Fish ID help please

[Tom Butler]

OK, I realize maybe, probably, I don't know what I got into yesterday so I need some educating. Is this a chinook, (the blackmouth?) This little one was the first. I was more taken by the yellowish color in the stream yesterday and was just thinking big native or steelhead. Just get it revived and swimming strong, didn't study it a whole lot, just looked at it's back. Didn't even look for a fin. A bit latter I hooked one that was too big to net, it escaped. A third one I was able to dump with slack once it got close and I actually saw it had a red bunghole. Browns spawn in fall, but I wasn't sure. That's when I quit. I was telling myself maybe brown trout, but looking back, salmon, I just don't know. SE Washington Columbia tributary.

 

[Stonedfish]

Tom,
Looks like a jack chinook to me.
SF

 

[Smalma]

Mature Chinook which as Stonefish suggests is most likely a Jack. However, with the shrinking size of Chinook that cannot be said with certainty.

 

[Tom Butler]

Saw a former student at church who's a local WDFW field tech and he said they are from the first year of springer program returns elsewhere, and are strays due to a thermal barrier issue.

 

[Fourbtgait]

Saw a former student at church who's a local WDFW field tech and he said they are from the first year of springer program returns elsewhere, and are strays due to a thermal barrier issue.

So if you were trout fishing, what wt. rod and tippet?

 

[Tom Butler]

So if you were trout fishing, what wt. rod and tippet?

9.5' 5wt Loomis, 3x to hopper, 4x to the jiggy craw.