That's a nice problem to have. Congratulations, looks like a lot of fun. For my edification, is that a steelhead, an Atlantic salmon or something else. I don't think we have those in Georgia and know we didn't in Mississippi.
Want to hear God laugh? Tell him Your plans!!!
Great Lakes run rainbow, what the locals call a "steelhead", I would guess (grin). A real dandy one too.
Is that NY fishing?
I may have to travel east some time.
Whatfly,
Not to start a conflict but they are in fact Steelhead. Taken from our local waters on the west coast. I had a great time catching steelies up in Thunder Bay one year. Fantastic fishing. You know, we also gave the Great Lakes some of our local salmon, two or three different species. No one doesn't say they are salmon just because they didn't taste salt, so why steelies? Anyway, they are great fishing over there, in fact, if you really want to catch a number of steelhead go to the Great Lakes. There is a whole lot more catching than just casting which is what we mostly do on the west coast, cast and cast and cast and cast......
All in fun.
Larry ---sagefisher---
Larry
All rainbows East of the Rockies were transplants... There is no genetic difference between rainbows and steelhead. Rainbows require moving water to spawn so they move into rivers if available to spawn. There are lake-run rainbows all across the country and around the World.
Steelhead by original definition are rainbows that have tasted salt... Moving steelhead to where they cannot taste salt simply brings them back to the original definition of rainbows...
We are undecided whether they should be called rainheads or steelbows, but almost no one argues for steelhead! Most just call them lake-run rainbows...
And some salmon do have diferent names for land-locked versions, ie kokanee...
art
Hap,
Like I said, All in fun.
But when that steelhead grabs your fly and takes off up river, doesn't matter if it tasted salt or not, to me, it is a steelhead and I enjoyed catching them in the rivers of Ontario.
Larry ---sagefisher---
Yes this is a Great Lake tributary Steelhead caught in western NY 4/12/14. We had a really tough winter here for fishing with record low temps and ice. Now it looks like the run is going to come and go all in a very short period. At that same pool, before I landed that hen, I hooked a wild buck that literally jumped in my face! Yes, they do run several pools up and down stream too.
Last edited by wizard; 04-15-2014 at 11:47 PM.
Nice steelhead Wizard.
New York also gets a run of what we called lake run rainbows in addition to the steelhead like in the picture. The rainbows are more colored up and less silver, their body shape is more blocky and less sleek, and their fight is more bulldogging and less jumps and runs. When you catch a lake run rainbow and place it next to the Great lakes steelhead you can easily see the difference. I really don't have an argument on the definition of "steelhead", but I hope you westcoasters don't mind us borrowing your word. I hope one day to travel out west and catch a true native!!
thanks for posting wizard, bet that was fun chasing them up and down that little creek!