Steelhead

The Steelheads are Boss Salmonids that appear in Salmon Run in Splatoon 2.

Description
Steelheads attack by throwing bombs that grow from the top of its head. The bombs resemble green inflatable bags. The bombs instantly splat players and the blast radius is wide-reaching compared to other bombs. Steelheads can be splatted by attacking their bombs to detonate them before they are launched. The bombs can only be harmed while on the Steelhead's head. The Steelhead moves very slowly, and will not start throwing bombs until close to a player.

Salmonid Field Guide
The following text is quoted from the Salmonid Field Guide.


 * Basic Information
 * An extraordinarily large specimen, it moves very slowly.
 * Its body is covered in hard, protective scales. Shooting it with ink has no effect.


 * Attack Behavior
 * Generates bombs from its head, which it throws at enemies. It can't throw these bombs very far.
 * The resulting explosion covers a large area.


 * Elimination
 * The only way to defeat the Steelhead is to shoot ink at the bomb on its head as it inflates.


 * Supporting Information
 * The company commander of a Salmonid troop.
 * Its powerful physique capable of supporting heavy armor and its ink-resistant scales are the result of arduous conditioning.
 * It forms the bomb on its head by collecting its own explosive saliva.

Tips

 * Due to its slow movement, Steelheads can be ignored for a while if there are higher-priority Boss Salmonids on the battlefield.
 * New bombs made by the Steelhead retain any damage that was done to previous bombs it launched.
 * It takes three to four seconds for Steelheads to throw a new bomb.
 * The bomb is very small and is located high up compared to other Boss Salmonid weak points.
 * Short-range weapons are not suited to attacking the Steelhead.
 * Chargers, splatlings, and sloshers are the most appropriate weapons for dealing with the Steelhead.
 * Chargers and splatlings can quickly and reliably splat the Steelhead from a distance.
 * Sloshers deal damage quickly and reliably enough to splat the Steelhead before it successfully launches the bomb.
 * It is safe to stay right next to the Steelhead, because it cannot directly attack players near it. Its only method of attack is the bomb that it throws.
 * Rollers deal variable damage based on distance from the target. Therefore, roller players should get close to the Steelhead and jump before every attack to deal the most damage.
 * Using the while the Steelhead has the bomb exposed can instantly splat the boss.
 * Upon being defeated, they explode, dealing damage to any Salmonids around them. Thus, it can help to target Steelheads first.
 * Despite what the employee manual says, Steelheads are actually vulnerable to two sources of direct damage; the and  can deal direct damage to a Steelhead without having to detonate the bomb on its head.
 * Note, however, that Steelheads have notably higher health than their bombs, and thus, this method may take slightly longer.

Trivia

 * Steelheads were the first Boss Salmonid to be revealed in the 2017-04-12 Nintendo Direct.
 * In reality, steelheads are a form of rainbow trout, a fish that is closely related to salmon and has a similar life cycle.
 * It is possible to splat the Steelhead on the exact frame that it throws its bomb. Doing so will make the bomb act and appear as if it had been successfully thrown, even though it exploded and splatted the Steelhead.