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Mega 'ho - or spring king? Apr 16, 2025 10:32 am #40739

  • BNature
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  When the fish hit the diver line on the port side, I was alerted by the sound of the reels clicker more than the dancing of the rod tip. By the time Tom got the rod out of the rod holder the fish had pulled out an impressive amount of line, especially since the cohos we'd caught on the same outfit didn't have enough power to pull any line against the drag. We both thought he'd connected with one of the spring king salmon that have been sprinkled into many people's fish coolers in the last week or so.  When it came to the surface off the stern, we still thought it was a king; in the net I was sure it was a king but once the hooks were dislodged from it's mouth and Tom hefted the fish, I wasn't so sure. Sure, it was big - on the digital scale it showed 10.75 pounds - but when Tom was hefting it for the photo, I noticed the anal fin was more an equilateral triangle shape, than one much longer where it attaches to the body than the distance from the base to the tip of the triangle. That said, coho, to me.  It's not just a hold the fish close to the camera shot, either. Thirty-three inces.  I looked at the tail, there were slight, small spots but no distinct spots. Cohos normally only have spots/splotches on the upper half of the tail. I looked at the mouth - both black and white (but I haven't looked at a lot of 10 pound coho mouths.) Pictures are attached. What do you guys think?  I'm 97.8% sure it's a coho, probably one that didn't mature, spawn and die last fall. It's not a "late spawner," just getting ready to make the run. I've caught a couple of those in the past in early spring, but they were showing their spawning colors. This one was new-dime bright. If not a coho, there's a tiny percent chance of it being a hybrid coho/king.  It happens in the wild, I suppose it could happen in the Great Lakes.   

One other clue:  It didn't smell like a king. They have a unique smell, at least to me.  

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Mega 'ho - or spring king? Apr 16, 2025 12:02 pm #40740

  • Tmik34
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I say Coho that didnt spawn. Adult cohos can have spots on top and bottom of tail. We usually see at least 1 a year at the coho cabin fever tournament. There was actually a 10lb and change Coho weighed during the tournament as well.
-Lady M- Sea Ray 290 Amberjack
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Mega 'ho - or spring king? Apr 16, 2025 12:15 pm #40741

  • StormJunkie
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I would guess it's a coho but I've heard rumors that there are hybrids in the lake. Not sure I've seen one.  We had an odd fish last Saturday. We boated a 14 lb. king that was spitting fully developed eggs on the deck when we netted it. The fish looked like an August fish; the eggs were fully developed and the skein loose when we cleaned it. We have photos of the eggs but I don't have it on my phone.  

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Mega 'ho - or spring king? Apr 17, 2025 5:09 am #40744

  • Boomer
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Looks just like the one we got sat... nice fish!

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