So today 3/13/21, I caught a Lake WA trout (rainbow) off a dock using power bait. 16.5 inches.

It was clipped.

Was it a hatchery steelhead smolt that found its way into Lake WA and decided to residualize there?

A late winter run or early summer run hatchery steelhead jack that found its way into Lake WA?

A holdover stocker trout from a Cast for Kids event from the summer (or whenever) that had a clipped fin? (although WDFW usually doesn't clip hatchery stocker trout).

A wild trout that somehow had a malformed/missing adipose?

03/13/2021

Have no answer BUT that would be a awesome "eat", cleaned fish, some green sticks to skew fish, fire with alder wood, some butter/salt/pepper.....don't over cook. you'd be good to go.

Oh nice catch

If it was clipped it would likely be a hatchery fish, anadromous type. So, best guess is a steelhead that came into the system from outside.

So are the cedar river Steelhead officially done/gone forever now ? It looks like a summer run jack ?

Interesting point? Is the Cedar R. Steelhead considered extinct? Did Herschel get them all? If so, why not try to rebuild it from any stock that will work? Hell, make into a hatchery factory for recreation? But our WDFW has there head up there ass to far to even consider such a thing! Such BS!

The Cedar has become a very good trout stream considering it is in western WA. It would be even better if it didn’t get the [Bleeeeep!] poached out of it.
Lots of dirtbags littering up the river and breaking into rigs down there while people are fishing.
Not sure if the steelhead population is done, but some of the native rainbows could become steelhead or produce steelhead for sure.
SF

Agreed ! Just like the Green, as soon as the regular season ends, (as if there is one...) the scum sucking Steelhead poaching season begins.

As far as the old Cedar winter Steelhead goes , my buddy that lives on that river claims there are still a few big spring winters that show up and dig up the gravel near their place...

Yeah, about that......

I had the fine pleasure of watching a toxicity study done on fish in that lake a few years back. I personally would never eat any fish out of that lake. Ever. But that's just me.

The big takeway was just don't eat a fish that exceeded 18" in length, and spent it's entire life in the lake.

That 16" fish is probably OK if it hasn't been in the lake too long.

Feed the toxic fish to the homeless.

Thanks for the replies. Just some additional info on this mystery fish:

- the meat was a very pale pink, not deep orange like a fresh fish out of the salt

- it had very small not-yet-developed egg sacks. Each skein was about the size of a fat toothpick

- so....with the Cedar hatchery not producing hatchery steelhead, and with the local hatchery winter run ending weeks/months ago, by process of elimination I guess the remaining possibilities are:

- hatchery smolt that found it's way into the lake and grew to 16 inches?
- early hatchery summer run jack (jill) that strayed into the lake?
- post-spawn downriver hatchery fish (small adult hen?) that wandered into the lake from some other system?
or .... ?

I wonder if it might not be part of some type of WDFW study, though I don’t know of any rainbows or steelhead being stocked in Lk WA or it’s systems.
We used to catch unclipped coho in MA 9 that had coded wire tags in them that were part of studies.
Maybe something like that with some clipped fish?????
SF

Not to take away from the topic which I think is a stray or unknown wdfw program, has anyone seen a huge fish the size of a car in the lake? I saw it once while driving. I saw a huge wake in the water, waves each going away from the fish on the surface. It was the size of a small truck. Windsurfer was out there heading the opposite way of the fish in a big hurry. Fish basically looked like a 2000lb+ bullhead. Not long and lean like a sturgeon, shorter at least 12ft but probably 10 ft around.