Steelhead

Photos

Click a photo to expand it for a closer look.

Identification

• Same species as rainbow trout, but steelhead migrate to sea and return to spawn, while rainbow trout stay in fresh water for life.
• Dark spots scattered over the entire body, including the tail, with slight to pronounced pink to rainbow coloring along the sides.
• Average 8 to 11 pounds and up to about 40 inches, though fish over 30 pounds are documented.
• Unlike most Pacific salmon, steelhead don't necessarily die after spawning and can survive to spawn again in later years.

Top lures

• Inline spinner (spinner , silver/chartreuse/orange): Cast and drifted through fast-to-moderate current and holding water in mainstem rivers and tributaries.
• Diving plug (wobbling crankbait) (crankbait , chrome/metallic red/fluorescent orange): Backtrolled or drifted through deep runs and holding water to trigger reaction strikes.
• Marabou or yarn jig under a float (jig , pink/black/orange): Drifted at a controlled depth through pools and current seams.
• Streamer fly (egg or leech pattern) (fly , black/purple/pink): Swung or dead-drifted through deep runs and tailouts on a sink-tip line.

Top baits

• Cured salmon roe (egg cluster): Small cluster on an egg hook below a slip sinker, drifted along bottom through holding water.
• Sand shrimp: Fished whole or in pieces below a slip sinker, drifted through deep pools and seams.

Line & tackle

• Line: 8–12 lb
• Rod power: Medium to medium-heavy 8.5-10 ft spinning or casting rod built for drift fishing fast water

Stocked behavior

Hatchery steelhead are released as smolts that migrate to sea and return one to three years later as adults, unlike catchable-size hatchery trout. Because steelhead don't necessarily die after spawning, a hatchery-origin fish caught well upriver may already be a repeat spawner rather than a first-time returner, a trait that sets it apart from every Pacific salmon species.

Common mistakes

• Fishing water that's too slow or too deep; steelhead generally hold in fast-to-moderate current, not slack pools.
• Using line and leader too heavy for clear water; steelhead can be leader-shy when rivers run low and clear.
• Drifting too far off the bottom; ODFW's advice is to keep the lure or bait near the bottom and fish every part of a run methodically.

State records

Source: Washington's official record page , accessed 2026-09-19.

Best time to fish Steelhead

Computed from every real stocking date on record, not a general seasonal guess.

Where it's stocked

Washington

• Kress Lake (27)
• Fort Borst Park Pond (3)
• Horseshoe Lake (3)
• Black Lake (2)
• Cases Pond (2)
• Snag Lake (2)
• Western Lake (2)
• Battle Ground Lake (1)
• Vance Creek Pond #2 (Lake Inez) (1)

Sources

• identification (accessed 2026-09-19)
• identification (accessed 2026-09-19)
• top_lures (accessed 2026-09-19)
• top_baits (accessed 2026-09-19)
• line_and_tackle (accessed 2026-09-19)
• stocked_behaviour (accessed 2026-09-19)
• line_and_tackle (accessed 2026-09-19)
• common_mistakes (accessed 2026-09-19)