Sammamish - kokanee vs trout identification

[pnutbutterpirate]

Hi everyone,

I want to get started fishing Lake Sammamish but want to make sure I have my kokanee identification accurate so I don't retain any fish I'm not supposed to. I looked at WDFW publications but still would benefit from a little assistance.

It seems like the salmonid species I'm likely to encounter there are kokanee salmon and cutthroat trout. When the kokanee are in their non-spawning phase, they look a lot like trout. I know that cutthroat don't always have the classic red/orange slash under their jaw visible, which complicates things a bit. So, is the best way to distinguish between the two to look for spots on the tail? Tail spots = cutthroat; no tail spots = kokanee?

Side note - what's up with mouth color? The trout would be white, right? But if the mouth were black and the fish had tail spots, would that mean I somehow hooked a chinook?

Thanks for the help.

[G-Man]

You are correct with your observation regarding mouth color. White mouth/gums is a trout. Kokanee and all other salmon will have grey or black in their mouths and/or on their gums. Chinook will even have the black color spill out onto their "lips/chin". The other easy ways to tell a trout from a kokanee/immature sockeye is tail/body spotting and teeth on the tongue. Cutthroat trout are usually well spotted on their bodies and tails, have wicked sharp teeth including some on their tongue and even in the back of their throat where kokanee have minimal, if any spotting and less of an arsenal and no teeth on the tongue. The hard one for some is differentiating the young coho from the trout. The coho can have light mouth coloring and they also have teeth on their tongues. The trout can have light body coloring and faint spotting so you really need to make sure you have a positive ID before you bonk your fish. Have a look at some of the pictures from reports coming out of Lake Roosevelt. There are some with kokanee and trout side by side. You'll see the difference in color, scale size, spotting, and shape of the mouth. Granted they are rainbows, but if you can tell a rainbow from a koke, you will have no problems spotting the cutts.

[Mike Carey]

Also forked tail salmonoid, straight edge of tail, trout.

Tasty is kokanee
Not so tasty is trout.

[JoshH]

Also forked tail salmonoid, straight edge of tail, trout.

Tasty is kokanee
Not so tasty is trout.

Lies, Lies, and more lies! You just need to get the right trout! Kokanee is tasty though.

[sebastes]

This sign posted at the Lake Sammamish Boat Launch should help with the kokanee/cut ID.

Dave
https://flic.kr/p/VeREvN