Salmon river 9/19-9/20

[Andrushkin33]

That's some sweet catches my friend.

Looking at the pictures the one all the way to the left (smallest one) seems to be a coho but what do I know.

Regardless waters are becoming alive and cant wait to get out again.

Fish on.

Andre

[Dave B.]

Originally Posted by Andrushkin33

That's some sweet catches my friend.

Looking at the pictures the one all the way to the left (smallest one) seems to be a coho but what do I know.

Regardless waters are becoming alive and cant wait to get out again.

Fish on.

Andre

Good call on that one Andre. Definitely a hen coho. The dark interior of the mouth is the easiest clue, trout, including steelies, are snow white inside their mouths. Also the coho have that signature 'overbite'. There are other more subtle differences but those 2 can give you a fast, easy ID.

[NickN]

Dave B. I have a question for you. I was under the impression the Altmar hatchery stopped clipping fins on fish a number of years ago and started using microchips. Do you know if they are still clipping adipose?

[Dave B.]

Originally Posted by NickN

Dave B. I have a question for you. I was under the impression the Altmar hatchery stopped clipping fins on fish a number of years ago and started using microchips. Do you know if they are still clipping adipose?

Actually I believe you're correct Nick. I'd forgotten they stopped the adipose clip after 2011 so any 2-3 y/o fish returning now would all have an intact adipose. Thanks for reminding me, it's gotten to the point where things begin to slip my mind more often.

[Tony Cav]

Wild Kings on the Salmon? Steelhead yes, Kings........not so sure.

One thing for sure, if your one the river after a bit of rain in the next couple of weeks the fishing should be hot!! Thinking seriously about the second week in October....depends on the weather and the tuna bite!!!! It's been many years.

Originally Posted by Tony Cav

Wild Kings on the Salmon? Steelhead yes, Kings........not so sure.

One thing for sure, if your one the river after a bit of rain in the next couple of weeks the fishing should be hot!! Thinking seriously about the second week in October....depends on the weather and the tuna bite!!!! It's been many years.

I think they've estimated 15% to 20% of the king salmon returning to the Salmon River are from natural reproduction. Doesn't surprise me one bit based on the amount of salmon on reds in the upper end of the river.

[Dave B.]

Originally Posted by dakota560

I think they've estimated 15% to 20% of the king salmon returning to the Salmon River are from natural reproduction. Doesn't surprise me one bit based on the amount of salmon on reds in the upper end of the river.

This is a few years old, I'm looking for some more recent data but this should help answer the question, from the NY DEC website...
" In 2012, preliminary results indicated that 56% of the Chinook salmon harvested in New York waters of Lake Ontario were wild. The proportion of wild Chinook salmon observed in most New York tributaries varied by fish age but was generally low (i.e., 5-20%), except in the Salmon River, where approximately 70% of angler-caught Chinook salmon were wild."

Found some newer data...

" Percentages of wild Chinook salmon in Lake Ontario varied by year class and age and
among regions from 2009-2014, but overall, wild Chinook were an important
component of the Lake Ontario fishery averaging 47% of the age 2 and 3 lake harvest."