Mystery Salmon - Coho or Spring

Peahead perhaps is you read all his posts you'd see he was fishing in Quatsino and yes Wild Coho are allowed. It's getting to the point where people are going to stop posting any reports for fear of all the righteous do gooders.
 
I agree with seawolf that we should not jump all over people for asking questions or having opinions on here BUT! There is no excuse for not being able to identify your catch. Regardless of where the fish was caught a fisherman should be able to identify his catch prior to boating it so as to facillitate a proper release if necessary. Without all the facts a person can only assume and as is usually the case on here people always assume someone is doing somthing wrong and jump all over them so i am not passing judgement on this situation. All I have to say is that I have seen many "coho" on the cleaning tables that were actually sockeye and so on and so forth which is frustrating, and every time you tell someone they have done somthing incorrect they go on the defensive. Learn your fish ID, there are pictures in the regs and if you can't ID it DON'T KILL IT!!
 
Here is HeavyC's fishing report.
"Went for two days out of coal Harbour tues/weds. Limit on coho at Mcallister islet and 2 spring"

Two guys fishing two days in Quatsino are allowed 8 Coho, Hatchery or Wild and 4 Springs, 2 of which may be over 77 cm's

His picture has 9 fish, the one he is holding is a Spring by committee, and the top one on the table looks like the other.

If you are fishing where you can keep Springs and Coho, it does'nt matter what the first fish of the day is. Bonk it because you can do nothing illegal if your within the size restrictions, you can keep both. The only place it comes into play is for you daily and possession limit. Did he exceed his limit of Coho or Springs. No he did not.

Ever wonder why fishing seems to be dying. You need $40,000 of equipment. You need to be a lawyer to read all the regs. You have to be an expert in fish ID and guesstimating the size. If you make an honest mistake, the hordes will massacre you on the internet. There are people who may be catching a Coho or Salmon for the first time and do not have everyone else's 40 years of experience. Better to ask a question and not make the same mistake twice. I'm calling total BS to anyone to claims to be able to ID and guesstimate size 100% of the time, in all ocean conditions.
 
I have always been in support of anglers having to complete a course like hunters do. This thread is another example as to why. I commend the poster for posting the question for with the current licensing system we have, the choice to post the question is the fastest and best way to learn. The system is flawed. IMO
 
About 10 years ago I was walking past the cleaning table At the Nook. The sun glinting off a fish caught my eye...OOOPS! "how are ya doing? I asked the guy that was cleaning a couple of fish. "Just GREAT-- got two nice springs" "Well have a closer look at them" "What do you mean?" I suggested he look at the gums again... he grabbed the smaller of the two fish, about 18lbs, looked down its face and let out a groan..... "Is this one a coho??? Yup!. It was one of those coho that have a few spots on the tail..

The guys was really upset about his mistake. But he asked what I thought he should do... Well, the options were feed the crabs, or accept the fact that there was a screw- up and dont try to wiggle out of it if there was a road block. It was an honest mistake.. how many guys ever see a 18lb coho?

He decide to run with it because he had already killed the fish. I had no problem with that as he would not be making that mistake again. As Seawolf ses-- anyone can make a mistake , even commercials, which I found out in spades when I worked as a DFO contract onboard observer with the seine, gillnet and troll fleet in Johnstone Strait
 
I killed a cazabon the first time i caught one and i had no clue what it was, but it was way to ugly and scary looking not to kill it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Peahead said:
Ok, Heavyc this post has me a bit shocked and quite frankly a little bit frustrated . I was gonna leave this alone but just had to speak up - thats partly what this forum is for too so here it goes - will try to go lightly here but you have hit a 'cord' in me with this post .

A pet peve of mine is those that cannot tell what fish they are bonking when you should know before you even land it ! This particular fish should be obvious to you what it is - especially before you bonked it ! If you cannot tell that this is a Spring in like a 1/2 second peek ( The close ups shots , even left as the tiny thumbnails, its obvious) You should not be bonking chinook or coho or ? until you know your ID better. This is so obviously a chinook - IMHO not even close to being confusing . Black mouth yes but specifically right where the teeth ( base) come out of gums is black. That tail/spots is so obviously chinook its rediculous.

