Below are the most commonly caught fish in Pentwater Lake in the FALL months:

1. coho salmon: “Oncorhynchus kisutch” features: gums white; head & back dusky green; long-bodies; black spots on back & top of tail fin; vivid read on sides; bottom black. habitat: large rivers length: to 38” weight: to 30 lbs. bait: vertical jigs, spoons, cutbait, streamers

2. chinook salmon: “oncorhynchus tshawytscha” features: gums black; gray head; long-bodies; tawny to reddish-brown; black spot on upper sides, dorsal fin and tail fins. habitat: large rivers length: to 55” weight: to 50 lbs. bait: vertical jigs, spoons, cutbait, streamers

3. rainbow trout: “oncorhynchus mykiss” (pictured above) features: white mouth, long body; metallic blue back; silver sides w/ pink band; flecked w/ pepper spots over entire body; white belly; square tail habitat: large rivers to small streams, lakes, below dams length: to 45” weight: to 40 lbs bait: minnows, worms, spinners, flies

4. steelhead: “oncorhynchus mykiss irideus” features: head & nape steel-colored; long slender body; lightly peppered w/ black flecks on top of head to tail; green to brown on top; silvery sides w/ rosy or pink tones habitat: cold clear lakes, streams, & rivers length: to 40” weight: to 42 lbs bait: dry flies, wet flies, spinners

see information below for additonal information.

Rainbow trout and steelhead are ray-finned fishes in the salmon family, and they are one of the top sport fish in North America. Rainbow trout and steelhead are the same species, but they have different lifestyles.

Steelhead are anadromous—meaning they spend part of their lives in the sea before going to rivers to breed—while rainbow trout spend their lives mostly or entirely in freshwater. Because of their different lifestyles, rainbow trout and steelhead are different in appearance, most noticeably in size and color. Rainbow trout derive their name from their beautiful, multi-hued coloration. Their bodies are blue, green, or yellowish, shading to silvery white on the underside, with a horizontal pink-red stripe running from the gills to the tail and black spots along their backs. Steelhead are generally more streamlined in shape and silvery or brassy in color as adults, earning them their name.

Adult rainbow trout and steelhead range in size. They can reach 45 inches in length, but are usually much smaller. They can weigh more than 50 pounds (22 kilograms), but a more typical weight is 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms). Because steelhead spend two to three years in freshwater followed by two to three years in the ocean, they are typically larger than rainbow trout, which live all of their lives in fresh or sometimes brackish water.

5. lake trout: “salvelinus namaycush” features: overall light-green to gray body w/ cream colored spots throughout; body lacks bright red or orange; deeply forked tail; lower fins have distinct white or orange edges habitat: deep lakes, deep pools of streams feeding lakes length: to 50” weight to 50 lbs bait: vertical jigs, spoons, crankbaits

6. brown trout: “salmo trutta” features: long slender body; mostly silvery to golden-brown w/ red & black spots; tail fin and lower fins w/out spots; tail fin squared habitat: lakes, small streams, large rivers length: to 36” weight: to 40 lbs. bait: wet flies, dry flies, salmon eggs, minnows

7. cisco: “coregonus artedi” features: silver with faint pink or purple tinge; dark back; light-colored tail; small mouth; long body but deeper than rainbow smelt habitat: shoal waters of the great lakes and nutrient-poor inland lakes with oxygen-rich depths that remain cool during the summer length: to 12” weight: 12 oz. bait: teardrop jigs, waxworms, wigglers

In the LATE FALL - 8. lake whitefish: “coregonus clupeaformis” features: jaw to front of eye; hump behind head; deep-bodied; slightly compressed; deep dark blue to brown on top; silvery sides; clear fins habitat: deep lakes, larger rivers length: to 30” weight: to 3 lbs bait: small spinners, wet flies, bits of worm