OK, I’m still learning my Lake Michigan fish. Tail and colors tells me top one is a Coho, colors and light spots says rainbow on lower fish, but tail has some fork to it?
How right or wrong am I?
image20.jpg
Both look like coho to me. Yummy.
Also look in the mouth black gums salmon. The WI dnr also has a card you can get that uses the anal fin to identify all salmon from trout
Mwal
Bows will have a square tail (no fork)
coho
Mouth is light with a white gum line
Spots only on upper lobe of tail
Spots on back
Wide caudal peduncle
Chinook
Mouth is dark with a black gum line
Spots on both lobes of tail
Large spots on back
Two tasty looking cohos there. Rainbows and cohos can be tough to tell apart, but like Randy said, tail is the dead give away. Forked is salmon, square is trout.
The leading edge of a coho’s anal fin is no taller than the fins’ base at the body. Fold the fin down and if the leading edge is the same approximate length its a coho. The king salmon’s anal fin’s leading edge length is much shorter than the fin’s length at the body. Fold the fin down and the base will be much longer.
Steelhead can have that greenish back. Loopers are super green on the back. But that fish on the right is a coho. A steelhead would have a white mouth and or gums. A steelhead and looper will have lots of black freckles across the back…the looper moreso.
Perfect…. thank you guys.
Knew the tail was different than the one I picked as a rainbow the other day. Little spots got me second guessing it though. I carry cheat sheets with me, and was second guessing those as well. Always glad to have the cohos in a cooler.
Got them fishing solo this am…. 5am-9:30, lost three at the net… I need more practice, guess I’ll have to keep going back for more.
Finally made it all morning without turning to sharp, or dropping too much speed to drag my lead core lines across the bottom, or if I did, the lines came up clean all the time. Little successful steps, one at a time. Another great morning.
Nice fish Chuck!
You got some good eats right there.
I may have missed a post but where are you fishing Chuck and what size boat?
Racine… 17′ Lund Fisherman. I have a Milwaukee season pass for the power plant launch and such in the spring and fall… and I understand the bite may be better out of Milwaukee right now – but this is fifteen minutes from home. Went this am, and may go a couple hours tonight since I already paid the launch fee… good excuse anyways.
Sounds cool. Wish I was close to Michigan or Superior!
i always learned that coho’s don’t have a forked tail at all. kings have a small fork.
Maybe this will help
http://www.great-lakes.org/fishid.html
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
