American Steelhead?

[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.....

I'm probably hoping for too much, here

[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