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[dave c]

I caught a Hatchery jack steelhead yesterday just under 6 lbs. At least I'm assuming its a jack. If a jack returns to the ocean will it eventually get to be the size of a normal fish or is its growth rate stunted throughout its lifespan such as a human dwarf?

[typhoon]

Sounds like just a steelhead. If it's from the Vedder, the smaller sized smolt releases of recent years reaults in smaller returning adults.
I got a small hatch doe last year that was well under 6lbs. If it returns to the ocean it should continue growing.

[Every Day]

I've been seeing lots of them the last 2 years, have probably caught a couple dozen now, 1 of those on the Vedder. It seems some flows have them way more prolific than others. One of the island flows I've been fishing the last 3 years has a bunch, probably 1 out of every 5 steelhead are 2-3 maybe 4 pounds.

No doubt they are steelhead with how they look, even caught a couple with sea lice. Extremely stunted fish that are around 2-3 pounds. I have heard to them referred to as "half pounders." Apparently some island rivers back in the day had lots of them. Not just jacks, but jills (both of the fish pictured appeared to be does).



For size scale, that is a 2/5 spoon approximately 2 1/2 inches long.


Lastly, to answer your question... yes it will come back. Steelhead that go back out will return larger the next year. Typically the 5-6 pound steelhead you see returned after a year in the salt (technically 1.5 years, out in spring and return the next December-April). Rivers like the Stamp have a large component of those. Larger fish are typically repeat spawners. Some will come back up to 6 times. These hatchery fish are probably much like coho jacks - coming back the same year they went out (so ~8 months at sea). Can't be sure of that though, would need to see some scales off of them.

[clarkii]

Correct me if im wrong but last I looked jacks were defined as less then 50cm.

[Every Day]

Correct me if im wrong but last I looked jacks were defined as less then 50cm.

Jacks are defined typically as precocious male/female fish that return a year early (from a different age class).

Rainbows are defined by being less than 50cm. Anything greater than 50 cm in a river is defined as a steelhead.

[RalphH]

If you read Haig-Brown you'll find that the Campbell had a mid to late Spring Run of 'half pounders' up until the dam development. Half pounders were and may still be common on some south Oregon and Northern California Rivers. Usually around 1lb or a bit more and up to 4lbs.
I have caught a few smallish steehead in the 4 to 6 lb range on the V-C and other FV and lower mainland streams. These used to be referred to 'one salt' fish, fish that have spent around one year in saltwater. If they do return to the chuck and then come back they should be bigger.

Jacks would be like jack coho, having spent no ore than one summer in the ocean and I've seen the odd one like that. 

[clarki]

Do you think some anglers mistake residualized rainbows/steelhead for jack, or one salt, steelhead?

 I caught a chunky 17-18" hatchery rainbow trout in the upper Chilliwack R in October.  I would think that it, and it's larger resident cousins, could be mistaken for migratory jack steelhead.

[Every Day]

Do you think some anglers mistake residualized rainbows/steelhead for jack, or one salt, steelhead?

 I caught a chunky 17-18" hatchery rainbow trout in the upper Chilliwack R in October.  I would think that it, and it's larger resident cousins, could be mistaken for migratory jack steelhead.

Some might, but IMO it's very hard to mess it up.

Your key word there was chunky. Rainbows are always more football shaped. They have white tipped fins (including dorsal fin), and have a smaller tail. Steelhead are more streamlined, and I generally find their mouth looks larger as well.

Guys like Haig-Brown especially wouldn't be mis-id'ing them. You also have to account for the fact that many times there is a "run" of these half pounders - fish that only come at a certain time of year much like cutthroat.

[sbc hris]

I've seen quite a few of them over the years, 1-3 lb sea run fish, and on a few different systems too. Some years definitely seem to have more than others.

[RalphH]

There could be studies done since but a study from the 50s by Maher and Larken on the Chilliwack found about 0.5% of sampled steelhead spent one year at sea and the average length of such fish was 18.5 inches on return. Fish that had spent 2 years at sea averaged 27.5 inches. These stats were compiled close to a generation before hatchery reproduction was introduced.

[clarkii]

Jacks are defined typically as precocious male/female fish that return a year early (from a different age class).

Rainbows are defined by being less than 50cm. Anything greater than 50 cm in a river is defined as a steelhead.

Just remembered im talking the pratical sense, rather then full def.

A Mark recapture group i volunteered with for chinook at least had a 50cm cutoff for jacks and adults.

And partly true on steelies, but its 50cm in a river steelhead are found.  Very important in interior applications.

[islanddude]

There has been a good number of those " half pounders" caught in the Quinsam this year. I have caught  5 of them before the river was ravaged by the flood we had here. Saw a picture  of one caught today.
 Back in the 70's and 80's I never caught one at all. Is this a good sign or a bad one. We have had a poor return of large steelhead to Quinsam this year so far.

[bederko]

A fish just under 6 lbs. is a normal (.1+) or 2-ocean fish in the C-V system. These are the fish from 5 to 8 pounds. A (0+) or I-ocean fish (as mentioned by RalphH would have only have spent about 6 or 7 mouths in the ocean and make it about 18 inches. Most C-V fish return as (.2+) or 3-ocean fish. (about 60% depending on the year) These are the 10-20+ pound fish. The 9 pound fish could be either depending generally on when they entered the system.
I believe it was the Maher- Larken studies that put the repeat spawning rate at 6%. That being said after reading nose tags and scales from well in excess of 1000 steelhead from the C-V starting in 1979, 6% may be pushing it. Most of the repeat spawners we sampled had spawned initially at age 2 -ocean and were returning the next year, so about 10 months in the ocean and back to spawn. The scales showed no increased growth only recovery and growth going back into gonads. One repeat was 5.5 pounds.
We never came across a 0+ fish which of course doesn't mean they don't exist. There have been lots of reports of jacks in the 60's
We were lucky enough to sample about 10 20+ pound fish and all were 3-ocean first time spawners.
These are only C-V steelhead other rivers may be different especially rivers with summer run fish where a 2-ocean fish has only spent 12 months in the ocean and could be 2 -4 pounds and a 3-ocean fish 5-7 pounds.
Hope this helps

[Dave]

Great information bederko   I'm interested in your thoughts, or from anyone else for that matter, of what is happening now on the C-V .. that is the few early run wild steelhead being targeted for broodstock?

[firebird]

Hey Dave, I'm not sure if I'm clear on what you're asking. Could you please expand or paraphrase.

As for "jacks", I caught these two critters on the same Lower Mainland stream today. The first fish was a female measuring 46cm and looks to me to be a "resident". The next fish was a male and has a distinct steelhead look to it. It was 42cm. It's too bad I didn't have scale sample envelopes and tweezers.