Putah 9-12

[jbird]

The reason that fish may appear unusual - it just might be a steelhead

I dont doubt the possibilty of there being steelhead present in the river system, but steelhead have less variation in appearance than the wide variety of trout and their coloration diversity, not to mention hybridization (is that a word?) I would have a hard time digesting the claim that the fish pictured above was a steelhead. If there are rainbows and browns coexisting in that river, I might speculate its a hybrid of sorts. Its spot pattern almost looks cutthroat-ish. Its body shape is brown-ish...But I would be willing to bet its just a rainbow with a slightly odd coloration that only God knows the answer.
Jay

[dberry]

[q[quote]uote]The reason that fish may appear unusual - it just might be a steelhead

Both Putah and Pope Creeks had good steelhead populations prior to the construction of Monticello Dam. It used to be that when Berryessa overflowed, there was always great steelhead action in between the Winters bridge and the Solano Dam. Still find a few fish there every year when the conditions are present. Don't know why the DFG or BRN weren't required to mitigate the loss of the habitat and run

[lee s.]

Danged nice looking fish, db.
Sure does look colored like any of the "old" steelhead we were ever around. "Old" meaning further along on their spawning run, as in Trinity R fish, etc.
Interesting squattiness in the rear portion though. Sorta like some kamloops we've been around.....?
Anyway, danged nice specimen, to say the least.
....lee s.

[Jgoding]

Looks like a spawning coloration to me, although it looks like a female fish and it's usually the males that take on that coloration scheme.... I fish some WU areas and one creek in particular I know when I catch a male as they take on dark colors like that fish above but the females are usually more chrome looking....

Jeff

[Jgoding]

Looks like a spawning coloration to me, although it looks like a female fish and it's usually the males that take on that coloration scheme.... I fish some WU areas and one creek in particular I know when I catch a male as they take on dark colors like that fish above but the females are usually more chrome looking....

Jeff

[Katz]

There is something very unique about the Putah Creek Fall/Winter run fish. I'm sure there must be someone out there that knows more details than I and can chime in here.

They spawn in December and are all but done by early Jan.

Their eggs are yellow. Like the color of this guy - .

As far as I know, there is no way to get a brown and rainbow to cross, and if they ever did I'm sure they would not be fertile.

And, I have a vague memory of talking to someone up on the stream one winter who told me the Putah Creek fish is a very specific breed and has some rainbow and cutthroat in there family tree.

Whatever it is - they get big and they love the little flies.

Kraig

[flyfshrmn]

I don't believe there is any evidence for a natural cross between browns and bows. They can be artificially hybridized. As for the coloration of the fish under discussion, if it is a native Putah creek drainage fish, then those are probably the natural colors of that particular genetic group, arrived at by local selection to match the extant colors of the habitat bottom, something that happens in almost all isolated groups of fish and generally throughout every isolated ecological system.

[oonchie]

they got those colours from eating too many NZMS.

J/K