What Happens to Steelhead?

[Rich]

Steelhead jump all these dams and waterfalls in the fall and spring to do their thing..

 

Just wondering. Let's say these fish magically made it over like 5 dams.. I know they don't die after spawning like salmon. Do they actually jettison themselves back over the dam and into the lake or do they become residents of the river after spawning? Or is it a toss up?

 

Always wondered.

[craigdritchie]

Most steelhead will swim back down to the lake with the first high water they see after spawning, passing right over the dams without even slowing down. On rivers like the Humber, they will pass a half-dozen dam structures on their way upstream, then pass over them again on their way back down, no problem whatsoever.

 

Late-running fish occasionally get stuck far upstream once the water drops. Most of these poor things starve while waiting for rain to bring the water level back up enough they can get out of there. If it's a dry summer, they may die of malnutrition, since the majority of our little ditches just don't have anywhere near enough food to support fish of that size. But in the more productive streams a few might hang on through the summer, eating smolts and anything else they can catch. I've caught a couple of these over the years, and by this time of year they look like snakes with fins. You can't help but feel badly for them.

[Rich]

Interesting. Thanks for the info! I think I've seen these landlocked fish before in upper parts of Big Creek. Always wondered why I was having bows nail a spinner in August. lol

[Musky or Specks]

Yeah I know a GB trib that holds steelhead snakes right through the summer they get over this huge logjam in the spring freshet and cant get back down again tiill the fall. They are very eel like by early august.