Thread: VT steel

Traditional fishing season is not yet open in VT, however there are a few sections of a few rivers that are open all year. The steelies are in and hungry. This one took a black stonefly nymph, I lost another one almost as big on an egg pattern.





sorry for the poor photo quality but only some much you can do when you are trying to get decent pic and your subject is not so happy about. it. He was released shortly after the pic was taken.

For the sake of accuracy this is actually a lake run rainbow trout...otherwise referred to as a steelhead even though it has never tasted salt.

dude that's a rainbow

Oh baby! Nice fish, Vin!! Can't wait to get back north and start chasing some of those big boys...

Not that far north of you. North ferrisburgh/hinesburgh/starksboro.

I'd love a tour of otter creek sometime.


Fighting gravity on a daily basis

Ahaa, I think I know what you're talking about...
Although that's on the other side of the mountains for me (and consequently not "not that far") - I'm in Norwich, near White River Jct....

Outta curiosity, what size stones are you throwing? Big? Little? Might need to make my way over there one of these days, I need some bigger fish in my life.

Originally Posted by Vinman

For the sake of accuracy this is actually a lake run rainbow trout...otherwise referred to as a steelhead even though it has never tasted salt.

I'm with AKPM. Can't really refer to lake run bows as steel because true steelhead don't even look like that rainbow. They get dull grey along their backs and shiny along their sides and bellies; standard camo pattern for schooling fish in the ocean. A diet rich in crustaceans gives them fully developed fish scales. The weak are ruthlessly weeded out by salmon sharks and sea lions so the ones that make it back are very muscular, streamlined fish. Lake fish are pretty flabby by comparison. They live in a world without currents or major predators and it shows. Not that that isn't a fine rainbow.

Couldcare less if this is a true steelhead or not. It is probably the biggest rainbow on a fly rod I've had the pleasure of landing. These fish are transients in this system, in to spawn from lake Champlain. VT biologists/fisheries guys call these steelhead so that is my only reference to go on.

A this fish was fooled by a medium sized black stone #10 maybe, with a double bead and weight on the leader to get it deep.

Could lake run bows look different from sea run steel, they would be genetically identical according to all the references I've read on the intranet. Anyway I don't really care it was fun to catch him and a pleasure to release him.

Very nice fish, looks a lot like the "half pounders" we have on the west coast. Fish from 18-23" that haven't gone all the way to the ocean or are maybe 1 salt fish. The only real difference I notice between that and a sea run is the tale is a lot smaller. Otherwise it could fool me for a Trinity/Klamath or Salmon/Grand Ronde fish for sure. Nice.