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Author Topic: Are there adipose clipped sockeye on the Vedder?  (Read 3586 times)

DanL

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Are there adipose clipped sockeye on the Vedder?
« on: September 27, 2015, 11:29:52 AM »
Just wondering if you can encounter adipose clipped sockeye on the Vedder?

Saw a very clean fish bonked yesterday that looked very much like a coho doe but with had basically no spots whatsoever. A few blemishes on the back and tail which could be interpreted as spots. White tongue too which made me wonder if it could have been a sockeye. Clearly hatchery clipped though, which the guy said aren't done for sockeye. There was no argument or anything, just a nice friendly chat about it's identification...
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Geff_t

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Re: Are there adipose clipped sockeye on the Vedder?
« Reply #1 on: September 27, 2015, 11:45:00 AM »
I'm pretty sure that they do clip the Cultus lake strain.
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SilverChaser

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Re: Are there adipose clipped sockeye on the Vedder?
« Reply #2 on: September 27, 2015, 12:24:51 PM »
I'm not too sure if they do clip sockeye on the Vedder, but in my honest opinion, its kind of dumb. They try to protect the Cultus/Chilliwack runs, but with all the people that fish the Vedder, any late sockeye could easily be mistaken for a hatchery coho.
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samw

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Re: Are there adipose clipped sockeye on the Vedder?
« Reply #3 on: September 27, 2015, 12:31:42 PM »
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mikeyman

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Re: Are there adipose clipped sockeye on the Vedder?
« Reply #4 on: September 27, 2015, 12:37:38 PM »
The cultas lake sockeye r clipped.
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Dave

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Re: Are there adipose clipped sockeye on the Vedder?
« Reply #5 on: September 27, 2015, 02:40:13 PM »
Wow :o
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FlyFishin Magician

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Re: Are there adipose clipped sockeye on the Vedder?
« Reply #6 on: September 27, 2015, 02:55:09 PM »
Quote from: DanL on September 27, 2015, 11:29:52 AM
Just wondering if you can encounter adipose clipped sockeye on the Vedder?

Saw a very clean fish bonked yesterday that looked very much like a coho doe but with had basically no spots whatsoever. A few blemishes on the back and tail which could be interpreted as spots. White tongue too which made me wonder if it could have been a sockeye. Clearly hatchery clipped though, which the guy said aren't done for sockeye. There was no argument or anything, just a nice friendly chat about it's identification...

Yes - Vedder sockeye are definitely clipped.  Was the fish bullet chrome?  The sockeye will not likely be bullet chrome like a coho, but they can be confused with one.  Coho will have spots on the back and top portion of the tail, but they can be hard to see if it's a true bullet fish.  I stopped a guy from bonking a sockeye last year.
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canso

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Re: Are there adipose clipped sockeye on the Vedder?
« Reply #7 on: September 27, 2015, 04:42:31 PM »
There are a few different fins they could clip or even the maxillary. Why the adipose?
I guess for quick identification in the ocean during commercial openings, but the commercials aren't looking for it anyways.
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clarkii

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Re: Are there adipose clipped sockeye on the Vedder?
« Reply #8 on: September 27, 2015, 05:08:43 PM »
Quote from: canso on September 27, 2015, 04:42:31 PM
There are a few different fins they could clip or even the maxillary. Why the adipose?
I guess for quick identification in the ocean during commercial openings, but the commercials aren't looking for it anyways.

Maxilla's and other fins can be fairly easily removed by people angling.  be it line tangles cutting maxilla's and fins or hooks right through the max.

The adipose is in a tougher spot
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CohoMan

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Re: Are there adipose clipped sockeye on the Vedder?
« Reply #9 on: September 27, 2015, 05:39:32 PM »
I was fishing last Wed and this guy hooked a hatchery fish. I told him it was a sockeye but he insisted that there is no hatchery program for Sockeyes.

He bonked it and all the other fishers that saw it had no idea what it was.

I have been fishing for cohos for over 25 yrs and I can tell the difference between those 2.
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DanL

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Re: Are there adipose clipped sockeye on the Vedder?
« Reply #10 on: September 27, 2015, 05:56:48 PM »
Quote from: FlyFishin Magician on September 27, 2015, 02:55:09 PM
Yes - Vedder sockeye are definitely clipped.  Was the fish bullet chrome? 

Bullet chrome? Not quite. Green back and green head. The sides had that purplish hue that you see alot on coho.
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Dave

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Re: Are there adipose clipped sockeye on the Vedder?
« Reply #11 on: September 27, 2015, 05:58:21 PM »
Quote from: clarkii on September 27, 2015, 05:08:43 PM
Maxilla's and other fins can be fairly easily removed by people angling.  be it line tangles cutting maxilla's and fins or hooks right through the max.

The adipose is in a tougher spot
It is also a relatively minor invasive mark with the least measurable mortality to fry, when the fish are clipped.  The missing adipose fin is readily identified in a mirror installed in the fish trap in the counting fence on Sweltzer Creek, allowing managers options for brood stock; this technology is basically what is keeping this sockeye stock semi-viable.
 
When managers made the decision to clip Cultus sockeye adipose fins they knew there would be issues with anglers misidentifying these fish with hatchery clipped coho, but really, all that is needed is a bit of pre fishing research for anglers to learn to identify their catch.  It is not difficult to tell the difference and this site, FWR, has always done a great job in educating anglers in salmonid identification.
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