Jason,.... I'm curious about this one: "....while rainbow trout and steelhead may be genetically identical, they are hardly the same animal when you think about them from a life cycle perspective... not even all that similar really." Let's compare what we know about rainbows/steelhead:
They appear identical, physically.
They easily interbreed.
Spawning/use requirements (technique and spaces) are the same.
Genetically, they're the same (not considering biological taxa here).
Anadromy(??) appears to be a choice (I seem to recall reading that some rainbows migrate and some don't, even from the same watershed).
Water requirements are similar.
Spawning occurs during the same overall time period (regardless of when they enter rivers/streams).
They eat the same food (depending on where they are at the time).
IMO, The bright appearance of a salmon/steelhead that has recently entered a river/stream is more a condition brought about by living in the salt water environment and the type food available there. I do agree that steelhead are magnificent and that I'd rather catch one of them than a typical resident rainbow, but I'm not sure that there's that many real differences between the two.
Thanks for the observations and info, guys. Good stuff so far....
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