10-29-2013, 07:37 PM
Boy, I didn't see that one coming. [:p]
I honestly don't really think it is fair to compare Idaho salmon to Alaskan salmon, or even WA or OR salmon for that matter.
These Idaho salmon are a thing of their own, and every chinook ESU in Idaho looks slightly different from one another. Reel in a chinook in Riggins in May and sure, they often look like the Penguin in Batman Returns - like they just finished chewing up a Bic pen. But they aren't always like that.
Ever look in one's mouth during late summer on the South Fork Salmon, or Ellis or Challis or Stanley? Hardly any black at all. To me a fall boot ID salmon like that one, takes that 1-2 steps further.
I haven't ever caught one, but I have a hard time believing a coho could have been that black on the day that he caught that fish, without having a more deformed mouth. Lastly, I am starting to gather that that fish was caught in a stretch of the river that would be even LESS likely to hold coho than other parts. But hey, anything's possible.
I don't mean to argue, I would like to see a legitimate coho fishery in Idaho as much or more than anybody. With 2,000 of them over LG, they are no doubt in there. But based on all the ID chinook that I've seen, I don't see any reason not to call that fish a chinook.
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I honestly don't really think it is fair to compare Idaho salmon to Alaskan salmon, or even WA or OR salmon for that matter.
These Idaho salmon are a thing of their own, and every chinook ESU in Idaho looks slightly different from one another. Reel in a chinook in Riggins in May and sure, they often look like the Penguin in Batman Returns - like they just finished chewing up a Bic pen. But they aren't always like that.
Ever look in one's mouth during late summer on the South Fork Salmon, or Ellis or Challis or Stanley? Hardly any black at all. To me a fall boot ID salmon like that one, takes that 1-2 steps further.
I haven't ever caught one, but I have a hard time believing a coho could have been that black on the day that he caught that fish, without having a more deformed mouth. Lastly, I am starting to gather that that fish was caught in a stretch of the river that would be even LESS likely to hold coho than other parts. But hey, anything's possible.
I don't mean to argue, I would like to see a legitimate coho fishery in Idaho as much or more than anybody. With 2,000 of them over LG, they are no doubt in there. But based on all the ID chinook that I've seen, I don't see any reason not to call that fish a chinook.
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