Coho confusion?

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Giuga10

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2012
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404
Location
Markham
About 5 or so days ago I caught my first Coho Salmon while fishing for Chinooks. This creek is not known to have Cohos at all so I was very shocked when I pulled it on shore, added to the fact that it didn't have it's spawning colors, it was still a nice shiny silver. Was this Coho stalking the Chinooks to feed off their eggs? The Coho was about 10-15 lbs so I assumed that it was an adult and was coming to spawn but it was the only Coho I had ever seen or heard of coming from this creek.

Whats up with this?

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I know it's a Coho because it had a black mouth with white gums.
 
Nice coho. From the looks of it, it's still developing its spawning colors.
 
They do spawn with the Chinook. But I find they have their own run much like steelhead. A nice run came through some spots I fish last week and I've been catching them daily. The one in the pic looks like it's early run. I've caught chrome ones with dark black backs/fins and the almost full black with the pink/red colour. Amongst the boots is treasure coho. The roe is amazing
 
Coho's will run in almost every major Lake Ontario Trib. Some Tribs have a lot more than others.
 
Looks like a giant bow you caught there, anyone else think so?

Either way, nice fish!
 
salmotrutta said:
Looks like a giant bow you caught there, anyone else think so?

Either way, nice fish!
Yup that's what I first though, but its hard to tell from that pic. A closer shot of the tail would confirm it either way....
 
salmotrutta said:
Looks like a giant bow you caught there, anyone else think so?

Either way, nice fish!
Looks like a giant bow to me too
 
Coho salmon can sometimes look a lot like rainbow trout. This would be one of those cases.
 
Nice coho. Fish are known to make false runs into river systems. They go in, take a look-see and head back into the lake and make their way into another system or the same one some time later.
 
they're seems to be a ton of coho this year, i was at the Credit egg collection today and once you pick up a coho or 20 it becomes clear. don't go by gum color as coho, rainbow, brown's and some chinook will have white comes which confuses people. if you want to tell between a coho and chinook grab it by its tail. The chinook tale is firm and will be easy to hold onto almost like a handle, the coho tail is smaller in proportion to the fish, much softer in feeling and will almost slip out of your hands no mater how hard you grab it. the coho tail will also be spotted just slightly on the top where the chinook will have spots all over its tail.

telling the difference between a coho and a rainbow can be difficult, a fresh female coho will almost make your swear its a rainbow but their are still some ways to tell. the coho will be dark on the top but have a green tinge to it, where a rainbows will be darker and not much green and extend right to the tip of the nose. also a female coho will have a slight mouth disfiguration (kipe) and the male's mouth will be a huge hook. also a rainbow's pink coloration is more of a gloss, where the coho is like a cotton candy pink.
 
steelhead101 said:
they're seems to be a ton of coho this year, i was at the Credit egg collection today and once you pick up a coho or 20 it becomes clear. don't go by gum color as coho, rainbow, brown's and some chinook will have white comes which confuses people. if you want to tell between a coho and chinook grab it by its tail. The chinook tale is firm and will be easy to hold onto almost like a handle, the coho tail is smaller in proportion to the fish, much softer in feeling and will almost slip out of your hands no mater how hard you grab it. the coho tail will also be spotted just slightly on the top where the chinook will have spots all over its tail.

telling the difference between a coho and a rainbow can be difficult, a fresh female coho will almost make your swear its a rainbow but their are still some ways to tell. the coho will be dark on the top but have a green tinge to it, where a rainbows will be darker and not much green and extend right to the tip of the nose. also a female coho will have a slight mouth disfiguration (kipe) and the male's mouth will be a huge hook. also a rainbow's pink coloration is more of a gloss, where the coho is like a cotton candy pink.
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