[Steelie Trav]

I caught this little guy in the chehalis on New Years day. It was pretty beat up (looks like a net). At first I thought it was a coho but now I'm not sure.

Is it a coho??

 

[Steelie Trav]

D*mn picture wont work :evil:

Here is the link

http://www.bcfishingreports.com/gallery/album74/P1010028?full=1

 

[Rib]

Heh that's a tough one, can you remember what the tail looked like? With all the damage from what I also think was prob a net, it could also be an escapee from net pens??? I know I might be reaching here, but the scales also look a little hoaky....your guess is as good as mine steelie trav.... by the way, as per your post about winter steelhead a ways back, don't feel so bad, as I posted in the vedder river report, I hooked and lost 5 fish last week.... hahahah, didn't land even one of them....so we all get beaten by the might steel once in a while. Curious to know what this fish of yours is, I suspect it might be a small steelie, sometimes the spots are less obvious on some of the smaller ones....no fins appear to be clipped and Jan 1st is a bit late for coho, at least of that color. You released it?
Rib

 

[Steelie Trav]

Ya it was nicely released. It looked too beat up. It would be nice if it were a steel, then I wouldn't be a virgin anymore .

I remembered a post on the old site where I questioned the fish and got some pointers on IDing them. One of them was the length of the mouth where this one does not go past the eyes. It also fell for a little bit of cotton candy yarn on an 8# leader. Not much of a fight though seeing as how it was only like 2-3lbs.

 

[Rib]

I just looked through some old pics of mine, I have some of some smaller steelies out of the chedder, I also checked out some coho pics, in my shots all the coho tend to have a bit darker back with some blue to it, your fish doesn't seem to have that, I have also noticed that in almost every pick of mine and anyone elses I've seen, a beached steelie seems to always have their eyes looking down and forwards towards their nose whereas my coho shots don't seem to show that at all...I know that's reaching a bit, but it's a start... The mouth ie gums should be white if its a coho, and the tongue black, but coho also tend to have a darker color to the top of their heads, and usually a dark outline around the mouth..... I'm going to lean towards this being a steelie until some other observations are made...
If it was a steelie, must have gone through a rough time before you found her...
anyone else have an opinion on this one?
rib

 

[fishortho]

Ok my friend, I am going out on a limb a bit here, but that is not a coho, and I would lay some change on it being a late summer run fish that came into the system sometime early in the fall,spawned and has recovered nicely and was like heading for open water......She is very thin in the belly and your impression of the appearance when she was caught, would lead me to believe, this was not a typical small, early fish that often enter the smaller creeks and rivers in late Nov. Dec.........Either way, I think you have already lost your "steelhead virginity" .That's my 2 cents....Ortho

 

[Guest]

i'd say that is a coho, i can't be certain unless i seen the tail but i think it is one

 

[cohokid]

thats a coho, got one in december that looked like that

 

[cohokid]

sorry for posting twice but look at the head, look identical to a coho, and the dots on the back. a steelie would be probably alot chromer to if it was in janurary. also for some reason i have seen more then 1 coho that looked like that this year.

 

[pin_head]

looks like a chummer to me :lol:

 

[Steelie Trav]

Unfortunately I don't remeber the tail and don't have any pics of it either. It was hiding in a small pool way below the hatchery. It took me quite a while to find it. I guess we might never know??

 

[Spoonman]

Coho

 

[GENERAL-SHERMAN]

ilooks like a coho

 

[dinsdale piranha]

Definitely NOT a steelhead. Only the freshest steelhead are missing that rainbow-trout pink down the sides. The anal fin is too long and the "wrist" (right before the tail fin) is too slim. It looks like a coho to me.

Dinsdale

 

[barkleyjames]

Got one myself in the Chehalis on Jan6th. Definitely a COHO. Mine was about the same size---maybe 3lbs.

 

[Steelie Trav]

Thanks guys, I would have to say by a majority vote that this fish IS a Coho.

 

[Whistler]

Definately a Coho

 

[fishortho]

We won't likely get a definitive answer to ST's question, but I would like the coho voters to consider the following when viewing the picture.....That little doe has a blunt head, with what appears to be white gums. She also has a little bit of an overbite on the upper jaw, which is common in spawned steelhead or kelts. Her mouth does not appear to go past the eye, as most coho do, and the eyes are down. We cannot clearly see the spots on the dorsal fin and tail, nor the shape of the tail, which would be a dead giveaway..Squaretail or a V?.........

The comment on the ventral fin and thickness of the tail do not hold water with me, as a spawned steelhead can have a very large ventral fin and often has white tips on it.....as this fish does.....Most of the steelhead caught locally are in the 5-15 lb. range and they DO have a rather thick diameter, just in front of the tail. Howewer, when the steelhead is returning to the ocean, they are very thin in the belly and in the tail as the fat reserves are quite depleted and they will bite almost anything (they are not fussy), just hungry!

The colouring on steelhead is so variable, that I think it is not a valid tool for species identification......Because the steelhead is semeiparous species(they don't die after spawning) and may return 3 or 4 times to their home river, their coloring is very variable depending on where they are in their journey...Was this a hatchery or wild fish?.Either way, I am glad you released this little guy, cause she's either back in the ocean or made a nice snack for one of those magnificent bald eagles along the river............Ortho

 

[Whistler]

Ok my friend, I am going out on a limb a bit here, but that is not a coho, and I would lay some change on it being a late summer run fish that came into the system sometime early in the fall,spawned and has recovered nicely and was like heading for open water......

Gosh I could use some quick cash, then again I would feel a little guilty cause it is definately a Coho.

 

[Steelie Trav]

I found a pic of a steelie (Thanks Finder) to match up to. I will also post one of a coho. Both of similar looks.

Unknown fish caught by yours truly,

Steelhead caught by Fish Finder,

If you have a similar pic of a coho please post!

Thoughts