Fish Question?

The ODFG state's any trout over 22" is considered  a steel head, My question not having caught a steel head, is at What point does a steel become said steelhead,Or Is it a separate Species. Because you can catch and keep most wild trout But only fin clipped steelhead. So I do want to catch and keep a large Trout/steely  when in fact when I should have released it. My friend Caught 2 Nice fish one 18" and one 21"1/2 He said they were both steelhead, but the 18" looked to me like a trout ,Well They Both looked like Trout, Very Nice Trout,.But he said they were both steelheads. Also They Didn't Fight like Steelhead's I've seen caught before. I did take Pic's but have not posted them yet. and Both were released.just to be sure as they were both not fin clipped.

I'm looking at your reg tight now... is says rainbow trout over 16 inches are considered steelhead in streams.  So I guess it depends on where they were caught. 

So Rainbow? or cutthroat? or steelhead ?Keeper? or lost dinner (released) caught at 10mile creek

I'm no expert, but it looks like a rainbow to me.  And your regs say that if it is over 16" and a rainbow in a stream then it is a steelhead. That creek is open right now for steelhead... but it has to be clipped... that one looks like a wild to me though.

Yes he got two today, and he released both.one on shrimp,one on roe.I guess better safe than sorry.

I'd say rainbow trout. A steelhead wouldn't be that colorful now.

Steelhead are sea run rainbow trout. That fish does not look like a steelhead but that doesn't mean the regs wouldn't classify it as such. Know your regs for your fishing areas ....

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I have caught a few Cut-bows.  They have a set of teeth on the tongue and the meat is flesh white color and not pink.  Larger fish under the leader spool is a cut-bow and lake caught.

Just ask the fish where he's come from.  If he says "the ocean", steelhead. 

The oregon regs say, generally, that is a rainbow is over 16 inches and caught in a stream, then it is a steelhead.  Weird... but it is what their regs say.