Skip to main content

Rainbow Trout Don't Actually Exist

Rainbow Trout Don't Actually Exist
Photo courtesy of US EPA

It may sound crazy, but steelhead and rainbow trout are really the same creature.  More to the point, "rainbow trout" don't actually exist.  Oncorhynchus mykiss is a type of salmon, one whose members sometimes stay in freshwater and sometimes descend to the sea, but those are behavioral decisions, not genetic ones.

If you find such a notion startlingly, your jaw might drop when you read "The Importance of Resident Steelhead (rainbow trout)" by Dick Burge posted on the Wild Steelhead Coalition's website.  The article articulates why healthy resident steelhead populations are essential to recovering ocean-going (anadromous) steelhead populations, then goes on to explain why Washington state's trout angling regulations are hindering steelhead recovery.  Consider this small excerpt:

"Resident steelhead spawn with anadromous steelhead throughout their range... Studies have shown that 20 to 40% of returning anadromous steelhead have at least one resident parent and often have two."

Photo courtesy of US EPA

That's right.  Many wild steelhead have two "rainbow trout" for parents.

For the full article, and to learn more about the Wild Steelhead Coalition's efforts, visit:

http://wildsteelheadcoalition.org/2012/01/the-importance-of-resident-steelhead-rainbow-trout-oncorhynchus-mykiss-in-the-recovery-productivity-genetics-and-population-viability-of-anadromous-steelhead-in-washington-the-need-to-fully-pro/




GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Recommended Articles

Recent Videos

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
News

Lefty: The Greatest of All Time

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
Gear

DIY Airbrushing on Popper Heads

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
Gear

Trailer: The Kids Are Alright

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
Gear

Fly Tier's Bench: How to Tie Craven's Lil Bit Nymph

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
How-To/Techniques

Ed Jaworowski's Functional Fly Casting Part 1: Acceleration

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
News

Jimmy Carter Was One of Us

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
News

The Genesis of a Film: Legacy

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
News

Salmon Return to the Klamath River

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
Destinations/Species

Simms Presents - Destination: Skeena

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
News

Just Do It: Nike and Drake Plunge into Fly Fishing

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
News

Abel x Nocta Fly Reel

Creating blanks with dialed technique-specific actions that perform under extreme load without failure doesn't just “hap...
How-To/Techniques

G. Loomis's “Feel Connected” Episode 2: "Rolled Up"

Fly Fisherman Magazine Covers Print and Tablet Versions

GET THE MAGAZINE Subscribe & Save

Digital Now Included!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Give a Gift   |   Subscriber Services

PREVIEW THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Buy Digital Single Issues

Magazine App Logo

Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Get the Fly Fisherman App apple store google play store

Other Magazines

See All Other Magazines

Special Interest Magazines

See All Special Interest Magazines

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Get the top Fly Fisherman stories delivered right to your inbox.

Phone Icon

Get Digital Access.

All Fly Fisherman subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets.

To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine.

Get Digital Access

Not a Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Enjoying What You're Reading?

Get a Full Year
of Guns & Ammo
& Digital Access.

Offer only for new subscribers.

Subscribe Now

Never Miss a Thing.

Get the Newsletter

Get the top Fly Fisherman stories delivered right to your inbox.

By signing up, I acknowledge that my email address is valid, and have read and accept the Terms of Use