Steelhead

The steelhead is a rainbow trout that migrates from the river to the sea and back again, with much size and power to show for it. Rainbow trout and steelhead are the same species, but completely different animals.

Considered one of, if not the most noble of sportfish, the steelhead is famous for its beautiful shape and color, its unrelenting, aerobatic fight when hooked, and the extreme weather and water environments it often inhabits. These factors combine to make the pursuit of steelhead a serious challenge and an addiction unto itself. Their fanatics, like the fish themselves, are wanderers, searchers, hunters. They are some of flyfishing's most serious devotees and will go to any length, through any weather, at any cost, just for a chance. The tug is the drug, it doesn't come often, and you don't get it by staying home.

When running from the ocean back into the river, steelhead cease to feed but remain mysteriously aggressive to flies. Why it bites is the subject of much spirited debate and our favorite explanation is the "curiosity theory": Why does a steelhead grab a fly? Because it doesn't have hands.

Historically, steelhead were found in most river systems of the North Pacific Rim, from Kamchatka, Russia to Baja, Mexico. Today, habitat loss in their southern range makes their northern range a very important focus. British Columbia's Skeena River watershed, the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island, and the west coast of Kamchatka are especially excellent places to go for steelhead.

Holding large Ayakulik Steelhead

Ayakulik Outpost

Alaska

There are no long boat rides, no planes, not much of anything -- except plenty of fishable water, lots of fish and good times.

For many years Dave Jones has been operating this isolated tent camp operation on the banks of Kodiak Island's Ayakulik River, the only outfitter licensed to operate on the upper stretches of this watershed.

Each year the stream experiences strong returns of king salmon, huge runs of sockeyes and silver salmon, and predictable fall migrations of steelhead. Also in the river are large numbers of sea run dolly varden, and a smattering of rainbow trout. Though rustic, Dave makes this raw wilderness operation amazingly comfortable, with wonderful hospitality, excellent boats and guides, and a "fish-til-you-drop" mentality!

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Babine Steelhead

Babine Steelhead

Canada

Fishing the mighty Babine river is a steelhead experience you will never forget. This is one of the greatest rivers on the face of the Earth, hands down. If you ask any hard-core steelheader to list the best rivers on the planet, the Babine will be at the top of the short list. The Babine represents the ultimate British Columbia steelheading experience, for some of the biggest, wildest steelhead that have ever swam upstream.

These magnificent sea-going trout enter their natal Skeena drainage in late July, and move upstream into the clear headwaters of the Babine River by the end of August. Fresh fish continue to accumulate in the river right through the end of October and into November. The Babine produces some of the largest steelhead to enter the Skeena system and it is a river known for its truly monster specimens! Fly fishing for these wild, native steelhead can be fantastic from the 1st of September right through the end of the season.

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Bulkley Basecamp

Bulkley Basecamp

Canada

There are no long boat rides, no planes, not much of anything -- except plenty of fishable water, lots of fish and good times.

For many years Dave Jones has been operating this isolated tent camp operation on the banks of Kodiak Island's Ayakulik River, the only outfitter licensed to operate on the upper stretches of this watershed.

Each year the stream experiences strong returns of king salmon, huge runs of sockeyes and silver salmon, and predictable fall migrations of steelhead. Also in the river are large numbers of sea run dolly varden, and a smattering of rainbow trout. Though rustic, Dave makes this raw wilderness operation amazingly comfortable, with wonderful hospitality, excellent boats and guides, and a "fish-til-you-drop" mentality!

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Justin Miller fighting Steelhead

Copper Bay Lodge

Canada

Copper Bay Lodge prides itself on having assembled an elite guide staff that possesses the instructional skills and knowledge to ensure a memorable and successful experience!Copper Bay Lodge is located on the island of Haida Gwaii or more commonly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands. Epic Steelhead fishing happens here!

Picture the month of November, standing streamside under a dripping canopy of massive Sitka Spruce, Cedar and Hemlock. Steelhead, still luminous from the sea, climbing through riffles, runs and pools. Now picture March…or December. Make it January. Steelhead move into these waters from early Autumn through early Spring. Yes, this place is unique. The fish are unique. 8-12lb steelhead. Some, but not many go up to 20lbs. Bring 15lb Maxima. You'll need it.

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Scott Baker-McGarva Photos

Frontier Farwest

Canada

This British Columbian jewel has been declared so rare and valuable by the Canadian Government that a special classified waters angling license is necessary for all anglers that fish the river.

