Steelhead Spawning Behavior & Resident vs. Anadromous (Excerpt from "May the Rivers Never Sleep")

And what I find interesting about May...

I was out, I was already in summer steelhead mode, roll up to a spot, and I run a Washington Coontrimp down this inside seam, and it's rolling along, my bobber dunks, and boom, hatchery summer, beautiful, fights hard, it's great, you know, get it in, bonk it, and...

Fish in a tributary with cold water, kind of medium, low height, but still plenty of water.

So get one on the Washington Coon shrimp, which is classic.

Those things are just so consistent, and they've been great to me, tributaries and the Columbia.

And then...

Right before I leave, I start tossing a spinner because even though spinners have been something I've caught summer steelhead on forever, it seems like it's been a while since I've got a spinner fish.

And so I just start ripping a blue fox out there, number four, kind of rolling across the shallower, faster, flat, and all of a sudden just... rip your arm off bite.

Well, the fish is jumping and making these great runs.

I can tell it's a little smaller, like five, six pounds maybe, but it's bright and it's fighting hard.

And I'm like, wait a second, that's an adipose fin there.

This is a hatchery fishery, but that's a wild fish.

So I get it in closer, bring it close to the bank.

And what do you know? Winter hen.

And that was in early June when that happened.

And this thing was still pre-spawn.

And of course, I know that winter steelhead continue to spawn into June.

But I think that was my latest really beautiful, bright hen that I've caught.

I've certainly caught kelp winters on their way out, but just an amazing fish fought so hard.

and turns out to be a winter, right after bonking a summer, just, you know, pretty much within maybe 30 feet of each other.

So, pretty cool.