# Percent chance a steelhead can survive all summer?



## mischif (Jul 14, 2006)

Because I just hooked one 2 hours ago further upstream than water street! Was a beautiful fish, had my 6 wt out going for smallies and decided not to change my 2 month old tippet because I wasn't expecting a steelie. I'm thinking this goon survived all summer, orrr it was the Usain Bolt of steelhead.


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## ztkaz (Sep 25, 2013)

mischif said:


> Because I just hooked one 2 hours ago further upstream than water street! Was a beautiful fish, had my 6 wt out going for smallies and decided not to change my 2 month old tippet because I wasn't expecting a steelie. I'm thinking this goon survived all summer, orrr it was the Usain Bolt of steelhead.



I caught one in August at cedar point. It was in the river all year I assume it was beat to sh*t. But there are a lot of fish moving in even without any flow and they can travel quickly could have been a early fish or a holdover, was it chrome or darker?


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

It's possible, but it's more likely that it came in recently(within the past month or so). Just cuz it's September doesn't mean fish can't be found waaay upstream....


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## mischif (Jul 14, 2006)

It fought pretty nicely, and wasn't too dark


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## lowhole4trowt (Feb 1, 2014)

would be surprised to see one make the required jump to get up there (especially the final obstacle in its journey) with our recent flows...but who knows! good stuff either way.


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## mischif (Jul 14, 2006)

Would've been better if I landed it haha


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## ballast (Sep 15, 2011)

I ask this question recently, and was told no they'd die....i asked because someone else said they've seen them bouncing off a dam wall in September waaaaaayyyyy up stream.


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## mdogs444 (Aug 29, 2012)

They can survive all summer, although I would be very surprised if it was a last season's fish. If it was in there since last year, it would be looking like a Army sniper in olive drab green....


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## rickerd (Jul 16, 2008)

They have been documented to travel up to 28 river miles in a day. Those fish will find a way when chasing tail. I remember my younger days..... 

na I won't go there.
Rickerd


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## mdogs444 (Aug 29, 2012)

rickerd said:


> They have been documented to travel up to 28 river miles in a day. Those fish will find a way when chasing tail. I remember my younger days.....
> 
> na I won't go there.
> Rickerd


Not to make an argument, but I have heard from multiple PNW state biologists and guides, that it is more like 7-8 miles/day.


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## tehsavage (Aug 16, 2013)

I could have swore there was a thread on here a month ago or so but if not it was in the rocky river fishing blog. The ODNR electrofished up a steelie in july or august that was almost all yellow in place of green from being in there all year.


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## tehsavage (Aug 16, 2013)

So i'd imagine they turn yellow instead of staying dark green if they stay in all year. This fish was caught on july 18th


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## ztkaz (Sep 25, 2013)

N






no they do not turn yellow I caught this in early august on a 85 degree day.

The fish he is holding was oddly colored that isn't common.


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## tehsavage (Aug 16, 2013)

that looks like a fish that could have shot in from the lake, hence its silver coloring. Think about it in a sense of camo, it would be logical for a steel that has *stayed in the river* all year to color like that to avoid being spotted by predators. Same reason when they come in from the lake they turn from silver to greenish. water is generally clearer in winter, green is better camo and water is generally muddier in the summer, which makes yellow a good camo.


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## ztkaz (Sep 25, 2013)

tehsavage said:


> that looks like a fish that could have shot in from the lake, hence its silver coloring. Think about it in a sense of camo, it would be logical for a steel that has *stayed in the river* all year to color like that to avoid being spotted by predators. Same reason when they come in from the lake they turn from silver to greenish. water is generally clearer in winter, green is better camo and water is generally muddier in the summer, which makes yellow a good camo.



This fish was not from the lake, it was disgusting and rotting away. Caught it very far up. Very. It was a holdover. It looks silver I know, but it's not in spawning mode anymore which Is why it's not colored up.


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## ztkaz (Sep 25, 2013)

you could tell the fish hasn't ate anything and this grossness in it's mouth.


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## ReelPower (May 18, 2009)

mischif said:


> Because I just hooked one 2 hours ago further upstream than water street! Was a beautiful fish, had my 6 wt out going for smallies and decided not to change my 2 month old tippet because I wasn't expecting a steelie. I'm thinking this goon survived all summer, orrr it was the Usain Bolt of steelhead.


in my humble experience chasing way early and way late steelies, there's a 95% chance it's Usain Bolt and a 5% chance of being a holdover. These early fish can move out and we had some big water in late Aug./early Sept. The PA strain originated with summer run genetics and their stocking program has reinforced the tendency over the years by artificial selection.


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## CARL510ISLE (Jan 8, 2010)

Not rare for a fish to be over 15+ miles upstream at the end of September. I think many of you would be surprised how quickly they can scoot when the water is elevated. Rocky did have a few nice flows in the first couple weeks of September. And yes a few fish can survive a relatively cool summer in the river but typically the odds are against it.....


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## bdawg (Apr 14, 2009)

I've caught one on Oct. 9th before while fishing for smallies. It was a fresh fish and was as far upstream as it could go in the river that I caught it. Had another one break my line that same day! 

I'm wishing I would have tried that spot last weekend. 

I think the fish could holdover in certain spots on the rivers where you have a cold water tributary coming in, rapids for oxygenation, and a lot of shade covering the water.


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## ChromeBone (Oct 3, 2011)

They just need to find a cold spring and they will stay in that area until they dont have too anymore. My first chrome I ever caught was in the beginning of September several years ago. It looked just like a regular big stocker fish. All green and colored up. Also I have read many times they can swim up to 25 miles in a day. I was just up in Michigan fishing for Kings 50 miles from the lake and these fish had jumped 2 dams to get to where I was.


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## ztkaz (Sep 25, 2013)

ChromeBone said:


> They just need to find a cold spring and they will stay in that area until they dont have too anymore. My first chrome I ever caught was in the beginning of September several years ago. It looked just like a regular big stocker fish. All green and colored up. Also I have read many times they can swim up to 25 miles in a day. I was just up in Michigan fishing for Kings 50 miles from the lake and these fish had jumped 2 dams to get to where I was.



Its not 25 miles per day. 7-10 miles a day from what I read and heard. Also kings and other salmon move a lot quicker they are going to spawn right away. It's a race. Steelhead on the other hand have a few months to make there way or even turn around and go back to the lake for a little then return. Our rivers are short and tiny. Expect for a few.


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## lowhole4trowt (Feb 1, 2014)

ztkaz said:


> Its not 25 miles per day. 7-10 miles a day from what I read and heard. Also kings and other salmon move a lot quicker they are going to spawn right away. It's a race. Steelhead on the other hand have a few months to make there way or even turn around and go back to the lake for a little then return. Our rivers are short and tiny. Expect for a few.


By no means do I have a phd in fishology as some do but I find it hard to compare movement of steelhead in their natural rivers to ours. Heck even tough to compare kings to steelhead around here. Of the rivers I've seen in Michigan the shortest distance to gravel was 20 miles. Another was a good 50-60 mile trip before hitting spawning grounds. Here they can hang in the lower mile of most rivers behind suitable gravel. High water certainly shuffles them around, but the frantic hunt for gravel is not the same here as other waters where they have to move to find spawning areas.


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## ReelPower (May 18, 2009)

This is why we need a radio telemetry tagging study! Wouldn't that be cool...I bet there's lots of variability between individual fish movements and some surprising runs in and out of different rivers in the same year.


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