Is This A King Salmon?

[FishingFool]

Caught on Lake Sammamish. I know they got Kings running through there. Never caught 1 before, so not sure. Pretty sure it's a hatchery fish, since it's missing the little top fin.
Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and had to use my cell camera.

[FishingFool]

oh no, i forget images get cropped here if too big.

[oneshot]

looks like a coho.. white gums.. and its a CHROMER!!!

[G-Man]

I was going to say that it looks like you picked up either a jack or resident chinook. Then I downloaded the images so that they weren't cropped and judging by image #2, I''d say it was a silver.

[Bodofish]

No doubt Coho or Silver. They run to the hatchery too as well as Sockeye and they have a bunch of trout in the hatchery now too, not sure where they're going.......

[Gringo Pescador]

looks like a coho.. white gums.. and its a CHROMER!!!

+1

[chrome_chasin]

good looking chrome Ho you got there.

[FishingFool]

I released the fish. I was thinking about keeping it, since I know my mom would love a salmon. But then I got to thinking about legalities and not to mention, transportation..., lol.

Wasn't quite sure what I had. So if I catch another 1, it's fine to keep? I can keep any salmon, as long as it's not kokanee/sockeye?

[oneshot]

iIcarry regs on my boat at all times just for this occasion..

[G-Man]

You got it FF, give it the wood shampoo and make sure you record it on your catch record card.

[natetreat]

There is a very nice illustration for fish identification in the regulations. Where you can also tell what the rules are for the river you're fishing. Carry a copy with you at all times. If you don't like the paper regs, you can download the PDF version from WDFWs website and keep it on your smart phone. I have both, and usually a spare copy of the regs to hand out to the guys I see on the banks that throw trebles etc. It's very important to know your species as well, also pretyt easy once you get the hang of it. That's a coho salmon, also known as a silver. They will have white gums. Chinook have a big black mouth that looks dirty when they're bright, they have a deeper body and a lot of spots. In Lake Sammamish where you were fishing your kings are going to be dark, full on spawning colors. It's a bit late for them. You'll know the Chinook when you see it.

[FishingFool]

There is a very nice illustration for fish identification in the regulations. Where you can also tell what the rules are for the river you're fishing. Carry a copy with you at all times. If you don't like the paper regs, you can download the PDF version from WDFWs website and keep it on your smart phone. I have both, and usually a spare copy of the regs to hand out to the guys I see on the banks that throw trebles etc. It's very important to know your species as well, also pretyt easy once you get the hang of it. That's a coho salmon, also known as a silver. They will have white gums. Chinook have a big black mouth that looks dirty when they're bright, they have a deeper body and a lot of spots. In Lake Sammamish where you were fishing your kings are going to be dark, full on spawning colors. It's a bit late for them. You'll know the Chinook when you see it.

Now, how do you tell a jack from a hen?

[FishBaitThe2nd]

a jack coho is i believe its 22 inches and under is considered a jack.

[bugmasta]

A jack coho is under 20". That is an adult coho salmon.

[bugmasta]

Either a hen or a buck can be a jack, just have to be under 20". to tell the difference from a hen and buck, look at the snout. The buck will have an inward curve, like a hook. Gets more pronounced the longer they are in fresh water. Bucks also turn red in color, hens start to get dark. You will hear people start to call the bucks fire trucks later in the season when they turn bright red.

[bigskyx]

Not likely that fish will survive. It's important to know proper catch & release techniques. Here's one link I googled up in a second. There are many more.

http://www.wildtroutstreams.com/CatchRe ... elines.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[tnj8222]

Also hos lose scales very easy. See how its missing a bunch. Thats a ho, fo sho.