Fishing profile: the spring steelhead

The steelhead and the rainbow trout are the same species of fish, the only difference being their spawning behaviour. A true steelhead travels from salt- to freshwater, spawns and then returns back to saltwater. A rainbow trout will spawn in a lake or river and usually ends up staying in the same body of water. The majority spawn in early spring with eggs laid in gravel at the head of a riffle area, but some do spawn in the fall.

A steelhead is very easy to identify by its white mouth, black spots along the back and entire length of the tail and 12 or fewer anal fin rays.

The most popular method of catching early steelheads is by drifting roe or spawn bags under a float. A roe bag is simply a small amount of trout or salmon eggs rolled up in coloured netting about the size of a dime. A small single "egg hook" is stuck through the bag with a series of split shot sinkers placed on the line above the bag.

A 10-foot-plus (3-metre-plus) "noodle rod" is the best choice for drifting roe bags. Its length makes presentations and fighting big fish a piece of cake.