The Average annual return to the Bulkley River is between 25,000 and 45,000 Steelhead, which represents approximately 50% of all steelhead returning to Skeena watershed! Fly fishing for these native steelhead can be fantastic from the 1st of September right through the beginning of November.

What truly sets Frontier Far West apart from other operations on the Bulkey are the two overnight float trips that anglers have the opportunity to experience while staying at the lodge.

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Marcel Siegle Photo

Gold River Lodge

California - Klamath River

Tucked away on California's North Coast amongst the giant Redwoods, Gold river Lodge is the perfect steelhead retreat.

The fishing program at the lodge is focused mainly on the steelhead and salmon runs of the Klamath River in the summer and fall, and the mighty coastal steelhead of Southern Oregon's Chetco, Elk, and Sixes Rivers during the winter months. On the Klamath, jet boats are used to shuttle from one long sweeping steelhead run to the next while rafts are deployed to float wild and scenic sections of Oregon's coastal rivers. The lodge's dead-center location allows for incredible flexibility to fish where the fish are and where the conditions are best. Anglers can change locations every day, or stay where the fishing's hot!

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Jason James - Sandy River Lodge Steelhead

Hoodoo's Sandy River Lodge

Alaska

For the hardcore fly-rodder that wants immediate access to some of the best swung-fly water on this storied Alaskan river, Hoodoo's small lodge fits the bill.

Big, ocean-fresh steelhead start filtering into the Sandy by mid-September annually, and by the time the lodge opens late in the month, there are good numbers of fish holding in virtually all of the lower few miles of river. Fish continue to stream in through the end of October, at which time they are spread throughout the entire river system. Steelhead on the Sandy average 30-inches, with plenty of fish measuring in the 30-34-inch range. Most years fish approaching 40-inches are landed, though they are rare.

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Kamchatka Steelhead Project

Kamchatka Steelhead Project

Kamchatka - Russia

Flyfishing for science… and the biggest, brightest steelhead that'll ever grab your fly!

Kamchatka is home to Asia's only population of the legendary steelhead, and the only way to legally target them is through a scientific research project… To participate you donate to the cause, then become a volunteer data collector with the job of trying to catch samples of the population, tag them, and then let them go unharmed. Not a bad job! And every cent you spend participating in Kamchatka Steelhead Project is fully tax deductible as a donation.

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Skeena Spey

Skeena Spey

Canada

The Steelhead in the lower Skeena River are something to write home about. Down in the water around Terrace you get first crack at all of the fish headed to the most famous steelhead rivers in the world, like the Kispiox, Sustut, Babine and the Bulkey… but they are still chrome bright down here. There is no better recipe in the steelhead world for you to go get spooled by a silver bolt of lightning.

The sea-going rainbows of the lower Skeena start to enter this massive drainage in late July, and continue to enter right through the Fall. And again, these will be the same fish targeted in the legendary tributaries upstream a month or more later, rivers regarded as the best in the sport. Fresh fish continue to accumulate in the river right through the end of October and into November. The Average annual return to the Skeena River system is over 100,000 fish annually and in the lower river anglers get a shot at all of them.

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Suskeena Lodge

Suskeena Lodge

Canada

Suskeena Lodge, on the Sustut River in Northern British Columbia is relatively unknown except among a core group of fanatics that fish BC every year prowling for giant steelhead.

The Sustut has the largest average steelhead of any river in the Skeena watershed. If you want to crack the magic 30 pound mark for steelhead you had better be focused on the Skeena tributaries. On that note, there are only a few rivers where it is even possible. On the Skeena these include the Babine River, Kispiox River or the Sustut River. If you want to increase your odds for 30 pound steelhead, be in a wilderness setting and fish gin clear water…the Sustut is your place.

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Steelhead on the Trinity

Trinity River

California

The Trinity River is the major tributary to the Klamath River, and stretches 110 river miles from Lewiston Dam downstream to its confluence with the Klamath at Weitchpec.

The Trinity River is arguably one of the finest steelhead streams in the West. It's runs of anadromous fish were nearly decimated when Trinity and Lewiston Dams were completed in the 1960s, but recent restoration efforts along the river (Trinity River Restoration Program) have brought the steelhead back by the thousands, and recent years on the Trinity have boasted some of the finest runs and greatest steelheading in decades.

The average size of a Trinity River steelhead ranges from four to eight pounds, while mature adults measuring over ten pounds are hooked on a regular basis.

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Getting More Information

To get more information, please give us a call at 800-669-3474 during business hours any day of the week, or email us at travel@theflyshop.com anytime. We can give you the answers you need, detailed explanations to questions you might have, or check on availability and confirm your reservation in minutes.