Wendler of the Washington Department of 

 Fisheries; Ralph W. Larson, Robert J. Rennie, 

 and Dorian C. Lavier of the Washinprton De- 

 partment of Game; and Eugene M. MaltzefF, 

 Roy J. Wahle, Donovan R. Craddock, and Rich- 

 ard L. Major of the Bureau of Commercial 

 Fisheries. 



STEELHEAD TROUT 



Steelhead trout are rainbow trout that go 

 to sea when young and return to fresh water 

 to spawn. They may spawn more than once, 

 and return to the sea after each spawning but 

 the percentage that survive to spawn more 

 than once is usually small. Their life history 

 is variable but in the Columbia River most 

 remain in fresh water one or two years and 

 return to spawn in their fifth or sixth year. 



Sport fishermen do not usually catch them 

 in salt water but in stream areas designated 

 for sport fishing. They are usually difficult to 

 catch but are prized and "steelhead fishing" 

 is one of the most popular sports. Their flesh 

 is pink and or red and has excellent flavor, 

 especially when fresh from the ocean. Flavor 

 and firmness of flesh is lost after prolonged 

 periods in fresh water and as spawning time 

 approaches. 



On the basis of periods of migration in 

 the lower Columbia River, steelhead trout have 

 been classified as either winter or summer run. 

 The winter run enters the river from Novem- 

 ber to April; the summer run enters from May 

 to October. Winter-run steelhead trout spawn 

 primarily in tributaries of the Columbia River 

 below Bonneville Dam; most of the summer- 

 run fish spawn in tributaries above Bonneville 

 Dam. Although both runs migrate during 

 different seasons, they spawn at the same time 

 — during the winter and spring. The two 

 runs are treated together in this report. The 

 chief difl^erence between the two runs (other 

 than the period of migration) is the stage of 

 development of the gonads at the time the fish 

 enter the river: those of the winter fish are 

 far more advanced than those of the summer 

 fish. 



Spawning Areas 



Past and present spawning areas of steel- 

 head trout are illustrated in maps 1 through 6. 



Map 1 shows the entire Columbia River; maps 

 2 to 6 give details for smaller areas. 



To supplement the information on spawn- 

 ing areas shown on the maps, table 3 provides 

 data on stream length and approximate lo- 

 cation of spawning areas as well as notes and 

 references on each stream. The streams are 

 in sequence, proceeding upstream fi-om the 

 Columbia River and are numbered in the left- 

 hand column to help identify the relation of 

 each stream to its nearest tributary. 



Steelhead trout are widely distributed in 

 the Columbia Basin; their distribution is sim- 

 ilar to that of spring chinook salmon. Because 

 they migrate and spawn before seasonal low- 

 water periods, steelhead trout have fared bet- 

 ter than spring chinook salmon in some areas 

 where water is heavily used for irrigation. 



Little is known on the former migration 

 of steelhead trout into the upper Columbia 

 River ; it is not known if this species migrated 

 above the Arrow Lakes before the runs were 

 blocked by Grand Coulee Dam in 1939. Gilbert 

 and Evermann (1894) reported that in 1894 

 steelhead trout were abundant at the mouth of 

 the Pend Oreille River, 1,200 km. from the 

 ocean, and in the lower Spokane River, 1,035 

 km. upstream. In the upper Snake River 

 drainage, steelhead trout formerly ascended 

 upstream to Rock Creek, 1,479 km. from the 

 ocean. Runs have been cut off" from the upper 

 Snake River since 1964, when it was decided 

 not to pass anadromous fish above Hells Can- 

 yon Dam. 



Abundance 



Oregon is the only State in the Columbia 

 River Basin that harvests steelhead trout com- 

 mercially; thus, table 2 shows the commercial 

 take for Oregon only. Washington declared 

 steelhead trout a game fish in 1929, and this 

 action removed this species from commercial 

 exploitation. Washington fishermen, however, 

 frequently catch steelhead trout while fishing 

 for salmon in the Washington side of the river; 

 since it is illegal to land them in Washington, 

 they send them to Oregon. Idaho has never 

 had a commercial fishery for the species. Ac- 

 cording to Craig and Hacker (1940), a few 

 steelhead trout may have been included with 

 the pack of spring chinook salmon during the 



