It is the fly fishermen’s delight as it takes a fly readily, leaps often, and fights hard. The following are fishing methods used to catch this fish:
Coloration varies greatly with size, habitat and spawning periods. For example, stream dwellers and spawners usually show the darkest and most vivid colors and markings, while the steelhead is silvery when it returns from the sea. Though noted for the broad red or pink stripe along the middle of its sides, this stripe may not be present on all forms, particularly the sea-run steelhead and immature specimens in clear lakes. A similar stripe is sometimes present on the golden trout and the cutthroat trout, though the golden trout usually has about 10 prominent parr marks on the sides through adulthood (uncommon but not unheard of in adult rainbows). The cutthroat can usually be distinguished by the yellow, orange, or red streak in the skin fold on each side under the lower jaw. In some waters rainbow trout may faintly display this streak in the skin fold, but most do not.The rainbow and its closest relatives in the Pacific salmon group (cutthroat, golden, Mexican golden, Arizona native or Apache, and gila trout) are known as the black-spotted trouts because they are covered with numerous prominent black spots. These spots may cover the entire body or may be more abundant near the tail. The spots characteristically extend onto the dorsal fin, the adipose fin, and the tail. Those on the tail radiate outward in an even, orderly pattern. Spots may or may not be present on any of the lower fins and there are never any red spots such as occur on freshwater and spawning specimens of brown trout and Atlantic salmon.