Skamania markings

[Linescreamer]

Good time to refresh my memory. How do we differentiate the Skamania vs the winter run steelie?

I answered my own question with a search and by reading prior posts on this subject. Another chapter for your book Ditch!

[Linescreamer]

I did look at the resources page and saw that we don't have color pics of Skamania, Browns and Atlantics. It would be most helpful; especially for a novice to see pics of these fish both dime bright and colored up. I'll bet a few more fish might be released if more fisherman could tell the difference. Hell, I've been looking at these fish for 25 years and still get confused :) . Lil' maybe a link to a picture of an SC brother holding a fish would help.

[Lil Salmon]

Thanks Ahimon!:) ... I will have to look for images to update that page with... Are there any other fish we would like to add to the identification page?

[goat ball]

Hey Lil,

How about brown trout, atlantic salmon, and lake trout?

Goat

[Craydaddy]

Good time to refresh my memory. How do we differentiate the Skamania vs the winter run steelie?

I answered my own question with a search and by reading prior posts on this subject. Another chapter for your book Ditch!

Skamies are a little more slender than a Chambers creek. Really the only way to identify the is the fin clippings. I think it is right peck fin is a Skamania. Also if you catch a Steelhead in July I would bet it is a Skamania! :D

[flyguy]

Only SR stocked Skamies have Left Pec clips-all others are unmarked. Aside from that you will not be able to distinguish with certainty. Same fish as a Chambers, only they begin entering the river's in Summer. Still winter/spring spawners.

FWIW: the only steelhead (summer and winter) that are clipped are SR stocked fish or fish cohorts being studied, like the 20,000 stocked at the Bar this spring to check survival. Fin-clips are recorded and available each year in the DEC LO Annual Report (which I hear is now on-line).

For more info on Skamanias, here's an article I did last year: http://www.flyguysoutfitting.com/skamie.html

Also: look here for a good species ID:

http://www.dnr.cornell.edu/ext/fish/salmon/speciesdescriptions.htm

The best way to tell a BT from an AS is to look at the upper mandible (jaw). If the hinge extends well beyond the rear of the eye it is a BT. If it does not (rear edge or less), it's an AS. You can look at the tongue and count rows of teeth but that seems to be less accurate and more difficult. Spotting and the like are far less accurate means.

Coho/Chinook hybrids can only be 100% determined by looking at the Pyloric Ceca (folds) in the stomach.

LT--the only one in LO with light spots on a dark background. This is the common coloration of the Char family.

[Craydaddy]

Thanks man! I knew it was the pec fin but was not sure what side.

Also Flyguy doesn't an atlantic have a forked tail and the rest do not?

[flyguy]

It's usually more forked than a BT but not by that much. Certainly not as dramatic as a LT. A forked tail is distinct in juveniles..but notsomuch in adults.

[Fish-N-Chip]

How about adding Pink Salmon? There aren't many around, but I'm sure there are a few left.

~Chip

[champlain fisher]

It's usually more forked than a BT but not by that much. Certainly not as dramatic as a LT. A forked tail is distinct in juveniles..but notsomuch in adults.
We have atlantics(landlock) in Lake Champlain and when they are in to spawn they do color up like a brown somewhat. They are not that bronze color like a brownie, more of a dark grey. Also the tails of the AS is forked when compared to a brown which has a square tail. No spots on the AS tail. The AS does get a few red spots on the flank from the dorsal fin back but there will be no blue ring around the red spot as happens with the brown. Also the look of the face is different, a salmon looks alot meaner. I have caught atlantics up to 8.5 lbs on these tribs and all have had forked tails. Also the spots on a brown tend to be round and large where as the AS has spots are shaped more like an x. Also the spots on the AS do not go below the lateral line where as a brown will have spots over the whole flank. Just some things I have noticed between the two over the years.

[Craydaddy]

Hey CF can you post any of the pics of these fish you caught in the different color phases??

[the happy salmon]

Lil' maybe a link to a picture of an SC brother holding a fish would help.Thats a great idea ahimon! :cool:

[champlain fisher]

Hey CF can you post any of the pics of these fish you caught in the different color phases??
I don't have a digital camera so the only photos I have would have to be scanned and I don't have that equipment either. I will look through my pics and see if I have some that may be good for that. Perhaps you or lil could do it if I send them to you. May end up out there for the bake and I will bring some pics of the AS that I have, just not sure if they are good enough for scanning- need someone with better knowledge of computers than myself.

[Craydaddy]

Bring them up or send them. :D

[Linescreamer]

Excellent site and info guy!! I gotta get some time to read that stuff.......I'm gonna print it out and keep it in my wader bag :) !

[Grizzly Chicken]

I'm with ahimon, Fly Guy has an awesome website, MUST READ!!!
Thanks Fly Guy for sharing the your hard earned knowledge !! :D

[goat ball]

I wish I had access to this much info when I started back in the early 80's. Flyguy, or chrome as some call you, Nice site.:)