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steelhead
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
n.
a fish, Salmo gairdnerii, of the Pacific coast, which spawns in fresh water after two or three years in the sea. Also steelhead trout.
The steelhead is sometimes erroneously regarded as a rainbow trout that has spent some time in the sea. Actually the reverse is true, the rainbow trout being a steelhead that spends its entire life in fresh water.
Quotations
1896
Still this did not prevent my good friend Duncan Campbell from landing a fine steelhead with a march brown just opposite the Quamichan rancherie. . . .
1955
Steelhead trout are British Columbia's number one game fish, but their habits and life history are still pretty much of a mystery.
1966
. . . the sand pool . . . at this time of year is often filled with cutthroat trout and sometimes is holding water for steelhead.