Rezzies

[Theron]

I am fairly new to the area and Salmon fishing. I keep seeing people post about catching rezzies. How do you determine if it is a rezzie or a wild or a factory salmon?

 

[Irafly]

Rezzies is a term used to describe coho in the Puget Sound that did not migrat out into the Ocean. As such, they tend to be smaller. Genetically they are the same fish.
Rezzie/Coho/Silver are all the same thing… genetically

 

[NRC]

Dark red flesh is one of the hallmarks, as opposed to more orange-ish flesh in ocean coho.

 

[Divad]

And a bunch of hatchery (factory) salmon are unclipped from tribal hatcheries making you think they’re wild. Which usually makes them untouchable for rec fisherman but indifferent in a gillnet.

Should be a law all hatchery fish get clipped tribal or not.

 

[Bambooflyguy]

Dark red flesh is one of the hallmarks, as opposed to more orange-ish flesh in ocean coho.

If this is true…..C&R (catch & refrigerate) would be the way to tell?? I just let them all go, not that I’ve caught many lately.

 

[Wetswinger]

I collect my quota of rezzies caught in the winter/spring, as they are my favorite fish for the smoker. Smoked whole and hard for beer snacks...

 

[Just Fish Stories]

Dark red flesh is one of the hallmarks, as opposed to more orange-ish flesh in ocean coho.

I just cleaned my first coho that had been clipped. The fish was a hen with sea lice and full of eggs. The meat was real red. The live waight could not have been over 2 1/2 pounds. Was this a jack rezzy?

 

[DimeBrite]

I just cleaned my first coho that had been clipped. The fish was a hen with sea lice and full of eggs. The meat was real red. The live waight could not have been over 2 1/2 pounds. Was this a jack rezzy?

100% rezzie

 

[the_chemist]

Not to be confused with blackmouth which is the term puget sound uses for resident chinook.

 

[Jake Watrous]

Dark red flesh is one of the hallmarks, as opposed to more orange-ish flesh in ocean coho.

Interesting about the flesh.

I got a clipped coho this year that had almost white meat. I wonder what it had been eating/up to.

 

[speedbird]

I just cleaned my first coho that had been clipped. The fish was a hen with sea lice and full of eggs. The meat was real red. The live waight could not have been over 2 1/2 pounds. Was this a jack rezzy?

A jack Coho is essentially trout sized, the Rezzies don't get too big, 2 and a half lbs sounds about right

 

[Divad]

If you catch a jack rezzie in the Sound is it really a jack whose to say it’s returning and not sampling water it regularly does.

I’d say that 2.5lb rezzie is just a rezzie that didn’t go out to sea yet. Enjoy that wonderful fish feast @Just Fish Stories

 

[Just Fish Stories]

Half of it was great!!

 

[Stonedfish]

I think rezzies can get significantly larger than 2.5 lbs.
SF

 

[Smalma]

I agree that these resident (stay at home) coho get significantly larger than 2.5#s. When MA 9 opened for Chinook in mid-July while mooching for Chinook about every other trip we put 5# coho in the boat and a number of 4# fish. 1 of the 5# fish that was dinner. Like most fish populations some individuals grow faster than others. This is especially true with fish like resident coho where those fish who find high concentrations of krill and later small bait grow faster that are feeding areas with lower concentrations of forage. I would expect that those mid-July fish 4 and 5# would have grown to 6 to 7#s by the first of September. BTW WDFW samplers checked several 7# coho in July at Everett (MA 9?) some of which cut sockeye red.

Why are not there more of those larger resident coho this time of year? The likely answer is that most with the potential to reach that size end up like those that made my dinner plate in July! Those 2.5 #ers being caught now were 14 inch fish in early July. My observations is that as those resident coho reach that 2/2.5# size they are feeding much more heavily on bait fish and thus become more vulnerable to our baitfish imitating flies.

Keeping in mind in June and July WDFW estimates that over 17,000 of those resident coho were harvested in MA 10.

Jack coho regardless of having a resident (PS) or ocean feeding pattern are returning as 2-year-old fish rather than as the normal 3 year adult. Typically the returning run with have around 1% of the coho as those 14 or so inch Jacks. However once of twice a decade there will be returns with much higher Jack abundances (Indicator of a better adult return the next year?). IN those years I have had some wonderful fly fishing for them in terminal areas where several dozens of these trout size as while some adult fish, Puget Sound fishing at its best?

Curt