Rainbow Trout

Temescal Creek was once home to steelhead trout, a migratory fish that journeys to the ocean and then returns to its birth creek to spawn. The introduction of underground culverts and dam created barriers to the steelhead’s upstream migration, eventually reducing their numbers. Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are now stocked in Lake Temescal during the winter months for recreational fishing. These fish are not migratory, and can live in streams, lakes, and rivers. They feed on insects that drift along the water as well as worms and insect larvae on the bottoms of rivers and lakes.