioned showing up in April are "spring-run" salmon, a different run than fall run, with slightly different life histories. See Peter Moyle's book, Inland Fishes of California for a much better description of anadromous salmonids in CA - there used to be 4 distinct Chinook runs in the Sac.

Steelhead have one of the most variable life histories of any salmonid. They can become resident or anadromous, and display a huge variation in the timing and length of their migrations - much more so than salmon. Most of the steelhead you'll catch on the Feather are fall run steelhead. They generally arrive a bit earlier than runs on the Sacramento and Yuba, but each year is different. The vast majority of these fish are hatchery produced, and don't seem to reach the huge sizes of American River fish - but that is likely because of CA DFG hatchery practices from decades back, where different stocks of steelhead were interbred across many hatcheries. Hence, the American River hatchery steelhead are heavily influenced by Eel River stock, which helps explain their late timing and large size - like typical coastal steelhead. But anyway...

The Feather does support resident trout, but nothing like the populations seen in the Sacramento. Like Tony mentioned, steelhead are only distinguished from trout by their saltwater migration. All trout can be aged from their scales, although otoliths (ear stones) provide a much more accurate method. Saltwater migrations are reflected by large distances between the anuli (yearly growth ring) - which signify rapid growth associated with marine food resources. Growth in resident trout is much slower, creating a much more regular pattern of annuli. Although scales are nice, otoliths and their microchemistry give biologists much better data when it comes to determining migration patterns, ages and growth rates. (look up strontium isotope microchemistry and otoliths for more info)

The best steelhead fishing on the Feather is in the fall when there are good numbers of hatchery steelhead around. These fish will hang out into the winter months, spawn anywhere from December to March, and generally disappear after that. After spending 1-3 years in freshwater, they may migrate to the ocean, where they can spend either a few months to a year or two before returning to spawn. Of course, there are many variations on this life history, so it can be tough to explain individual fish that don't quite fit the general patterns. As far as fishing the Feather for resident trout during the warm months - I wouldn't bother. The numbers of fish are so few, and there are much better trout fisheries around, that it isn't worthwhile. As to why the Feather doesn't support a resident trout fishery like the Sac or the Yuba.... that's a good question - but my guess is that is has something to do with the habitat.

SF

[Covelo]

The spring chinook run does not start spawning until Sept at least, so there is no reason for steelhead to follow them into the river just to sit in the warm water all summer waiting for them to start dropping eggs.

I do not remember the researcher, but there is a paper with mDNA analysis of steelhead runs in Calif that found that they were more closely related to rainbow trout in the same watershed than to steelhead of neighboring watersheds. I thought this was interesting since it suggests there is more gene flow between the two in a stream than there is divergence to adjacent streams.

[slimfishin's]

Steelhead are pretty amazing in their ability to change life histories. The gene flow to resident fish doesn't surprise me, as there have been several studies that show resident rainbow can produce anadromous offspring, and vice versa. I think I may even have read that steelhead may interbreed with resident trout - so anadromous behavior is not necessarily a genetically-triggered behavior. The details of what actually triggers some fish to migrate to the ocean and others to stay are still not well understood. Facinating stuff!

SF

[Chris Gearhart]

Thanks to all you guys for your info. I had some great days on the Feather last spring (April,May) and am trying to figure out if I can count on some of the same this year. I realize of course with so many variables nothing is for certain but by trying to understand the habits of the fish in the Feather I may increase my odds.

Thanks again for the input, like I said I know we have some pretty sharp guys out there.

Chris