Steelhead Reports and Pics 2012-2013

[RiverChromeGS]

your right schu, chrome fish are nice for keepers, but for catch and release, colored fish, especially steelhead look AWESOME when they start to color up, i love the look of a big ol colored up buck with the double stripe

[Brat Bonker]

Is that a cascade summer run? can't tell but is it a hatchery? btw hella jelly right now about the chrome haha.

[RiverChromeGS]

Is that a cascade summer run? can't tell but is it a hatchery? btw hella jelly right now about the chrome haha.

yee hatchery summer, they plant a few i talked to hatch guy. More chrommme to come! hit 2 CHROMER coho today too

[Brat Bonker]

yeah surprising but you would think they would do that did you keep it?

[RiverChromeGS]

yeah surprising but you would think they would do that did you keep it?

no too dizzark

[luisdabeast206]

Nothing too crazy, summeruns still around here. I had forgot my knife should have bleed him on the spot.

[Gringo Pescador]

Nothing too crazy, summeruns still around here. I had forgot my knife should have bleed him on the spot.

Is it just the angle of the pic or is that one really skinny?

[Salt-n-Steel]

Im hoppin to get at least 10 this year and like 25 coho!! im at 1 coho and no steelies haha i have a lot of fires to put out!!! Im kinda new to steelhis and was wondering what 2 salt and 3 salt meant? Thanks

The salt means how many times a steelhead spawns and heads back to the salt. So 2 salt fish would mean it's spawned and returned to the salt water twice.

Not exactly.

A 2 Salt fish has spent 2 years in the Salt before returning to spawn for the first time. 3Salt, 3 yrs in the Salt. It has nothing to do with how many times the fish spawns. Hope this clears things up.


Btw, nice fish in the thread.

[Bodofish]

Number of Salts.... It's a very poor way of describing the age or maturity of a Steelhead since they will spend 1 to 7 years in the fresh before heading out to sea. Steelhead will spawn many times (6 or so) left to their own devices and can live to the ripe old age of around 11. So number of years in the salt, number of times in the salt, pretty tough for anyone to say by looking at a fish, I'd call BS. For a better understanding of their life cycle and why I call BS, take a look at NMFS/NOAA's info, pretty good over view. Steelhead are not a very well understood creature, we know a lot about them but there's still an awful lot we don't know and every time they're studied, they seem to confound the researchers by doing things that are totally expected or unheard of. You just don't know what they're going to do, they break all the rules or just don't follow them.

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/fis ... dtrout.htm

[luisdabeast206]

Nothing too crazy, summeruns still around here. I had forgot my knife should have bleed him on the spot.

Is it just the angle of the pic or is that one really skinny?

it's the angle. I should have got a better picture, oh well theres always winter!

[bcustom1]

Hit the sky for a couple hours this morning. Coho was caught with eggs under a float, steelhead with jig under float.

[Brat Bonker]

tis the month where both summers and winters are in. Good job everyone on their fish and hope for more to come of course.

[RiverChromeGS]

Number of Salts.... It's a very poor way of describing the age or maturity of a Steelhead since they will spend 1 to 7 years in the fresh before heading out to sea. Steelhead will spawn many times (6 or so) left to their own devices and can live to the ripe old age of around 11. So number of years in the salt, number of times in the salt, pretty tough for anyone to say by looking at a fish, I'd call BS. For a better understanding of their life cycle and why I call BS, take a look at NMFS/NOAA's info, pretty good over view. Steelhead are not a very well understood creature, we know a lot about them but there's still an awful lot we don't know and every time they're studied, they seem to confound the researchers by doing things that are totally expected or unheard of. You just don't know what they're going to do, they break all the rules or just don't follow them.

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/fis ... dtrout.htm

true, but generally, the saying correlates to the size of the fish, once a steelhead is in the salt, a one salt is actually a "2" salt because it has spend 2 years in the ocean, but we call it a 1 salt because it's the first time the fish is mature enough to return. a "one salt" steelhead is 2 years old and generally 3-6 lbs, a 2 salt, whether or not it stayed inthe ocean for an extra year, or spawned its first year and went back, will be 7-12 lbs, 3 salt steelhead, which would really be 4 years old, 12-16lbs ect... the term "salt" simply has to do with how big it is because a 2 salt fish really isnt 2 years old, its at least 3 if not 4, but its a year older than a 1 salt. so like you said the actual term is BS but we fishermen use the term to age and size a fish.

[RiverChromeGS]

lil bit of HAWG today! between my buddy and I we went 3/4 of steelhead and landed 24 coho, a few coho were chrome too! The one big buck steelhead weighed in at 13.5 pounds, a monster hatchery steel! eggs for some, jigs for others, jigs was deadly today again, especially for the hos, everything under a float!!

[RiverChromeGS]

woo

[goodtimesfishing]

go figure, after monday being so terrible planned for the sky tomorrow and now this....may have to talk the guys into another trip up there instead of the sky in the morning.

[Brat Bonker]

haha I just bought some of those jigs too nice fish btw crazy good run coming this year I guess can't wait, after that fish you should name that hole the hawg hole not too many of those in the cascade but of course you will find them.

[wolff]

Nice fish...per usual. Still fishing the salt beaches on Whidbey and a nice school of coho came by yesterday headed to the Skagit.
I watched the seals get their fill and figured once they were done I'd get a couple, but no dice. Watched another seal beach an 8lb hen at my feet, give me a quick look, and grab it by the head and take off. Watched a huge loose net float
by on the outgoing tide. Probably from mouth of Skagit. So look for some more fresh coho in Skagit.

[FishingThePacNW]

What kind of fur are those jigs made out of? Sweet fish!!

[Brat Bonker]

I am guessing marabou