Lionized Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 Planned on catching some river rainbows today. Typically I park at a dam and hike in a bit to a few good holes I've discovered. As I crossed the dam on foot to begin the hike I noticed the water below the dam being parted as if a motor boat was chugging along. Heck no...that's a fish causing that wake. Ran down the embankment and caught this fella on the first cast with a 6ft bait casting rod. Great fight, took a good 10 minutes. I'm on cloud 9 right now! It was a catch and release but I'm curious if this is still an edible steelhead??
mike rousseau Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 Planned on catching some river rainbows today. Typically I park at a dam and hike in a bit to a few good holes I've discovered. As I crossed the dam on foot to begin the hike I noticed the water below the dam being parted as if a motor boat was chugging along. Heck no...that's a fish causing that wake. Ran down the embankment and caught this fella on the first cast with a 6ft bait casting rod. Great fight, took a good 10 minutes. I'm on cloud 9 right now! It was a catch and release but I'm curious if this is still an edible steelhead?? pretty sure thats a chinook salmon... not a trout...
ccmtcanada Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 I believe you got yourself a chinook salmon there...I'm looking on my blackberry so its hard to see the mouth clearly...but it looks black to me. Black would be chinook, not steelhead. Nice fish tho! And no, I wouldn't eat that...
danjang Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 Yup definitely a chinook salmon. It is edible but as ccmt said, I wouldn't eat it.
Lionized Posted September 15, 2011 Author Report Posted September 15, 2011 Thanks guys...new to the river fishing and still getting to know my fish!. Better change my Topic Header!
mirogak Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 Chinook for sure - and I wouldn't eat it either.... good luck next time.
GBW Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 and make sure you are not to close to a dam due to the reg's.
Paulus Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 (edited) Correctomundo... A male steelhead looks a lot more like this Note that the colours tend more toward silver, white and gray, as well as the reddish/pinkish stripe down the side. Chinooks can also be silver, but this time of year they tend to be yellow to green and eventually black. A sure way to tell is to check the tail. Chinooks have tons of spots, but in disarray; steelhead have lots of spots too, but they're concentric. Still, that was a good first fish - kudos on the release! p.- Edited September 15, 2011 by Paulus
Bondar Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 Thanks guys...new to the river fishing and still getting to know my fish!. Better change my Topic Header! I'd do a little research before you head out again as well , better to know what your fishing for before the wrong person has to tell you (CO) !
bassman87 Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 (edited) since we're being nits, that's also a spinning rod not a baitcaster Edited September 15, 2011 by riverfisher22
MJL Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 Don’t worry, honest mistake. Live and learn. Usually when steelhead bucks get dark, they often have 1 red/pink stripe down each side (sometimes 2 if they’re large) along with rosy cheeks You generally find them that dark during winter (the fall runners waiting to spawn in spring) or later on after the spawn (dropbacks). The rest of the time they are CHROME Personally I've never tried eating a steelhead...Tried a salmon once from Lake O when I was 16...Didn't enjoy it all that much taste wise...It did give up a nice pair of skeins though.
Bondar Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 Come on honest mistake....... just learn your fish !!!! not trying to pick on any one !!! if Your fishing please just learn what your fishing for
fish_fishburn Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 That one is a bit ripe haha. But none the less a very nice fish. I know exactly how you feel. After I caught my first Chinnie this summer after 3 full days of nothing I was shaking so bad I had a hard time rigging my line for the next drift. Totally awesome feeling. Congrats to you.
bushart Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 Long as it was fun---All that counts
cuzza Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 Loving the steelhead pics Paulus and MJL - won't be long now
Paulus Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 Thanks guys...new to the river fishing and still getting to know my fish!. Better change my Topic Header! It was a very honest mistake and to tell the truth, I wouldn't bother changing it. People are pretty open-minded on this board and always welcoming to anyone new. This is a good post for anyone else who didn't know the difference and is new to the sport. Plus, I really like that you released the fish, because that's what we should all be doing most of the time - especially in southern Ontario where pressure on all salmonids is so high! p.-
ehg Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 Since 'bows are also called 'steelheads' in spring, Maybe these less desirable chinnies of the fall should be called 'blackheads' Not sure any of these stocked Pacific salmonoids successfully spawn in southern Great Lakes anyways. Goes to show that chinooks will hit lures when in rivers. Looks like it was fun.
MJL Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 “Hey, isn’t that the one you lost?...IT IS! Hahahaha!” I still remember exactly where I caught it...Right underneath your rod tip Not sure any of these stocked Pacific salmonoids successfully spawn in southern Great Lakes anyways. They definitely do Erik. Still even see the odd pink salmon caught in Lake O tribs
ehg Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 They definitely do Erik. Still even see the odd pink salmon caught in Lake O tribs Ya that is why i said not sure. Was thinking about pinks but other salmon are sketchy. Would be nice to see truly scientific evidence supporting successful reproduction of Pacific salmonoids in Great Lakes.
GreenCanada Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 Planned on catching some river rainbows today. Typically I park at a dam and hike in a bit to a few good holes I've discovered. As I crossed the dam on foot to begin the hike I noticed the water below the dam being parted as if a motor boat was chugging along. Heck no...that's a fish causing that wake. Ran down the embankment and caught this fella on the first cast with a 6ft bait casting rod. Great fight, took a good 10 minutes. I'm on cloud 9 right now! It was a catch and release but I'm curious if this is still an edible steelhead?? Nice catch Lionized! Great to hear of the release as well, it is always good to hear of people respecting the sensitive fishery! Since you mentioned you are still learning the ways of the river I do have one suggestion for the future. Try not to handle the inner jaws and gills of fish to be released. Any handling of those areas significantly reduces the chances of survival and also increases the risk of infection to the released fish. To try and get our glamour shots I would suggest lying the fish down as you did if you're alone, not holding it as in the other photo. Either way, great catch! Congrats!!
bare foot wader Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 Would be nice to see truly scientific evidence supporting successful reproduction of Pacific salmonoids in Great Lakes. there is a lot of info out there, especially on the US side of the stocking programs...credit river association (or whatever the exact name is - president is john kerr I think) has a good amount of info and not just on the atlantics i've certainly caught my fair share of juvenile chinooks in the rivers
Spiel Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 there is a lot of info out there, especially on the US side of the stocking programs...credit river association (or whatever the exact name is - president is john kerr I think) has a good amount of info and not just on the atlantics i've certainly caught my fair share of juvenile chinooks in the rivers John Kendall http://www.craa.on.ca/
Guest ThisPlaceSucks Posted September 15, 2011 Report Posted September 15, 2011 i would think there would be electrofishing surveys done fairly regularly on these tribs. craa, trca etc.
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