sTEELHEAD

Steelhead trout are the anadromous form of rainbow trout. Rainbow trout can remain in freshwater their entire lives, or they can migrate to the ocean and then return to freshwater to spawn. These ocean-bound migrating fish are known as steelhead trout. The only way to confirm a fish is a steelhead trout is by look at its scales or by analyzing the chemical composition of its otoliths, or ear bones. The offspring of two steelhead parents may become a purely freshwater form of rainbow trout, while the offspring of two resident freshwater rainbow trout might evolve into an anadromous steelhead trout.