Trout Species of Washington

Washington stretches from the Olympic Peninsula rainforest to the high desert of the Methow and Tucannon, crossing the Cascade crest in between. Each region holds its own native salmonids: coastal cutthroat and bull trout west of the crest, redband rainbows and westslope cutthroat east of the crest, dolly varden on the OP, and the anadromous steelhead form of the rainbow on every river that reaches salt. That diversity makes species ID a real part of fishing here, especially when bull trout, dolly varden, and brook trout can all show up in the same drainages.

For a fly angler this means species ID matters more than in most states. Statewide rules turn on the difference between wild (intact adipose) and hatchery fish, and several species — bull trout, dolly varden in many waters, wild steelhead in many rivers, all steelhead in ESA-listed systems like the Methow — are catch-and-release no matter where you are.

Native — Yakima, Naches, Methow, Wenatchee, Skagit, Sauk, OP rivers, eastside drainages

The Columbia River Redband Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri) is the native rainbow form east of the Cascade crest. The Yakima River’s wild rainbows are this fish — wild redbands holding a deep red lateral stripe, a row of dusky purple parr marks visible into adulthood, and heavy black spotting. Redbands also occur in the Naches, Methow, Wenatchee, John Day, and across most east-side drainages. West of the Cascade crest, the same species is present but typically called “rainbow” rather than “redside” — Skagit, Sauk, Skykomish, and the OP rivers all hold native rainbow populations alongside their steelhead runs.

Native (anadromous) — Skagit, Sauk, Skykomish, Stillaguamish, Snoqualmie, Hoh, Bogachiel, Queets, Sol Duc, Methow, Wenatchee, Yakima, Tucannon

Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are the same species as rainbow trout — but the fish that go to sea, grow large in the ocean, and return to spawn. Washington’s steelhead fisheries are the centerpiece of West Coast fly fishing: the legendary Skagit and Sauk winter run that brought two-handed swing fishing to the lower 48, the Olympic Peninsula wild winter steelhead of the Hoh, Bogachiel, Queets, and Sol Duc, the Skykomish summer and winter runs east of Seattle, the ESA-listed Methow run, and the Yakima system summer steelhead.

Native — OP rivers, Puget Sound drainages, Cascade west-slope rivers

The Coastal Cutthroat (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii) is the native cutthroat subspecies of the Pacific slope. Washington holds them in two life-history forms: resident stream populations in Cascade and coastal headwaters, and the anadromous “sea-run” or “harvest trout” that drop to saltwater and return to coastal rivers in late summer and fall. Sea-run cutthroat fishing on rivers like the Skykomish, Snoqualmie, Stillaguamish, and the OP rivers (Hoh, Bogachiel, Queets, Sol Duc) is one of Washington’s signature shoulder-season fisheries.

Native — Eastern Washington: upper Spokane drainage, Pend Oreille tributaries, NE WA mountain streams

The Westslope Cutthroat (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi) is the native cutthroat subspecies of the upper Columbia drainage. In Washington, you find them in cold headwater streams in the northeast corner of the state — Pend Oreille tributaries, upper Spokane drainage tributaries, and isolated mountain streams. Smaller and less well-known than coastal cutthroat or the Yellowstone cutthroat of Idaho and Wyoming, but they are the native trout of the inland northeastern drainages.

Native — Skagit, Sauk, Methow, upper Wenatchee, OP drainages, NE WA

Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) are a native char — not a true trout — listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act since 1998. They are top-tier predators that feed heavily on smaller fish, persist only in the coldest, cleanest water, and serve as a biological indicator of intact native ecosystems. In Washington they occur in the Skagit and Sauk systems, the Methow and upper Wenatchee, several OP drainages, and select cold headwaters in northeast WA.

Native — Olympic Peninsula coastal drainages, lower Puget Sound rivers

Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) is a coastal char closely related to bull trout — historically lumped with bull trout under the same name and sometimes still confused with them in the field. In Washington, dolly varden occur in coastal drainages of the Olympic Peninsula and lower Puget Sound rivers, often overlapping with bull trout range. Dolly Varden have an anadromous life history (going to salt water and returning) that bull trout generally lack, and the two species can hybridize.

Non-native — Yakima, Spokane, Little Spokane, select east-side waters

Brown trout were introduced to Washington in the late 1800s and have established wild populations primarily in the Yakima, Spokane, and Little Spokane systems. The Yakima carries an under-the-radar wild brown population alongside its famous redbands; the Spokane urban fishery surprises visitors with the size and density of its browns; and the spring-fed Little Spokane holds technical, selective browns in clear water close to the city.

Non-native — Cascade alpine lakes, North Cascades high-country streams, isolated headwaters

Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are native char of eastern North America, introduced to Washington’s alpine lakes and select streams as part of the early 20th century stocking push. Most Washington brookie fishing is high-country alpine lake fishing — backpack-in waters in the North Cascades, Olympic National Park interior lakes, and scattered headwater streams. Most are small but bright; trophy brookies show up in select lakes.

Washington’s native salmonids face the standard mix of pressures — habitat loss, dams, hybridization with hatchery rainbows, competition from introduced browns and brookies, climate change, and the long-term conservation impact of dewatered tributaries. The state’s wild fish release rule (intact adipose = release), the federal protection of bull trout, and the ESA listing of Methow steelhead are the load-bearing conservation tools — all depend on accurate species ID by anglers in the field.

Washington is one of the few states where you can fish six native salmonids — redband rainbow, steelhead, coastal cutthroat, westslope cutthroat, bull trout, and dolly varden — in a single state in a single year. Skwala-eating Yakima redbands in March. Sauk wild winter steelhead in February. Skykomish sea-run cutthroat in October. Hoh wild winter steelhead in January. Bull trout following your streamer on the Skagit in July. Dolly varden in an OP estuary in September. Each fishery has its own techniques, its own seasons, and its own regulations — and that’s the appeal. Show up with a fly rod, the Catch Record Card, and the willingness to read the regs and check WDFW emergency rules, and Washington will hand you the deepest salmonid fishery in the lower 48.