Steelhead
A migratory rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) that spends most of its life in a large body of water — the ocean, or in the case of Great Lakes steelhead, one of the Great Lakes — and returns to freshwater tributaries to spawn.
Great Lakes steelhead are descended from Pacific-coast strains stocked into the lakes starting in the late 1800s. They are not native to the Great Lakes basin; the modern fishery was built through state stocking programs (ODNR, PA Fish & Boat Commission, NY DEC) plus self-sustaining returns in some rivers like the Salmon River. A typical Great Lakes steelhead is 6-12 pounds, runs the tributaries in fall and spring, and feeds heavily on alewives and gobies during its lake-resident months.
