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Rainbow Trout

Introduction

The natural range of the rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) is from northern Mexico to the Aleutian Islands. The two distinct strains of rainbow trout are the steelhead and shasta strains. The former has a migratory instinct to swim to the sea, while the shasta strain is non migratory.

Inland stocking programs have allowed both strains to mix, creating inland rainbows with the dominant migratory instinct. As a result, many rainbows initially stocked inland are eventually found in the sea.

Behaviour

The rainbow can withstand fluctuating water temperatures from around 32ºF to over 80ºF. A fast-water fish, rainbows live for six to ten years. A few hatchery operators have created strains of rainbow that spawn throughout the year, but most landlocked rainbows spawn during the first half of the year, from January to July.

Steelhead

Description

Steelhead fishing often results in bent rods and a physical workout. The majority of inland rainbows are stocked fish, but rainbows adapt quickly to lakes and streams and are determined fighters. Without inland stocking programs, North America's freshwater lakes would contain few trout.

Behaviour

Steelhead spend the majority of their lives at sea, and return to their natal rivers from California to Alaska to rivers emptying into the Great Lakes, to spawn. Spawning runs occur from summer to winter, largely dictated by river conditions. Spawning requires relatively high, fast-flowing rivers; muddy waters are un-fishable. Eastern spawning runs are shorter than runs in the Pacific Northwest, but in both, fishing opportunities peak when the river water temperatures reach about 45ºF.

Under the right conditions, steelhead will strike flashing, colourful lures drifting in the river current.

Summer Fishing Techniques

Summer fly-fishing in rivers of at least eight feet deep will catch the May to October steelhead. With a standard nine-foot fly rod, a weight-forward sinking line will facilitate easier long-distance casts of weighted flies. There are innumerable steelhead fly patterns, and many anglers check their local fishing or sport shops to discover which seasonal patterns are effective.

Smaller than winter steelhead, summer steelies hold in pools downstream from white-water river riffles. In the summer, the fish are in deeper water and presentation is more important than the fly pattern.

Cast upstream into pools, letting the fly drift, or occasionally twitch the line. If the steelhead follow but do not strike a drifting fly, change the lure to a fly one size smaller. Repeat casting to the same pool; a steelhead may strike after twenty or more casts. When fly-fishing, anglers must be careful not to spook the fish with undue splashing and many false casts.

Winter Fishing Techniques

When the fall rains begin along the Pacific Northwest coast, the bright silver steelhead move into the rivers. Spinning or bait casting equipment works best when fishing the high waters of winter. Protected by large boulders, steelhead lie near the bottom of a moderately flowing river, in water four to eight feet deep.

The same tactics apply to winter fishing as to summer fishing, except the fish are in deeper water, and are comparatively larger. The colder water slows the activity of the fish, and bait works to attract the still fish more effectively than lures or flies. Popular winter baits include canned or fresh roe, night crawlers, single eggs, Egg-drifter Balls, or Okie Drifters.

One technique is to rig the bait, and tie a three-way swivel to the end of the line. Tie one or two feet of line above the hook to one eyelet of the swivel. Attach a four-inch piece of four-pound test monofilament and a pencil sinker to the lower eyelet of the swivel. Bring extra weights, lures, and hooks because this kind of fishing results in many hang-ups on the river bottom.

Cast around thirty feet upstream past a suspected fish, and allow the bait to settle with the current and move along the bottom beyond the lying fish. Steelhead will softly hold bait for a few seconds, and seasoned anglers set the hook the moment the bait stops bouncing along the bottom.

In some areas, lures are more effective than bait. In clear, low water conditions use smaller spoons and spinner lures. Larger bright lures produce in dark water. With wobblers and cherry bobber lures, do not add any weight - sinkers disrupt the lure action. To catch steelhead, lures should bounce along the bottom. If the lure does not produce on a cast, try letting the lure coast in the current at the end of a drift. Replacing treble hooks with single hooks will help avoid hang-ups in obstruction-filled areas.

Winter steelheading is cold and arduous, but if an angler learns the river, less tackle will be lost and perhaps a few steelies will be caught. Steelheading offers exciting sport fishing and steelhead meat is excellent table fare.

Lake Fishing Techniques

In the early spring, anglers fish the lakes and ponds using spinning gear, a light or medium rod, and reels spooled with six or eight-pound test line. One popular rig is simply a split shot or a light weight attached a foot-and-a-half above the hook. Worms, night crawlers, salmon eggs, corn, small marshmallows, and pieces of cheese are cast into water six to ten feet deep, and left to sit on the bottom. Other techniques include suspending the rig three or four feet beneath a bobber and waiting for a school of rainbows to swim near, or casting spinning lures from the shoreline. Troll spinning lures (Al's Goldfish, small gold Castmasters, yellow Rooster Tails), small spoons, buck tails, and streamer flies near the surface. To coax hesitant fish into taking the lure, add a piece of night crawler to a treble hook on the lure. In small bodies of water, a night crawler fished on the bottom of the deepest area often results in hooking summer rainbows.

In the summer when water surface temperatures reach over 65ºF, rainbows swim for deeper, oxygen-rich water at temperatures between 55ºF and 60ºF. Surface feeding occurs very early in the morning if the lake waters are still cool, but on stormy summer days the rainbows may actively feed on the surface at all times of the day. When rainbows move to deeper waters, a depth finder and down rigger are generally needed to catch the fish.

Stream Fishing Techniques

In early spring, rainbows prefer streams with fast currents and fallen trees, large rocks, or undercut banks. Similar to steelheading, bait fishing for rainbows demands the same responsive touch as the bait moves along the bottom. The bait must be presented close to the fish, because the cold waters reduce active feeding. Many anglers use the same fishing gear for lake fishing as they use for stream fishing, or they use a light spinning reel on a fly rod for better control and response. Worms, night crawlers, salmon eggs, corn, small dead minnows, and live nymphs are excellent baits.

Fly-fishing for rainbows is exceptional in the summer. When the waters warm, fly-fishermen use weighted nymphs, buck tails, and streamers. Rainbows become selective feeders as the summer progresses, but during the aquatic insect season, wet flies thrown across the current and left to drift downstream or directed into pockets will often produce a strike. In the low and clear streams, rainbows feed in fast water during the day. At daybreak, rainbows search pools for small minnows, but as the waters warm they look for aquatic insects and grasshoppers. During the early-morning pool feedings, use gently presented buck tail and streamer flies and small spinning lures. During day feeding, use grasshoppers or experiment with different flies until the rainbows respond. After a summer rain, use night crawlers, worms, or spring bait fishing techniques and spinning lures.

In the fall, the fish may sometimes "stun" the lure or fly; in this case, let the fly drift without any movement, or pull the lure once and then let it drift. Use large lures, even in small streams, and experiment with small and unusual flies and lures. The fish in shallow water spook easily, but feed avidly. Try casting spinning lures or buck tails and streamer flies ten or twenty feet from the riverbank.

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