This is the first official documentation of steelhead in Topanga Creek since a CA Dept. of Fish and Game survey in 1980. Listed last August as an endangered species, steelhead were thought to be found only north of Malibu Creek. Their range formerly extended all the way south to Baja, but due to impacts of human development, they have not been found for years. An incredibly adaptable fish, steelhead trout are the anadromous version of rainbow trout. In fact, they are almost interchangeable in looks and behavior.
Adults wait for the roiling floods to charge down the creek.
They fight their way upstream in search of suitable spawning habitat. Hundreds of eggs are laid in coarse gravel and then most adults return to the ocean. The smolts hatch out and grow in the protected areas of the creek for 1-2 years. No one is really sure of the timing for small streams like Topanga. They primarily feed on small aquatic insects.