Side by Side

Brown Trout Salmo trutta

Typical: 16–26 in, 2–10 lb

Quickest tell: Red-orange spots with pale halos and a nearly spotless tail mark a brown trout; steelhead and the salmon carry black-only spots and a clearly spotted tail.

• Buttery-brown to golden body
• Both black AND red/orange spots, many ringed with pale halos
• Few or no spots on the squared tail
• Adipose fin often tinged orange
• Sparse spotting below the lateral line
• Thick, blunt head

Full Brown Trout guide — season, gear and rules →

Steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss

Typical: 24–30 in, 5–10 lb

Key field mark: A white mouth AND white gums with spots radiating across the whole tail separate a steelhead from coho (dark mouth, white gums, spots on the upper tail lobe only) and chinook (black mouth and black gums).

• Bright chrome-silver sides, white belly
• Small black spots scattered over the back, dorsal, and entire tail (both lobes)
• Squared tail; 8-12 anal fin rays (fewer than salmon)
• Faint pink-red lateral band (bright on resident/mature fish)
• White mouth and white gums inside
• Small head relative to a same-size Chinook

Full Steelhead guide — season, gear and rules →

When Each Is Running July — current month highlighted

Where Brown Trout and Steelhead Overlap

Both run in Great Lakes — that is where telling them apart actually matters.

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