Blue Backs on the Lower American

As a newcomer to fly fishing, I would appreciate learning from the many experienced anglers on this forum:

- when do spring run steelhead usually appear in the Lower American?

- has anyone caught any as of this date, April 2, 2025?

Bill B.

My guess is Feb/Mar/Apr/May, depending on the runoff.

They are usually found in the top few miles below the dam.


The lower Feather River below Oroville has them as well.


Check with Captain Andy Guibord at Fly Fishing Specialties in Sacramento for any info on the lower American River for all species.

Hello Bill , Springers are in the river now. Usually they start showing up end of March. I’ve caught steelhead all months of the year.
Starting this Monday the flows on the American we be going up to 7000 cfs.

Thanks, Smitty Fish,

Coming from you, it means a lot to me.

You are one of the anglers who have spent decades fishing on the Lower American River.

Thanks Bill. I am at Fly Specialties regularly.

Thanks Smitty Fish. Good to know they are here. I will be swinging the Lower AR tomorrow before wading becomes dangerous

Today, I send everyone to Flyfishing Specialties.

Many of my old staff work at Specialties, and they all have great knowledge of the sport.

My staff hosted trips for the shop, all over the world.

I try to connect my Forum members to the staff who has experience with the destination they are headed to.

Blue backs.......a thing of the past. Living in the 90's.

As a matter of fact, I was just at the river today. Hooked two nice spring steelhead (one dark and the other chrome) on a 5wt and a Caddis nymph. They both ate it on the strip, which was odd.

Spring run Steelhead at 3-5#.

Spring run Half-pounders are 13 to 17".



Please comment on these sizes.

These fish I hooked were definitely steelhead. I would say they weee around 22 to 24 inches.

Yesterday I caught a 15 inch chromed out trout following the bigger steelhead around.

Yes, the larger ones are probably wild Spring run Steelhead, and the 15" is a Spring run Half-pounder.

Nice to hear.

A steelhead’s life begins as an egg spawned in freshwater and as a juvenile fish, will spend one or more years in the freshwater environment. The juvenile or parr resembles a resident rainbow trout and the process of smoltification allows the young fish to enter the ocean to become a steelhead. After a period in the ocean, a steelhead will return to freshwater, usually to spawn.

Half-pounders follow a similar freshwater life history but only spend a few months in the ocean before returning to freshwater in the late summer or early fall. They do not over winter in the ocean and the majority will not spawn during their first return to freshwater except for a few precocious males. Half-pounders range in length from about 10 to 16 inches while adult steelhead coming back the following season in the same run typically range from 18 to 24 inches. The returning adult fish will eventually spawn in the late winter and spring months.

Many anglers believe that the Sacramento River and its tributaries support half-pounder runs. Actually, the steelhead run in the Sacramento River does not include fish that exhibit a half-pounder life history similar to steelhead from the Rogue, Klamath, and Eel rivers. An extensive study of Sacramento River steelhead in the late 1950’s made no reference to half-pounders when describing the age, size or maturity of returning steelhead. Although somewhat similar in size to Rogue and Klamath river half-pounders, Sacramento River steelhead are larger on their first return to freshwater, may have over-wintered in the ocean one season, and eventually will become sexually mature and spawn on their first return to freshwater.

California spring-run summer steelhead enter freshwater in the spring months during periods of high springtime runoff. Like all summer steelhead, they are sexually immature when first entering freshwater. California spring-run summer steelhead typically spend at least one full year in the ocean. In rivers with no artificial barriers, they ascend to headwater areas. California spring-run summer steelhead were historically found in several northern California river systems including Redwood Creek, and the Klamath, Trinity, Mad, and Eel rivers. Some individuals suggest other northern California rivers may have supported runs of summer steelhead although scientific evidence is lacking.

Studies in the past have demonstrated many of the steelhead and rainbow trout found in the American River are strays from either Coleman National Fish Hatchery or Feather River Fish Hatchery. Today these fish will have the adipose fin removed. Unmarked fish are likely simply strays from the Sacramento River.

There have been very few attempts to enhance historic spring or late summer/early fall steelhead runs in California. There were attempts to develop summer steelhead runs and summertime fisheries in the Mad and American rivers using out-of-state summer steelhead eggs. Although some adult fish returned, the Mad River program was discontinued after a few years because fishery managers felt the program did not produce substantial additional angling opportunities. Similarly, although a few adult fish returned to the river and hatchery, summer water temperatures conditions at Nimbus Fish Hatchery on the American River were unsuitable for holding adult fish though the summer months. The program was subsequently discontinued. In spite of efforts to introduce other strain or races of steelhead to the American River, winter steelhead still continue to genetically resemble the Eel River steelhead introduced in the late 1950’s.

The name ‘Blueback” is another discussion entirely.

Dennis