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How to catch Steelhead
Steelhead feed in 38–62°F water and bite best at 44–56°F. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows them in 15 waters; in October they are at their peak in Southcentral Alaska, Washington fresh water, Oregon fresh water and 8 more.
About
The sea-run rainbow trout: chrome-bright from the ocean, running the coastal rivers from California to Alaska in winter (and some in summer). The fish of ten thousand casts — wild fish are mostly released.
How to fish it
Lower rivers and tidewater as the water drops and greens after a rain; drift bait or a jig through the soft seams.
What it eats
Live bait for it
What to fish it with
the sizes that fish itThe rule
not confirmed hereRules differ by state — check CDFW, ODFW, WDFW or ADF&G (wild steelhead rules are strict, many are release-only) before you keep one.
The current rule →Where it is, month by month
Steelhead are rainbow trout that go to sea. Unlike salmon they can survive spawning and come back again. On the West Coast there are two kinds: winter fish that come in from December into March on high, cold water, and summer fish that enter from spring into fall and hold in the river until they spawn the next year. From northern California to Washington and into Alaska, each river has its own timing. They were also stocked into the Great Lakes, where fall and spring runs climb the tributaries. Many wild stocks are protected — check the river's rules.