- no question whatsoever for me and I had hope most everyone else would be able to say the same thing. The Creel guy should not be working that job if he could not ID that fish. Coho and Chinook look completely different ( sometimes late season a chinook can have lighter gums and be lacking in spots but still easy to tell)
Also note -If the wide photo of holding the fish is the same chinook as the close ups - it has an adipose. ......well you know where I am going with this ( if you thought it might be a coho, were wild coho retainable where you were fishing ???? )
Click to expand...

No need to jump down my throat there son. I thought we're all friends here. My initial reaction was it was a spring, as it bit and fought like one. After we continued fishing then I got doubtful. And when the creel survey person also said it was a coho it had me a bit concerned about my identifying skills. As you may have seen from some of the other replies I was fishing in an area where you are allowed wild & hatch coho and springs. Take it easy, its just the internet.
 
the only ones i ever had a prob with in early season commercial trollng (late june/july ) was chums and coho as we would get into a school of chums once in a while also used to get a few steelhead but they were easy to spot -- used to get lots of steel in the gill net :(
 
Last edited by a moderator:
lordofthesprings said:
the only ones i ever had a prob with in early season commercial trollng (late june/july ) was chums and coho as we would get into a school of chums once in a while also used to get a few steelhead but they were easy to spot -- used to get lots of steel in the gill net
Click to expand...

Some of those chums were a B to figure out from a sockeye. The scale shape was about the only way
 
lordofthesprings said:
the only ones i ever had a prob with in early season commercial trollng (late june/july ) was chums and coho as we would get into a school of chums once in a while also used to get a few steelhead but they were easy to spot -- used to get lots of steel in the gill net
Click to expand...

Wierd i thought nets had no effects on steelhead and somehow they just missed all the nets. hahaha
 
SeaWolf said:
Peahead perhaps is you read all his posts you'd see he was fishing in Quatsino and yes Wild Coho are allowed. It's getting to the point where people are going to stop posting any reports for fear of all the righteous do gooders.
Click to expand...

There was no location of catch mentioned in this thread and so that is why I did not claim it was taken in an area closed to wild Coho. I queried the location here and got my answer quickly . I would not have known it was anywhere on the forum anyway.
The question about fish ID was asked at the beginning of this thread and that question exposed to me ( and I hope others!)to a flaw in fish ID technique and experience. Nothing at all personally against anybody here but you have to take fish ID seriously. Yes, sometimes it can be a bit difficult depending on conditions, eye site etc etc etc., however the example in this thread I feel is very clear and obvious.
I do hope that my response doesn't scare SeaWolf or HeavyC or other members from asking questions ( as SeaWolf suggests could happen) . It is a serious issue I feel but I don't intend for this to be a personal attack at all, just a strong point of view and something that I feel is important to emphasize. I believe SeaWolf commented that I should not have posted my opinion to this to the question in this thread because people might stop posting do to fear their post might be criticized . Considering Sea Wolf''s response to me, perhaps there is a tiny bit of a contradiction in there, maybe ? We are all allowed our opinions on here as long as they stay respectable.
I feel very stongly about proper fish ID. It doesn't matter to me if it was a legal fish bonked, if the person bonking didn't know what it was, thats the problem. The point is that knowing fish ID is the responsability of the fisher no matter what , period. Bonking first and asking questions later is wrong (except if its not a fish you are bonking - lol- but seriously its wrong) . If an angler thinks a fish is a coho and its actually a Spring then does he retain over his limit in Springs (thinking one was a coho ?) Is the spring he thought was a coho marked on his license? YOU MUST KNOW YOUR FISH ID OR YOU SHOULD NOT BE retaining and BONKING FISH . The good fishers I know take great pride in knowing fish ID. And its our responsibility and this is taken way to lightly.

I will point this fish ID issue out every time someone asks me what type of fish they have just killed and is lying on the cleaning table - its just plain inexcusable to not know ID and bonk fish. Yes, even if it is a legal kill ( that would be legal by fluke, not knowledge)

I do understand that it can happen and it can be a honest mistake that might happen to anyone in certain situations - the reason I am empahasizing this so much is that there are fishers who don't care or are perhaps just too lazy to learn ID - and its more of a problem out there than you might think. I don't think most members here would have dificulty but the thread here got my attention for that reason.


