Steelhead Salmon Run Boss Guide: How to Beat

The Steelhead is a large Boss Salmonid in Splatoon 3 that shoots bombs that deal large AOE damage in Salmon Run Next Wave. Read on to learn the Steelhead's stats and difficulty level, as well as how to beat it and other strategies.

Steelhead Stats and Difficulty

Steelhead Strengths and Weaknesses

Steelhead
Difficulty
Strengths	・Full-body armor gives it immunity to inking.
Weakness	・Slow and easy to outrun. ・Can't hit players standing next to it.

Slow but has Exceptional Range

The Steelhead is one of the slower Boss Salmonids in the game and is very easy to outrun, but it can launch its ink bomb very far! The bomb itself can ink a wide area of turf and can heavily damage a player caught in its explosion.

While relatively harmless on its own, you should still defeat it once it spawns - especially during high tide and higher difficulty levels where multiple Steelhead can spawn!

Salmon Run Water Level Mechanics

Explosion Can Wipe Out Other Salmonids

Shooting Steelhead's bomb will instantly splat the Boss Salmonid, but the explosion can also wipe out Lesser Salmonids and even other Boss Salmonids caught in the explosion!

In later waves where multiple Boss Salmonids spawn, prioritize splatting the Steelhead so that you can take out multiple Boss Salmonids in one go!

How to Beat Steelhead and Strategies

How to Defeat Steelhead
Ink the Bomb on its Head
Head to High Ground When Attacking
Detonate the Bomb with a Special

Ink the Bomb on its Head

The Steelhead is completely immune to inking, so target the bomb on its head and shoot it while its inflating to instantly splat the Boss Salmonid!

Depending on your weapon, it may take several shots to splat the bomb. Coversely, a fully charged shot from a charger will instantly splat the bomb and Steelhead.

Head to High Ground When Attacking

The Steelhead's large size makes it tough to shoot its head when you're equipped with a short-range weapon. If your weapon can't reach the bomb, head to high ground such as on ramps and platforms to easily splat Steelhead's bomb!

Detonate the Bomb with a Special

Steelhead's fully body armor gives it immunity to specials, but it's bomb is still vulnerable to damage!

A well-placed shot from the Booyah Bomb, Inkjet, or the Crab Tank will instantly splat the bomb on top of Steelhead and defeat it!

How to Use Special Weapons

Splatoon 3 Related Guides

List of Boss Salmonids

List of Boss Salmonids

Steelhead	Steel Eel	Scrapper	Stinger
Maws	Drizzler	Flyfish	Flipper-Flopper
Fish Stick	Slammin' Lid	Big Shot

List of King Salmonids

Cohozuna