Winter Steelheading
- This topic has 13 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated Jan 20, 2007 at 4:32 pm by
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here are some pics from my day spent on the lake erie tribs today! it was cold, but, the fish were cooperative and the water had a great color and flow. none of these pics are of me. i’ll post the pics that the one guy that i went fishing with took with his nikon d200. i hope you all enjoy!
What’s with the black spots? Not the normal steelhead spots but some mutated looking ones in the third pic?
Sweet fish.
I fish the Bighorn in MT quite a bit and for some reason that river has some fish with some super nasty mouths.
Zach,
I think the size/maturity of these fish have to do with the growth rates of Lake Erie steelhead.
Paul, I have always heard the same thing about our fish. I believe there are so many different strains mixed together that our local strain is only identifiable by it’s un-identifiability.
I always assumed that the blackening of the jaws was just part of the process of the fish darkening up as they stay longer in the streams. In a normal year most of the fish you would be seeing are looking horrible. They get almost black and look like stale salmon, have huge sores and tattered fins. If these guys are surviving, it really makes me wonder about all the concern with simply touching fish with your hand.
steve154,
yes, i’ve just read about how our fish are made up of so many different strains. here’s what it states in john nagy’s book “steelhead guide: fly fishing techniques and strategies for lake erie steelhead.”
Today’s Pennsylvania steelhead, like most Great Lakes steelhead, are not a pure strain steelhead. The majority of these fish are a result of interbreeding, both intentional and unintentional, by both West Coast and Great Lakes fish hatcheries. They can best be described as a unique, naturalized strain of steelhead that has adapted very well to the ecosystem of Lake Erie. In fact, Pennsylvania steelheaders affectionately call the Pennsyvlania strain of steelhead the steelhead “mutt” due to its diversified gene pool.
i think you are definitely right on that assumption of interbreeding. now, as far as the blackening goes. i think you are probably right too. a biologist will probably laugh at me when i mention my bruising theory. ha ha ha…well, i’m used to it.
as far as the deformed mouths and big red tumors go, i have not seen any fish in the lake erie tribs with such markings. i have seen a couple with sores on their bodies from lamprey, but, not big tumors. now, our fish could probably have them and just haven’t caught any though too. i’ll have to ask the two gentlement that i went fishing with the other day all of these questions. they will definitely know way way more than me.
i didn’t take the second set of pics. i’m not sure how he got it that way. i’ve seen some pics that zach has done with the same effect. i think it has something to do with setting a time lapse. i have no idea because i haven’t gotten into photography yet, but, it’s on my list of new hobbies of the next year or so. much to the dismay of my wife. ha ha ha…
paul
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