The Rainbow trout is special among American game fishes. They were first discovered in the early 1900's. The Rainbow trout has demonstrated an unusual ability to adapt to a wide range of living conditions and has been cultured more widely and successfully in hatcheries than any other trout.

Sea-going rainbows, known as steelhead, are the Pacific Ocean counterpart of their close relative, the Atlantic salmon. There is no physical difference between the steelhead and the rainbow trout except that the steelhead spends part of its life in saltwater.

Rainbow trout have a streamlined salmonid form, though body shape and coloration vary widely and reflect habitat, age, sex and degree of maturity. The back is usually a greenish color and the lateral line is usually pink. Below the lateral line it is silver colored, and on the bottom it is pure white.They have black spots on the upper part and on the upper fins and tail.

In Alaska Rainbow trout are now flourishing and they have been introduced in many lakes in Southeastern, Southcentral, and Interior Alaska.

During the late winter and early spring when the temperatures are starting to rise they look for a place to spawn, and some even spawn three times.

The female makes the nest or redd and she may lay 200 to 8000 eggs, depending on her size. The nest protects the buried eggs during the period of incubation. The eggs may take a couple of weeks to four months to hatch, depending on the water temperature.

Alaska has the world's record steelhead, taken near Ketchikan in 1970. It weighed 42 pounds, 2 ounces.

By Willie Paul Fitka