Rainbow Trout

Lisa with a native Rainbow from B.C.'s Slocan River 

A nice Rainbow out of Alberta's Oldman River 

 Rainbow Trout are  noted for their  acrobatic  fighting abilities once hooked they generally go airborne and really rip it up, the fight of a Rainbow trout is Fly-fishers talk about .In Troutdom they hold second place to the ever wary Brown Trout but it's a close race.Due to the  amount of different waters across North America  that rainbows  inhabit , in both their native range and their expanded range rainbow trout  offer more opportunities for  Anglers to pursue than Browns.
Sometimes they  can  be just as snotty as their cousin Mr. Brown ,other times they can be just as opportunistic as their other cousin the Cutthroat . Overall they tend to find the middle ground between  the two. In streams that harbor both Browns and Rainbows on the slow days  the Rainbows are going to save the day .The opposite is found in  streams that are home to Cutthroats and Rainbows, the Cutties are going to keep the rods bent while the Rainbows are going to be the brag fish.
Steelhead are another story ,these Sea Run (or lake run) Rainbows have created a strong  following of fanatics that like Atlantic Salmon Anglers they are off the charts with their obsession .I have fished for Rainbow Trout as far east as  New York's Ausable river and as far west as Vancouver Island's Cowichan   river , with most of my Rainbow Trout   experiences  centered around the the rivers and a few  lakes  of the Northern Rockies.I have also  fished for both Great Lakes and Pacific Coast Steelhead ,something I wish I could do more of  ..because of my very busy bird hunting season my Steelhead trips are limited to the Spring and due to distance and other factors  I don't do enough of .  In a salute to the Rainbow Trout I have posted a photo Gallery on our Facebook page  Enjoy !

Dave Brown