Winter or Summer?

[Jack Salmon]

I understand that starting this time of year you will find both winter and summer steelhead in some rivers . How do you tell the difference? Is it size, color or what? Any help to the new guy on the board would be appreciated. I will attempt to post picture of a fish I caught last week on the N. Santiam.
http://www.ifish.net/uploads/08592163.jpg

[TideRunner]

I know the hatchery fish usually have a different combination of fin-clipping to distinguish the two runs. Sometimes different clippings to identify which hatchery they came from too. That's about all I know.

Anyone else got some info?

[Firedog]

That is a winter fish, summer fish right now will be ultra bright and nice and fat. If it is bright and skinny it is a downstream fish.

[David Johnson]

That's a winter.

A summer right now will be totaly "black and white" chrome. When they're in the water their backs are a cool almost tranparent neon blue/green.

The adipose only fin clip is a good indicator and the very most positive is the sex organs, or almost lack of, sex organs.

[Jack Salmon]

Thanks Dog and runner by downstream do you mean the fish is returning to big blue?

[SSPey]

I caught a bright hatchery summer hen this weekend with skein eggs the size of sand grains. It was a chromer to be sure, with that ghostly blue gray look, but I had no other indication that it was a summer fish. Very strong fish. I had the pleasure of treating a few observers to their first witness of spey rod caught steelhead - but we were all surprised when they cut it open for the big prize only to reveal tiny eggs.

[rob allen]

I agree gotta be a winter fish but that sure is unusual coloring for a winter fish. Usually the red on a winter fish will be a deeper red and less pink color. That fish looks like is should have been caught in September.

[Mad Mikey]

Very pretty. I'm not familar with the runs on the Santiam but if that stream gets a "Spring" or "Late Winter" run of natives like many coastal and Metro streams do I would call it that. Gotta agree with that last post, looks like a Summer steelhead caught in the Fall.
I might even go out on a limb and suggest you got a big trout or a "resident" steelhead that never made it to the ocean. Since bow's are primarily Spring spawners that might make for the pretty colors. On the other hand it looks too fat to be just a trout. Who knows? It was there, you caught it, had fun!!! :grin:
I've seen some goofy fish in my travels, not unusal to catch a Summer run due in April that decides to come in 5 months early, done that on the Clack more than once.
Back when the Sandy and Salmon river confluence used to be open I went a few hundred yards up the Sandy from the confluence of the Salmon to get away from the crowd at the main hole and hooked a barn burner fish on a spinner which I had to swim/scramble to land. Remember this is early August, the fish was a very girthy 10-12lb hen, chrome like an early Summer fish but it was STUFFED with eggs, just like a Winter fish and had all it fins intact. I'm still scratching my head over that one. Glad you got sumthin' I got skunked yeterday!!! :whazzup: