Since my article on the 38.2-pound (estimated) rainbow trout caught and released in the Thermalito Diversion Pool was published last week, I have received some comments via email and social media stating that the fish looked like a steelhead, not a resident rainbow trout.

My response is that size and appearance of a fish do not determine whether it is considered a rainbow trout or a steelhead. It’s where it was caught that matters, as far as California state gamefish records and fishing regulations are considered.

More: Gigantic rainbow trout caught in Thermalito Diversion Pool below Oroville Dam

The steelhead and rainbow trout are different forms of the same species, Oncorhynchus mykiss. Whereas the steelhead migrates to saltwater and returns to freshwater tributaries to spawn, rainbow trout do not leave freshwater to migrate to the ocean.

Steelhead trout are defined by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) as any rainbow trout greater than 16 inches in length caught in anadromous waters. All wild steelhead must be released unharmed.

California has three separate records for rainbow trout, depending upon the fish’s origin and location. The huge rainbow caught by Josh Giordano would have been eligible for submission for state inland rainbow trout record if he had weighed it on a certified scale and had a CDFW biologist examine it, but he decided to release it.

It would be considered an inland rainbow trout by the CDFW because the fish was caught above two impassable barriers, the Thermalito Diversion and the Feather River Fish Barrier Dam.

Frank Palmer of Orangevale set the inland rainbow trout record of 27 pounds, measuring 37.5 inches long by 26 inches in girth, while fishing a floating Rapala in Lake Natoma on Oct. 2, 2005.

The second rainbow record category is for domestic rainbow trout. James Herrold of Cohasset set this record of 28 pounds, 5 ounces, while fishing at a private lake in Butte County on Jan. 3, 2006. That fish measured 33.5 inches in length and 26.5 inches in girth.

The third category, the steelhead rainbow trout (anadromous) record, is 27 pounds, 4 ounces, set on Dec. 22, 1976. Robert Halley of Crescent City caught this record fish in the Smith River in Del Norte County on Dec. 22, 1976, while fishing with a lure.

Giordano’s giant fish grew so big because of the abundance of pond smelt and other forage found in the cold, clear waters of the diversion pool. The CDFW regulates this fishery as an inland water that is part of the Lake Oroville State Recreation Area.

The Thermalito Diversion Dam and Pool are located on the Feather River, about 4½ miles downstream from Oroville Dam. The dam diverts water in Thermalito Power Canal for power generation at Thermalito Pumping Generating Plant and creates a tailwater pool for Hyatt Powerplant. The reservoir also acts as a forebay when Hyatt Powerplant is pumping water back into Lake Oroville.

For more information about state gamefish records and fishing regulations, visit https://wildlife.ca.gov.

Crab/rockfish combos: The sportfishing fleet is again able to use crab pots to harvest crabs outside of the Golden Gate, as announced last week by the CDFW. Limits of crabs and rockfish are the reward for anglers when the boats are able to get out.

On Saturday, the Happy Hooker reported “limits of commercial grade crab and limits of rockfish for everybody that was able to fish today.” The 21 anglers landed 170 rockfish and 210 Dungeness crabs that day. Remember that rockfish season closes on Dec. 31. Information: (510) 223-5388.

West Delta sturgeon: Anglers in search of white sturgeon will have to work hard for them. “The fish are still spread out,” said Zack Medinas of Gatecrasher Fishing Adventures. “There are no real concentrations at this time.”

On Saturday, the five anglers aboard his boat hooked three and landed two sturgeon measuring 60 and 52 inches while using eel and salmon roe at Buoy No. 34 and Suisun Cut, Medinas said. Information: (925) 497-7171.

Contact Record Correspondent Dan Bacher at danielbacher53@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Why the 38.2 pound trout caught near Oroville Dam was a rainbow