Originally Posted by
STEELIES/26c3
Probably trout and definitely parr or smolt not fry to be technical...
Caudal fin forked, usually tipped in black > King salmon vs Caudal fin not forked, with rounded lobes > Steelhead
Parr marks large, vertically oblong, wider than the intervening spaces, and centered on the lateral line > King Salmon vs Parr marks nearly round, centered on lateral line > Steelhead
Large, oblong spots above lateral line but not on back (dorsal region) > King Salmon vs Large, oblong spots on the back (dorsal surface behind gills and forward of dorsal fin) > Steelhead
Lack of dark spots on dorsal fin and fewer on caudal fin (tail) and area above lateral line > King Salmon vs presence of dark spots on dorsal and caudal fins and generally spots more numerous throughout > Steelhead
There's some others but those are usually enough to decipher.
Also knowing the life cycles of the fish and hatchery protocol on the river... Naturally-spawned King Salmon will be 3-4" MAX right now... Hatchery salmon raised in pens from this year won't be released as smolts (5-6") until May. Last year's salmon should be 15" long and in the salt regardless if hatchery or wild-spawned.
Most naturally-spawned Steelhead are still a week or two away from emerging as sac-fry and the ones in the hatchery are either in incubation trays or the nursery. The races are empty of steelhead as the smolts were all planted below the I Street Bridge on the Sacramento River in February.
Whereas some of those may have come back upriver... the vast majority of them surely went downriver and what we are seeing/catching in the river (besides adults...) are I believe last year's naturally-spawned and/or CDFW-planted trout which spilled over both Folsom and nimbus Dams...
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