For the record this is a freshwater landlocked kokanee salmon. He is not spawned out yet and was caught at the inlet into the lake before he had a chance to move up the creek to spawn. Took the picture in a just couple second. Turned him upright and sent him on his way. As for eating or keeping, it's not a factor in Utah where I caught him. It's illegal to posses kokanee salmon from Sept. 10 to Nov. 30 in Utah. You can catch them, but all must be released. As kokanee go he is pretty good sized which run a lot smaller than their ocean going cousin the sockeye salmon.
Give me hell if I am incorrect..
Isn't the correct terminology, "... is a landlocked sockeye salmon, which are known as kokanee." There's not really non-landlocked kokanee. And saying "kokanee salmon" is redundant.
Some spawning of salmonids occurs outside of tributary streams, including in lakes and dare I say even the ocean. Don't know if that pertains to this population... Some die before spawning, some live longer afterwards than typical... Messy fish biology stuff. Smoked reds can be pretty darn good.
Queing Geno.
