What is a big Coho?

[rattleL]

I was just trying to get some opinions on big trout from some guys that might no more about this than I do. I caught a big coho a few years ago out on lake michican the fish weighed 15 lbs, and not really knowing what we had we just cut it up with our kings from that trip. Is this a trophy caliber coho or can one get one bigger. The main reason being that a buddy got a replica done of a huge brown and I am thinking about getting a replica done of this coho. Be a nice addition to my trophy room. Thanks for you help guys.

[reinhard1]

i have never gotten a coho that large in superior, and if this fish is special for you i would get a replica. i have a 3 pound brookie mounted. good size in minnesota but not impressive in canada probably. but it was a beutiful fish and largest i have ever caught and i have realeased many. i have a friend that caught a 11 pound king off shore by the babtism and he had it mounted years ago. still talkes about that morning to this day. not a large king but a very special memory.

and then there are guys like my brother who caught the state record king years ago [since beaten] and draged it around all day until a buddy told him to stop and get it weighed and found he had the record. he ended up giving the salmon to a fellow cop who did taxidermy on the side. two years later my brothers wife bought the salmon back and gave it to my brother as a christmas gift. good luck.

[mainbutter]

15lb coho is a very nice fish.

Here's some numbers to help compare:

I generally fish the early runs (smaller than the later runs) of silver salmon in alaska, and typically go 8-10lbs. I missed fishing for silvers last year, but the summer before out of 24 fish that we kept, I think all but two were under 10lbs (we keep all that we catch, C&R just kills them once they are in the streams) with my dad catching a strangely large one that weighed in a little over 15. It's the largest silver I've ever seen him catch. Here's a pic of it, I don't think I have to point out which one is the biggest

Seward has a week long silver salmon derby in mid August every year with prizes for biggest fish caught out of the nearby ocean. Last year, the top 10 biggest silvers went 15.44lbs all the way up to 18.89. I don't know how many silvers are caught in that week, but it has to be a LOT, and the fact that the a 15lber is close to making it in the top 10 says a lot about your fish.

There ARE places in AK that regularly have silvers in the teens, particularly in a second or third late season run. I've never experienced it, but my dad has pictures to show that every fish they ran into was a 12-15lb fish.

I know nothing about salmon sizes in the great lakes, except that I thought that in general they tended to be smaller on average than their wild Alaskan counterparts.

In my book, 15lb great lakes salmon is well worth getting a replica made of, especially if you have fond memories of the trip.

[reinhard1]

that is a nice catch!!!! fot the great lakes that 15 pounder is one for the wall. good luck.

[Mike_Top]

i'll get the dumb question out of the way: is a silver the same as a coho, in the same way that a red salmon is a sockeye?

i went to superior in April and the coho's and king's we caught were all about 2-4 lbs. I know that all great lakes salmon are stocked and they don't reproduce naturally, so if they don't get caught they just end up dying after trying to spawn and they don't generally grow large. They were originally stocked to keep tabs on the alewife population...saw that on babe winkelman's show this morning...

Get a replica made!!! I bet that fish must've fought really hard! nice catch

[mn_bowhunter]

Silver=coho. A 15 lb coho is big for a great lakes fish. The MN record is only 10# 7oz. As a side note, salmon were thought to not be able to reproduce in the great lakes at the time they were introduced. They have been found to be able to reproduce in great lakes tributaries.

[reinhard1]

the dnr no longer stocks salmon the superior. however there still is a spawning run every fall but not as strong as they used to be years ago. the babtism and split rock have some spawning activity in the fall, while some other streams have less. good luck.

[deets22]

coho spawn in superior. the streams and rivers around the bayfield and washburn wisconsin area are very similar to the habitat from where coho are originally found. i was given a great presentation in college by my professor who did his masters thesis on the survivability of young coho over the winter before they hit the lake in spring. sounded like fun snorkeling in these streams in january and february.

[traveler]

Like any fish thats available in various locations, the "trophy" size can vary considerably, not to mention what any given person feels is trophy class. Silvers/cohos vary a lot, even in the great Lakes. I've heard of upper teens in the Kenai river (AK) (even 20 lb'ers, but people talk.. but in the GL a 15 lb Coho is a PIG. Mount/replica material for sure.

[Mike_Top]

I guess I'll retract my false comment about GL salmon not being able to reproduce...but I have also read that Lake Mich salmon grow larger than those in Superior due to slightly warmer, more fertile water. I wish I could get up there again and try and catch some!!