Cheers,
Greg
 
Heavyc said:
No need to jump down my throat there son. I thought we're all friends here. My initial reaction was it was a spring, as it bit and fought like one. After we continued fishing then I got doubtful. And when the creel survey person also said it was a coho it had me a bit concerned about my identifying skills. As you may have seen from some of the other replies I was fishing in an area where you are allowed wild & hatch coho and springs. Take it easy, its just the internet.
Click to expand...

No problem at all with you buddy - sorry didn't mean to drag you over the coals over this topic. Fish ID obviously a big one for me. And the creel guy did steer you wrong so thats not your fault for sure - nothing personal at all against you . Its fish ID I take seriously, not what you personally did or didn't do. I did something wrong here, I am allowed my opinion however I think I should have written this elsewhere in another thread so as that I could avoid you being part of it. You kinda became the "example" automatically. I realize thats not fair to you. My appologies for using your question thread for this topic and I should probabably have started my own thread on this topic therefore cutting the connection to you and your thead start here.

my appologies for any hassle this caused you
greg
 
FWIW-I have fished with both Peahead and Seawolf-they are great Guys & excellent fishermen.

As to the mythical 18# Coho the only one I ever caught was aboard Seawolf's boat up in Milbanke-I thought it was a Spring but he correctly ID'ed it as a Coho.
 
Thanks Carl, FWIW HeavyC is a co-worker and I started in on this thread harassing him because we have had many a dscussion about how ludicrous the groupon .org deal was. At least I rate for 3 SeaWolf's vs my one 1 Peahead mention, so I must have struck a chord. It seems everytime someone posts a picture or report on here, (go visit the River's Inlet thread) that someone has to jump on them and get all self-righteous. As Carl and HeavyC know I play by the rules and do not need to drag home my limits. There are a lot of greedy people out there that can play "by the rules" and haul a lot more salmon home than a guy making a mistake ID'ng one fish. Who needs all the Springs on a Annual Liscence?

All that said, the future of Sport Fishing is our kids, and hopefully theirs. It is getting out of the means of the average guy. We should be encouraging the next generation to get invovled and not throwing a million obstacles in their way of enjoying a past-time we grew up with (without all the rules).

As for Birdnest's suggestion for a course, I offer that there are enough obstacles already in place. How does a kid get his first fish, by taking course really? Not every kid has a dad with a $40,000Boat. Put it out of reach of the regular guy, and pretty soon it's going to be 100% TAC to the elite few. The internet is unregulated, perhaps people should have to take a course before they start posting on here, jumping to conclusions, yada yada.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
AGREE with you seawolf this forum has begun to be tired i even get hate e-mails for posting pics of my clients catch wth has this forum become go out a nd fish and enjoy seems to be a lot of ARMCHAIR fisherman who like to stir the pot on here now.
but back to the original question spring for sure....


Good luck Wolf
 
Thanks Carl.

SW and Wolf: yes it would be so nice if everyone agreed with everything done or said on here and there were no differing opinions or debates of any kind - or would it ? I was probably too hard on HeavyC specifically and recognize that however I stand strong on this topic.

Quote from Fish Nutz above

".....every time you tell someone they have done somthing incorrect they go on the defensive. Learn your fish ID, there are pictures in the regs and if you can't ID it DON'T KILL IT!! "

Yep.
 
100% a spring, doesn't look like a coho at all? Pretty sad that a creel survey worker doesn't know how to identify a spring
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Newf
Coho or Chinook??
Replies
46
Views
5K
brutus
brutus
Tsquared
Light gear for trolling for coho
Replies
19
Views
1K
lemmy
lemmy
PEETZcanada
Imagine 100 years of rowboat TYEE fishing...
Replies
3
Views
1K
Stizzla
Stizzla
K
The Mystery Spoon......
Replies
37
Views
6K
Dogbreath
Dogbreath
Steplift
Do you fight or do you play the fish?
Replies
32
Views
3K
sir-vivor
sir-vivor
Back
Top