Steelhead Salmon ??

[Bruno]

I was reading a cooking magazine today nad they suggested Steelhead Salmon as a good choice for a recipe. I thought steelies were lake or ocean going rainbow that return to the creeks to spawn. Am i incorrect ? Are some salmon considered steelhead?

 

[jayL]

It's an incorrect term. I've heard it before. I think it's just confusion since they are anadromous.

 

[StudentofTheStream]

I've never heard of Salmon Steelhead before but upon a google search this is what I found.


http://www.pacificbio.org/ESIN/Fish/SteelheadTrout/steelheadpg.html


As far as the fish being anadromous Jay, isn't that term reserved for saltwater fish that migrate to fresh for spawning? (That in terms of PA 'Steelhead') I'm not sure either way but that was always my impression of meaning.

 

[jayL]

Good point, student. As far as PA is concerned, they aren't. Out west, my quip would still apply.

Even though it's not correct, I still use the word to describe great lakes run fish... It's an acceptable wrong in my eyes.

 

[JackM]

Steelhead in their indigenous habitat are anadromous. In Erie and the other Great Lakes, they are not. Same fish, different habitat. Of course, they are salmonoids, but perhaps not "salmon."

 

[tomgamber]

But they do look a lot more "salmon-like" in Oregon and Idaho then they do in lake Erie. I mean I guess if you wanted to get technical about it,, Brown Trout are the only "true" trout. But I like the term acceptable wrong...

 

[troutbert]

StudentofTheStream wrote:
I've never heard of Salmon Steelhead before but upon a google search this is what I found.


http://www.pacificbio.org/ESIN/Fish/SteelheadTrout/steelheadpg.html


As far as the fish being anadromous Jay, isn't that term reserved for saltwater fish that migrate to fresh for spawning? (That in terms of PA 'Steelhead') I'm not sure either way but that was always my impression of meaning.

I've never heard that term before either. Also, a google search turns up ONLY pacificbio.org using that term. So my guess is that pacificbio just goofed.

 

[JeffK]

Not to be anal, but rainbow/steelhead trout are a species of Pacific salmon, hence the designation Oncorhynchus mykiss. When I was a kid rainbows were considered trout and had the name salmo gairdneri and steelhead were occassionally salmo mykiss or salmo g mykiss. Just over the past few years DNA work has clearly shown rainbows to be a sometimes landlocked form of Pacific salmon and not a true trout at all - which is something that seems obvious in hind sight.

That said, I never heard steelhead generally refered to as steelhead salmon.

 

[MattBoyer]

JeffK wrote:
Not to be anal, but rainbow/steelhead trout are a species of Pacific salmon, hence the designation Oncorhynchus mykiss. When I was a kid rainbows were considered trout and had the name salmo gairdneri and steelhead were occassionally salmo mykiss or salmo g mykiss. Just over the past few years DNA work has clearly shown rainbows to be a sometimes landlocked form of Pacific salmon and not a true trout at all - which is something that seems obvious in hind sight.

That said, I never heard steelhead generally refered to as steelhead salmon.

I was gonna bust that out, but you beat me to it. Also, several food service companies, SYSCO comes to mind, sell "steelhead salmon", which I always thought was silly, but in hindsight makes sense, as they are salmon technically.

Boyer

 

[troutbert]

MattBoyer wrote:

JeffK wrote:
Not to be anal, but rainbow/steelhead trout are a species of Pacific salmon, hence the designation Oncorhynchus mykiss. When I was a kid rainbows were considered trout and had the name salmo gairdneri and steelhead were occassionally salmo mykiss or salmo g mykiss. Just over the past few years DNA work has clearly shown rainbows to be a sometimes landlocked form of Pacific salmon and not a true trout at all - which is something that seems obvious in hind sight.

That said, I never heard steelhead generally refered to as steelhead salmon.

I was gonna bust that out, but you beat me to it. Also, several food service companies, SYSCO comes to mind, sell "steelhead salmon", which I always thought was silly, but in hindsight makes sense, as they are salmon technically.

Boyer

No they're not!!

Steelhead and salmon are both members of the genus Oncorhynchus. But that does not mean that steelhead are salmon. Anymore than it means that salmon are steelhead. No one would refer to a chinook salmon as a steelhead.

Chimpanzees and humans are members of the same genus. But that does not mean that chimps are humans, or the reverse.

SYSCO calls it salmon because they think they will sell more if they use that label. And they're probably right. But they are probably on shaky legal grounds using that label.

