That thing is a beast.

Are they good to eat when they get that big? I imagine they would basically taste like salmon?

Ya thas a real one!! 💪💪💪🐟

We did a Salmon charter out of Olcott in 2015, ended up with one legal King Salmon, but boy did we ever get into the Steelhead. The Ontario steelies dwarf the ones in Erie. 

psu_fish
The Ontario steelies dwarf the ones in Erie. 

I think the same in Michigan and imagine Superior and Huron.  I am guessing since all are deeper and salmon programs have worked well (at least in Michigan, not sure of others?).  My company HQ is in Green Bay.  They think of steelhead as a nuisance.  They are worshipped here (with a stringer)...  That said, I don't think any of the others have the walleye that Erie has.  

Porktown

psu_fish
The Ontario steelies dwarf the ones in Erie. 

I think the same in Michigan and imagine Superior and Huron.  I am guessing since all are deeper and salmon programs have worked well (at least in Michigan, not sure of others?).  My company HQ is in Green Bay.  They think of steelhead as a nuisance.  They are worshipped here (with a stringer)...  That said, I don't think any of the others have the walleye that Erie has.  

Porktown

psu_fish
The Ontario steelies dwarf the ones in Erie. 

I think the same in Michigan and imagine Superior and Huron.  I am guessing since all are deeper and salmon programs have worked well (at least in Michigan, not sure of others?).  My company HQ is in Green Bay.  They think of steelhead as a nuisance.  They are worshipped here (with a stringer)...  That said, I don't think any of the others have the walleye that Erie has.  

Superior is lacking it seems:
 
Minnesota: King Salmon 33 lbs 4 oz is out of Superior. Coho 10 lb 6 oz 
 
New York: King Salmon 47 lb 13 oz caught in the Salmon River, major trib of Lake Onatrio. Coho record is 33 lb 7 oz. 
 
Wisconsin: King Salmon Record is 44 lb 15 oz from Lake Michigan, Coho 26 lb 2 oz from Lake Michigan 
 
Michigan: King 46.06 lbs from Grand River via snagging in 1978!!. Coho 30.56 lbs Platte River 
 

It’s funny how some species are regarded as a nuisance in certain locales. I saw a post on some Facebook group about how the guys in the tackle shops in Minnesota all laughed at this guy for targeting smallmouth because walleyes are king up there. Walleyes are great to eat and all, but bass are way more fun on the end of a line.

Porktown

psu_fish
The Ontario steelies dwarf the ones in Erie. 

I think the same in Michigan and imagine Superior and Huron.  I am guessing since all are deeper and salmon programs have worked well (at least in Michigan, not sure of others?).  My company HQ is in Green Bay.  They think of steelhead as a nuisance.  They are worshipped here (with a stringer)...  That said, I don't think any of the others have the walleye that Erie has.  

Erie steelhead aren’t native, are they? Do any of them actually spawn in those tribs?

I thought true steelhead lived their adult life in salt water? The Great Lakes steelhead are stocked rainbows that get out into open water, correct?

I do not believe they are native to any of the Great Lakes, nor are the king, coho or pink salmon.  I think there might be a native population of Atlantic salmon in Ontario or at one time?  I believe the Great Lakes steelhead are the same steelhead found in the Pacific North West, but transplanted here.  They are a type of rainbow trout, but different strain than our typical stockie rainbow.  At least that is my understanding.  I don't think a typical rainbow trout has the instincts in them to run out into the lake and back.  I'm guessing those typical stockies were transplanted from some European inland stream system.  I think only the brook and lake trout are native to this part of the country.  There are different strains of steelhead too, some run in the fall and some in the spring.  There used to be a lot of talk on this 10+ years ago on this site.  A lot of guys that did a bunch of research on the subject that I am regurgitating from memory...

All Great Lake Salmonoids are stocked fish. A true Steelhead is hatched from an egg in some trib of the Pacific Ocean. Then they make their way to the salt. They traverse a life in the ocean. Dodging whales, sharks, sea lions and anything else big enough to eat them. They return as 3 to 5 year olds ( I think) to the same stream to spawn.

NY takes their trout program alittle more serious. A creel limit of 1 Steelhead trout 22". Not 3 15" that we have here in Pa. Another thing is, any fishing of "ditch water tribs" in NY is mostly frowned upon. If you want a chance at bigger fish, NY or Michigan is the place to go. If you have the means NW Pacific or Alaska. IMO

MyWar


Erie steelhead aren’t native, are they? Do any of them actually spawn in those tribs?

I thought true steelhead lived their adult life in salt water? The Great Lakes steelhead are stocked rainbows that get out into open water, correct?

No they are not native. Browns, steelhead, all salmon except for Atlantic are all considered landlocked around the Great Lakes and are all stocked. They are actually all saltwater fish that can live in freshwater. If any spawning happens very little percentage.
The only native trout are brookies and lake trout.
There are two maybe three different strains of steelhead that came from different states. Pretty much they are just rainbows that get big.