Skamania Strain

• This is the larger strain of the two different steelheads found in Indiana. They are very long and slender, and usually weigh within the range of 8 to 10 lbs. They are released as hatchery stock into the St. Joseph's River, and are considered the summer run of steelhead. These steelhead came from the Pacific Northwest originally, and were collected there yearly until the St. Joseph's River Project built the hatchery in Indiana. People love to catch skamania steelhead because of the fight they put up when caught.
  
  

Rainbow Trout

• These steelhead are also called winter-run or Michigan-strain trout, and are much smaller than the skamania steelhead. They have similar dark olive markings and red stripes, but they remain in rivers their entire lives rather than traveling to Lake Michigan like the skamania steelhead. They can usually be caught around the same time of year as the skamania strain, but they are easy to tell apart.
  
  

Lake Michigan

• One of North America's largest lakes, Lake Michigan has almost 2000 miles of shoreline to enjoy and to fish from. It is where the St. Joseph's River empties into, meaning it is where all the steelhead migrate to. You can fish for steelhead in Lake Michigan, along with several other types of trout.
  
  

St. Joseph's River

• The St. Joseph's River starts in Michigan, works its way through Indiana, and goes back to Michigan where it empties into Lake Michigan. It offers a lot of recreation as well as usable water for the people of Indiana. The St. Joseph's River Project has allowed a hatchery to open that can supply fishing opportunities to the Midwest, where there originally were very little. The St. Joseph's River becomes the hatchery release site for hundreds of thousands of steelhead and salmon every year.
  
  

Regulations

• Any rainbow trout caught to be kept must be at least 7 inches long, and any skamania-strain must be at least 14 inches. You may not take more than five total of any kind of trout or salmon. From January until mid-April, you may only catch and release steelhead. There is usually a closed season for the last two weeks in April so that the hatcheries may stock. You cannot fish with more than one hook on a line, and that hook must be 1/2 inch or shorter in length.