March is a time when many anglers begin chasing rainbows—steelhead trout, to be precise.

What is a steelhead? It is a rainbow trout—well, sort of. It is basically the same as a rainbow trout you catch in an inland stream in regular season.

But unlike these inland stream stay-at-homes, the steelhead is an anadromous rainbow—one that leaves the stream it is born in and lives most of its life in larger waters—in the west of its origin in the Pacific’s saltwater, and in Michigan in the freshwater seas we call the Great Lakes.

Steelhead trout are caught by anglers trolling the Great Lakes in warmer times. Eventually these fish, once grown to maturity in the big water, return to the same natal streams they were imprinted in to spawn, providing one of the most exciting times for stream fishing action of the angler’s year. In Michigan, that action begins to peak in March, though some stream action will be found as late as May in the northernmost waters.

Michigan’s steelhead has been in our state waters for 130 years. Over the 13 decades, many strains have combined, evolved and contributed to the genetic development of the Michigan or Little Manistee strain of steelhead trout.

The rainbow’s arrival in Michigan began in 1876 with both hatchery and wild fish from McCloud River and Campbell’s Creek strains from California—along with fish from the Klamath River in Oregon.

The first state rainbow trout releases were planted in the AuSable River. Following this successful take, this early program resulted in the planting of steelhead strain fish into many tributaries throughout the state. Non-anadromous strains were planted in many inland streams, as well.

Michigan was planting 800,000 fish by 1903, widely distributed over 50 counties. By 1908, the state’s waters saw plantings of over 1 million fish, with numbers increasing to 2.5 million by 1911. The 1914 planting reached nearly 5 million fish, with most of the reared stock coming from the Paris hatchery near Big Rapids. (This facility is owned today by the Mecosta County Parks, bought earlier from the DNR). Today, this hatchery’s historic “fish raceway” holds brown trout on display for park visitors to view.

Stocking numbers were also supplemented by 4 million wild fish from the Pine River, which still has a good population of Rainbows today.

Though some steelhead were still being caught by sports anglers, their numbers in the big lakes had dropped drastically by the 1950’s, impacted earlier by commercial fishing and arrival of the predacious Sea Lamprey (which finished off the Lake Michigan lake trout strain. Plantings of lake trout today come from Lake Superior stocks.)

When the reduced numbers of large predator fish in Lake Michigan’s water caused a build up of alewives, a “trash” fish to many who found the state beaches full of dead and odorous fish, a move to introduce larger predator fish into the waters began. Enter the coho and chinook salmon, and a renewed effort at stocking more steelhead trout to bring back a natural balance between predator and prey species.

The modern steelhead program began in 1966, with eggs that were taken from wild fish in the Manistee, Little Manistee and Platte River. Since 1968, the Little Manistee River has been the primary source of Michigan steelhead eggs.

Michigan does not stock steelhead for its “egg takes” needs; it strictly uses the wild, unstocked fish from the Little Manistee River. Eggs taken here are reared in state hatcheries for release in other waters of the state suited to coldwater species like steelhead; but no stocking occurs in the Little Manistee. From these wild fish has come the Michigan steelhead’s reputation as the prime battler among coldwater gamefish.

Today, the Little Manistee supports annual runs of over 10,000 wild adults maintained entirely by natural reproduction. The Little Manistee River weir’s egg-taking facility produces over 5 million eggs each year that go to rearing hatcheries in Michigan and other states. Over 1 million wild steelhead strain fish will be released this year to state waters. (Natural reproduction occurs in many other streams too, assuring good numbers of steelhead for fishermen to chase.)

The DNR’s angler creel surveys in recent years show that many steelhead being caught in Michigan waters are truly wild-strain fish that have evolved and adapted well since the early plantings of the late 1800s. Michigan has deservedly earned its enviable reputation for management and preservation of this great wild steelhead trout resource.

One thing has changed. For years the rainbow trout was considered a trout—a member of the true trout (Salmo) family. But improved genetics and gene tracking in recent years, has led biologists to reclassify the steelhead trout as a member of the Pacific Salmon family (Oncorhynchus mykiss), a relative of the chinook salmon rather than the true trout family—but with one important difference. Unlike its pacific cousins, the steelhead does not necessarily come back to its natal stream to spawn and then die.

The steelhead may, in fact, make more than one annual return to spawn, some for several years if not injured, stressed or otherwise becoming part of some angler’s fish dinner.

Michigan steelhead starts life in a natal stream, imprinted with the stream’s chemical signature. Then they head to the Great Lakes to forage and grow big. Mature and ready to deposit eggs and sperm, they return to their original natal waters to spawn. After spawning, they drift back to the big waters and start the process over again.

As it nears its spawning time, the body profile, color, markings, and beauty of male steelhead and rainbow are very similar. With their bright red flank color in the males, and the hooked kip of the spawning male’s jaw, Great Lakes steelhead look like the adult Rainbow trout, only much larger and stronger.

“Summer Run” steelhead have been introduced into Great Lakes waters.

Neighboring state Indiana pioneered introductions of several summer run strains—most notably the Skamania, and Ganaraska strains. With the other strains of Chambers Creek and Little Manistee strains, Michigan and other Lake Michigan anglers have a nearly year-round fishery between the runs of the four varieties of Steelhead in Lake Michigan and connected streams. Each of these strains has different spawning-run timing, offering many opportunities for catching the fish.

Thanks to open extended-season waters in many lake-connected streams, anglers may fish many river areas for steelhead when regular inland trout season is closed. (Check the DNR fishing guide for the listing of open waters for year-round steelhead/rainbow fishing, and the size, tackle restrictions, daily limits and other regulations.)

March is the time to start chasing your rainbow. To have a hook-stung steelhead leap free of the water and start a slapping, top-water tail walk at the end of your line is the angler’s pot of gold at rainbow’s end.