rainbow or steelhead?

After Alan T's reel seminar, I took John to the small stream that feeds Steven's Creek main lake. I know it's not legal to fish the stream right now but I just wanted to get John's opinion of the fish residing in the stream are if indeed wild rainbows or steelhead. I caught and released a very tiny 3 inch fish that still had it's parr marks on it's side. I'm thinking it's a wild rainbow. I once caught  and released a foot long bow further up the stream and an old timer fly fisherman told me it was a steelhead. I'll have to take a photo of one next time.

Any thought's  

By definition a steelhead is an ocean run rainbow.  The dam keeps anything from migrating to the ocean, right?  So it's a rainbow.  Now if you are asking if it's of native strain or planted strain, I wouldn't know where to begin.  It's possible that there are still some natives reproducing naturally in that stream.  It's also possible that the planters are spawning naturally.

-Allen

What about the stream below the dam? I've caught them there as well. I know for a fact that the stream below the dam runs into the Bay. Do the steelhead enter the bay and swim up the creek until they hit the  dam?   Seems like a really long journey.

Do the steelhead enter the bay and swim up the creek until the hit they hit the dam?  Seems like a really long journey.

Yep.

There are steelhead in other south bay creeks, so I would think there would be some below the dam as well.  Any size to the ones you caught below the damn?

-Allen

little guys only - 5 to 10 inchers. Very aggressive though!    I use 4# mono with a small yellow rooster tail - I took off the treble hooks and replaced it with a single barbless hook. I've seen fly fishermen out there but the stream is so small and narrow - even doing a roll cast seems almost impossible.

I've caught foot- long fish on the stream that feeds the lake. I rode my mountain bike up the road till it dead ends. The road still continues and ends up with some really nice single tracks. The stream snakes in and out off the trail. BEAUTIFUL SCENERY but watch out for the red necks that live out there!  

The sad thing is that I've seen a lot of power bait and tangled mono all along the stream. I've seen Father and son who catch and keep the ALL the fish they come across.  

When a ranger warned me about the rattle snakes....I kinda stopped fishing the stream  

Now if you are asking if it's of native strain or planted strain, I wouldn't know where to begin.  

My understanding is that planted "hatchery" fish have their adipose fin clipped.  Native fish have the adipose fin intact.  

The adipose fin is that knarly little nub that trout have on the top of the fish between the dorsal fin and the tail.

Erik

I'm pretty sure they are all native - I think the planters are too stupid to even find their way up stream to spawn. I'm sure the local large mouth bass kill them off right away - especially when the lake level goes down to almost nothing    unfortunately  

My understanding is that planted "hatchery" fish have their adipose fin clipped

I believe they only do that with hatchery steelhead - not trout. Hatchery trout have really worn-out tails because of the shallow hatchery cement pens that they are raised in. I hear they get their tails bitten off by other hatchery trout as well. Get's kinda crowded in there -  a lot of fighting going on  

My understanding is that planted "hatchery" fish have their adipose fin clipped. Native fish have the adipose fin intact.

Nope.  Just in select fisheries.

Just a tip.  A guy at work caught a trout in the delta.  He was bank fishing.  A ranger comes along and asked how he was doing.  He said he was doing just fine and got a trout  a little earlier.

Ranger asked to see the trout.  You guess it. Steelhead.  He phones the DFG to find out the find.  $800.  He gets a lawyer and it is reduce to $200.  Just happen a couple of weeks ago.

Ken

That sounds like a bad deal.  There is no way for anyone to know the difference, your friend got burnt.  DFG deifines a steelhead as a trout over a certain size, I think 16 or maybe 18 inches.  I need more info.

Just something to think about.  A guy at work goes to the delta.  Catches a trout and then the DFG shows up.  Asked the guy how he was doing.  The guy says it been slow.  But he got a trout a little earlier.

Ranger asked to see the trout.  Tells the guy it is a Steelhead native. THe guy said he would release it.  It was on his stringer.  Ranger said it would die anyway.  Give him a ticket.

The guy calls DFG and finds out the fine is $800.  Calls his lawyer friend and gets it reduce to $200.

Ken