Steelhead are the anadromous, or ocean-going, form of rainbow trout. Like salmon, steelhead make the round trip between fresh water and the ocean but unlike salmon they can repeat this cycle several times. They are born in freshwater, and within twelve months or so some of them experience a physiological transformation known as smoltification. Smolts are destined to migrate to the ocean, and they undergo changes in their physical appearance and their physiology that allows them to survive in the ocean's different salinity. Propelling their migration toward saltwater are the same winter floods that later will guide them back to their high-country spawning grounds upstream. Southern steelhead developed longer, more streamlined bodies than other coastal steelhead in California, capable of passage through Southern California’s characteristic low flow streams.
Historically, tens of thousands of adult steelhead would return to Southern California streams. Today, only a few hundred make the pilgrimage; their numbers have declined so significantly that it is now rare to see them in the wild. They are the unicorn of California’s native fish.
Southern Steelhead
Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus
NATIVE SPECIES