#225710 - 01/01/04 10:54 PM
Where do they go?
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Alevin
Registered: 10/26/03
Posts: 13
Loc: Port Angeles
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I hope this topic hasn’t been beaten to death, if it has I apologize, as you can see I’m new to this board. Where do steelhead go in the salt water? I’ve fished for sea runs for many years and never hooked a steelhead so I‘m thinking they must not hang out near the shore, as far as I know I’ve never caught one fishing for silvers or pinks out in the straits and I’ve never caught one fishing for kings so, where is left for them to live. The regs have steelhead legal to fish for year round in the salt water yet no one I know fishes for them out there. Just curios
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#225711 - 01/01/04 11:07 PM
Re: Where do they go?
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Returning Adult
Registered: 03/12/01
Posts: 359
Loc: Kirkland, Wa USA
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Steelhead go way out in the north Pacific. Steelhead have been caught and tagged by research vessels more than 6,000 miles out, then recovered in the Columbia, and as I recall one in the Sol Duc some years ago. They are caught occasionally by commercial trollers in the ocean off Washington and by anglers while salmon fishing off Westport and inside places like the Strait. They're caught regularly in winter by beach anglers along the west shore of Whidbey, using a Spin 'n Glo ahead of a plastic hula skirt, usually in red and orange. I've caught many there and have tried the same technique off beaches on the Strait (like at the mouth of the Hoko) with no success.
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#225712 - 01/02/04 08:29 AM
Re: Where do they go?
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River Nutrients
Registered: 02/08/00
Posts: 3233
Loc: IDAHO
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They can go a long ways. A fish that was tagged as a smolt in the Clearwater was caught just north of Japan ( I could look up the exact longitude/ latitude) but you get the idea. The world record steelhead was also caught out in the salt. However, little is known about where or how they travel out there. I have often thought about this topic. I wonder if they travel together out there or ???
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Clearwater/Salmon Super Freak
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#225713 - 01/02/04 11:22 AM
Re: Where do they go?
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Juvenille at Sea
Registered: 12/31/03
Posts: 154
Loc: Puyallup
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Not all steelhead hang out in in the middle of the ocean. People sometimes stand on the beach at Widbey Island and cast out into the surf to catch the elusive ironhead. I have caught one steelhead in the puget sound while trolling for coho. I was using a 1/2 ounce cannonball sinker and a cutplug herring. We were trolling very close to the beach, and when the fish struck, the depthfinder in our boat read that we were in 8 feet of water. I could see the bottom easily and was surprised that our boat didn't spook the fish.
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#225715 - 01/02/04 03:48 PM
Re: Where do they go?
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2010 SRC Champion!
Registered: 12/19/03
Posts: 968
Loc: Paradise City!
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Gill netters in the Sraits get 'em as incidental catch during their sockeye season. I'd guess migratory summer steelhead. (The cat is now out of the bag) The sight of their catch is disheartening. Not just steel, but chinook, coho, and whatever else swims though. Not to mention the sockeye.
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RIP Tyler Greer. May Your seas be calm, and filled with "tig'ol'bings"!
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#225716 - 01/02/04 11:58 PM
Re: Where do they go?
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Alevin
Registered: 10/26/03
Posts: 13
Loc: Port Angeles
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Wow, I never would have guessed that they got around that much, that's incredible! Thanks for the replys
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#225717 - 01/03/04 01:21 AM
Re: Where do they go?
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Three Time Spawner
Registered: 03/13/00
Posts: 1830
Loc: Kelso Wa.
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fishing S.E. Ak (ocean) I've had 3 steelhead brought to the boat by guests, all were unclipped fish and all were released. A biologist I once mentioned this to in Craig speculated they were probably B.C. fish, but didn't say what he based his opinion on. 1 of those fish was in the low to mid 20 lbs. range, beautiful fish but didn't fight worth a damn.
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#225718 - 01/03/04 08:14 PM
Re: Where do they go?
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Spawner
Registered: 01/17/02
Posts: 672
Loc: AUBURN
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when i worked on a fish tender back in 97' up by prince of wales island, i think that is, near the town of wrangell..the gill netters there would catch a fair amount of them..cant remember if they were wild or not..
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#225719 - 01/04/04 11:30 AM
Re: Where do they go?
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Returning Adult
Registered: 03/29/99
Posts: 373
Loc: Seattle, WA USA
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The steelhead caught along the beaches of Whidbey Island and at other locations in the Sound are on their way back to their natal rivers to spawn.
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PS
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