Walk into any tackle shop in any America and you’ll probably see walls plastered with trout and salmon. Glossy photos of chrome-bright steelhead, deep-colored brown trout, and wide-eyed anglers gripping salmon like they’re king of the world. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve caught my fair share of salmon (salmonids) over the years. I’ve stood in icy rivers, drifted eggs, swung flies, and fought fish that made my drag sing. But after years on the water, I’ve come to an unpopular conclusion: Trout and salmon are the most overrated fish species to catch.
That statement usually gets me dirty looks, especially from fly guys and Great Lakes charter captains. But if we’re being honest, and most anglers should try to be, there are a lot of reasons why these fish enjoy a level of hype they simply don’t deserve. Most people in my region of new York would disagree, but this group of fish is truly the most overrated.
The Myth Of Skill
The biggest argument trout and salmon anglers make is that these fish are “hard to catch” and therefore superior. In reality, a huge percentage of trout and salmon fishing is heavily formulaic. Match the hatch and drift the right presentation in front of them. Do that in the right section of a river or lake and success becomes almost predictable.
Stocked trout are even worse. Many fisheries are little more than underwater feed lots. These fish are raised in concrete raceways, dumped into many different waterbodies, and caught days later by anglers congratulating themselves on their technical mastery. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying it, but let’s not pretend it’s the pinnacle of angling skill.
Salmon, especially during their spawning runs, are notorious for this. They stop feeding altogether. Most hookups are reaction strikes, aggression, or flat-out irritation. We get this a lot here in western New York during our annual salmon spawning season in the Lake Ontario and Lake Erie tributaries. Flossing, where an angler tries to get the bait into a fish’s mouth by drifting it, isn’t exactly skillful.
Crowds Kill The Experience
There’s a certain circus that surrounds trout and salmon fishing. When the run is on, solitude disappears. Rivers turn into shoulder-to-shoulder affairs with anglers lined up like they’re waiting for a concert to start. Combat fishing has become the norm, not the exception.
Lines cross, tempers flare, etiquette goes out the window, and suddenly the peaceful image of trout fishing is replaced by snagging accusations and shouting matches. There are few things less enjoyable than standing in cold water while someone casts over your line every 30 seconds. Meanwhile, entire lakes and rivers loaded with other fish species sit empty because they aren’t glamorous enough to the salmon purists.
Limited Variety and Creativity
Trout and salmon fishing tends to be narrow in scope. Certain baits, certain presentations, and certain times of the year. Step outside that box and success drops fast. There’s little room for experimentation compared to other species.
Contrast that with bass fishing, where you can flip, pitch, crank, drag, finesse, power fish, or downsize depending on conditions. Or walleye fishing, where structure, speed, and presentation changes can make or break a day. Multi-species anglers learn to adapt constantly. Trout and salmon anglers often repeat the same approach for decades. There’s comfort in tradition, but doing the same techniques day in and day out loses excitement.
Most anglers will say something along the lines of, “they fight harder than anything.” Sometimes, but not always. Yes, a hot steelhead or king salmon can rip line and make your heart skip a beat every so often. But plenty of trout fights boil down to head shakes and surface thrashing. Salmon, especially late-run fish, can feel more like hauling in a wet log with attitude than a true battle.
Compare that to a smallmouth bass bulldogging in current, a pike going berserk at boatside, or a largemouth digging for the bottom in deep water. Those fish fight to survive, not to complete a biological timer that’s already expired.
I spend a lot of the time lake trout fishing in the summer with my clients. Do they fight hard? More like a big wet rag than anything. It’s fun to a certain extent, but most definitely overrated.
Hype Over Reality
Salmonid species benefit more from marketing and management than merit. Entire agencies, tourism boards, and industries are built around them. They’re easy to sell as most anglers consider them beautiful, familiar, and photogenic.
But heavy stocking, strict regulations, and artificial enhancement blur the line between wild pursuit and curated experience. Many anglers chase the idea of trout and salmon more than the actual fishing itself. It’s about being part of the culture, not the challenge.
The biggest tragedy of trout and salmon hype is what it overshadows. There’s many other fish species that I personally think make trout and salmon look like training wheels. Smallmouth can outthink and outfight most species. Walleye demand precision and patience to put giants in the boat. Even carp, arguably one of the smartest freshwater fish in the world, get dismissed entirely.
These fish offer complexity, consistency, and variety, often without the crowds or pretension. When was the last time you saw any sort of crowd fishing for common carp? Probably never. Some fisheries during certain times of year become completely forgotten because the trout have come to town.
Reality Check
I am not saying that trout and salmon are bad fish to catch. They’re just not the holy grail they’re made out to be. They’ve been elevated by tradition, pretty colors, and nostalgia. Once you step away from the hype and fish with an open mind, you realize something important: The best fish to catch isn’t the one everyone talks about, it’s the one that makes you think, adapt, and earn every bite. For some anglers, trout fishing is their gig. I respect that, but also believe the hype isn’t justified.
