Alaska Steelhead and Rainbow Trout

The Alaska steelhead trout is a rainbow trout that has spent a part of its life in some large body of water like the ocean, sea or a large lake. There are no major physical differences between rainbow and steelhead trout other than the general difference in size and subtle differences in color.

Like all trout, the Alaska steelhead differs from the various salmon species by having eight to twelve rays in the anal fin. Like the Alaska rainbow trout, the coloration on the back is basically blue-green shading to olive with black, regularly spaced spots. The dark coloration fades over the lateral line to a silverfish coloration blending more to white on the stomach. Fresh ocean run steelhead are much more silver than their rainbow relatives but this silvery sheen gradually fades in fresh water and steelhead become difficult to differentiate from resident rainbow trout as the spawning period nears. Spawning steelhead and rainbows develop a distinct pinkish or reddish stripe that blends along the side, both above and below the lateral line. On steelhead, this rainbow trout coloration gradually fades following spawning to the more characteristic silvery color that the fish display during their ocean journey.

Each spring thousands of 6-inch Alaska steelhead smolt leave the streams to begin their ocean journeys. The juvenile steelhead will usually remain in their birth stream for about three years before heading out to sea. For every 100 smolt that reach the sea, it is estimated that only five to ten will return as a first-spawning adult.

Juvenile Alaska steelhead are identical to rainbow trout until the period prior to their ocean migrations when they become very silvery and resemble miniature adults. “Summer steelhead” return to the home stream as early in the year as July but this group is relatively rare in Alaska. “Fall steelhead” are much more common. These fish enter the freshwater systems as adults in August, September, October and into the winter. The Anchor, Naha, Karluk, Kasilof, Ninilchik and Situk rivers along with Deep Creek and a few other rivers have good runs of fall run steelhead. Many of the Southeast Alaska rivers have spring run steelhead. These fish end their ocean journeys in mid-April, May, and early June.

Adult Alaska steelhead like fast, deep, running water. Fish the deep holes in the stream. Fish the fast, white water areas and behind rocks and log jams. Quite often large holes form in front of log jams and these areas should not be overlooked.

I encourage all anglers to practice catch-and-release when fishing for Alaska steelhead, Alaska rainbow trout or any other trout species. Please consider using barbless hooks (or at least pinching the barb down on a barbed hook). This practice will allow you to release the fish without even taking it from the water. If you’re looking for that photo opportunity, you can still easily net your prize, snap your photo and get it back in the water within 30 seconds and then remove the hook and release it. While it is perfectly legal to harvest steelhead, these fish are limited in numbers and care should be taken to save this beautiful fish.

Some tips to keeping the fish healthy once you’ve landed it are:

• Always wet your hands thoroughly if you must handle the fish.
• If you must use a net, use a thick rubberized net which is less harmful to the fish’s exterior.
• Do not play the fish out. Get it in as quickly as possible.
• Do not keep it out of water longer than 30 seconds.
• Always keep your fingers away from the gills as they are extremely sensitive areas.
• Remove hooks gently from the mouth. If the hook has been swallowed, don’t rip out but instead cut your line.
• Revive the fish by moving it gently back and forth in the water before releasing it.