 

[tomgamber]

http://www.naparcd.org/steelheadtrout.htm

 

[FarmerDave]

troutbert wrote:

MattBoyer wrote:

JeffK wrote:
Not to be anal, but rainbow/steelhead trout are a species of Pacific salmon, hence the designation Oncorhynchus mykiss. When I was a kid rainbows were considered trout and had the name salmo gairdneri and steelhead were occassionally salmo mykiss or salmo g mykiss. Just over the past few years DNA work has clearly shown rainbows to be a sometimes landlocked form of Pacific salmon and not a true trout at all - which is something that seems obvious in hind sight.

That said, I never heard steelhead generally refered to as steelhead salmon.

I was gonna bust that out, but you beat me to it. Also, several food service companies, SYSCO comes to mind, sell "steelhead salmon", which I always thought was silly, but in hindsight makes sense, as they are salmon technically.

Boyer

No they're not!!

Steelhead and salmon are both members of the genus Oncorhynchus. But that does not mean that steelhead are salmon. Anymore than it means that salmon are steelhead. No one would refer to a chinook salmon as a steelhead.

Chimpanzees and humans are members of the same genus. But that does not mean that chimps are humans, or the reverse.

SYSCO calls it salmon because they think they will sell more if they use that label. And they're probably right. But they are probably on shaky legal grounds using that label.

Actually that isn't quite right, either. Chimpanzees are of the genus Pan. As far as I know, we aren't. However, we are all members of the family Hominidae.

That said, rainbow trout are closely related to the salmon, but who the heck ever heard of a "Rainbow Salmon", or "Rainbow Trout Salmon." Anybody??? Since steelhead and rainbow trout are genetically the exact same species, Wouldn't that make just as much sense as "Steelhead Salmon."

Of course we all know that Brook trout aren't really trout, either, but who the hell cares. :-D

 

[ryanh]

You guys are a bunch of dorks. Who cares? What constitutes a salmon? Is a bluegill a bass? A crappie is a heck of a lot more like a bluegill than it is like a striper!

Leave taxonomy to the doc's with gel electrophoresis.

If it lives in the ocean (or other big *** body of water) and spawns in the streams and tastes great on the smoker it is good enough for me.

 

[FarmerDave]

ryanh wrote:
Who cares?

I wish I had said that. Wait a second, I did. :-D

Is a bluegill a bass? A crappie is a heck of a lot more like a bluegill than it is like a striper!

Huh??? why would you ask that? Bluegills are not bass. Bluegills are sunfish. So are crappie, Largemouth and smallmount bass. They are all members of the sunfish family(Centrarchidae), not the othr way around. So, when someone refers to bluegills as members of the bass family, it is clearly a case of snobbery against the less desireable members of the sunfish family. All you bass snobs are fishing for sunfish. Get over it. :-D

And go figure, white perch, and white bass are members of the Temperate Bass family (Moronidae) along with Striped bass. So, if I mistake a white perch for a white bass, I'm really not mistaken? White perch really are white perch bass?

And Salmon, trout, and char are all members fo the Salmonidae family.

And carp are members of the minnow family.

:lol:

By the way, I am getting a new smoker for Christmas. Already saw it. Gonna have to buy a lake erie stamp, and a trout stamp ... or would that be a Salmonidae stamp.:roll:

P.S. Shad are herring.

 

[JackM]

A door is a jar.

 

[Chaz]

Somewhere along the line a chef started all Steelhead, "Steelhead Salmon" and in those circles the name has stuck to the pan.
Steelhead are genetically the same as rainbow trout, however are considered, according to R. Behnke, a Sub Species of rainbow trout because they run to the sea. So the name Steelhead Salmon is incorrect. All the West Coast Salmonids are from the same genus, but the all have different life histories so they vary widely in their characteristics and where they live.
Even more confusing is that there are forms of rainbows that run to the sea, making them sea run rainbows, though what the distinction is makes it more difficult to understand.
It's similar to Land Locked Salmon in New England, they are all Salmo Salar Sebago, but where the line is drawn on whether or not they be included in that group or are Salmo Salar, is somewhat gray to me.

 

[Chaz]

I'll never mistake my sunfsh for bass or perch for sunfish or sunfish for perch, or... Hell I don't know what any of them are.

 

[mediclimber]

If you want to get someone riled up, just tell a striper fisherman he caught some nice chub. :lol: