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[Nutterbug]

Is there any clear, definitive and unambiguous way to tell apart sea run steelhead and sockeye from their landlocked counterparts?

Can you assume that any caught in a lake is just a rainbow or kokanee, and follow the regs accordingly?

[troutbum]

lets say you are fishing chilliwack lake and catch a 10lb rainbow (steelhead) or 6lb kokanee (sockeye). common sense would dictate you release these fish as they are "passing through" on their way to spawning grounds. i'm looking forward to the day when catch & release fishing catches on in bc.

[anorden]

Yep, bet there will be an absolute ton of cheap fishing gear on craigslist

[Nutterbug]

lets say you are fishing chilliwack lake and catch a 10lb rainbow (steelhead) or 6lb kokanee (sockeye). common sense would dictate you release these fish as they are "passing through" on their way to spawning grounds. i'm looking forward to the day when catch & release fishing catches on in bc.

Would this "common sense" guideline and the mere evidence of size hold up in a court of law?

AFAIK, there are no special restrictions set on Chilliwack Lake, and it looks more like a judgement call without any absoluteness to me.

[jetboatjim]

. i'm looking forward to the day when catch & release fishing catches on in bc.

Are you from B.C ? have you been fishing in B.C ?

[troutbum]

Would this "common sense" guideline and the mere evidence of size hold up in a court of law?










no, it wouldnt hold up......  

[k.c.]

lets say you are fishing chilliwack lake and catch a 10lb rainbow (steelhead) or 6lb kokanee (sockeye). common sense would dictate you release these fish as they are "passing through" on their way to spawning grounds. i'm looking forward to the day when catch & release fishing catches on in bc.

what about us guys who fish for eating? Nothing is better than a shore lunch

[Fish or cut bait.]

landlocked counterparts?

Where are you fishing?
Landlocked means they can't get out to the ocean.
But generally,  trout and Kokanee are much smaller I have caught trout over 7 lbs but not in the lower mainland.
Mature steelhead and sockeye  will be in the 4-10 lb range (or more for steelhead) depending on the run.
Local trout and kokanee will be 2lbs or less and that's probably pushing it for most lower mainland lakes ( with the odd exception)
Smolt steelhead are often confused for trout but you'd mostly find them in the tributaries; creeks, streams that feed out of some of the larger lakes.
Someone else will jump in here 'cuz although I fish the local rivers most of my lake fishing is in the interior.
But,  if I was fishing one of the lower mainland lakes today I wouldn't be too worried about catching one.

Plus you could google: (insert fish species here) pictures.
and try to find the distinguishing features.
A lot of folks can't even figure out the different species of trout; rainbow,dollies,bull.........

[Nutterbug]

Plus you could google: (insert fish species here) pictures.
and try to find the distinguishing features.

AFAIK, steelhead revert back to their 'rainbow' colours once they spend some time back in fresh water.  And trout all vary in silveriness/pinkness/spottiness from one individual to the next.

I think we're dealing with a lot of grey area.

[Fish or cut bait.]

there are gray areas everywhere in life
I don't think you fish enough and rely too much on your computer.

It's a great resource but..................

I commend you for trying to do the right thing
but if you analyze it enough you'll come to the conclusion you (or anybody) shouldn't fish at all.

[penn]

lets say you are fishing chilliwack lake and catch a 10lb rainbow (steelhead) or 6lb kokanee (sockeye). common sense would dictate you release these fish as they are "passing through" on their way to spawning grounds. i'm looking forward to the day when catch & release fishing catches on in bc.

I take it you are a vegetarian .

[ricer]

The Thompson river regs show that you the only distinction you can "try" to make is with size.  Only trout above a certain size and below a certain size can be kept because a Steelhead in the system will generally be above a certain size while migrating up to spawn and below a certain size while migrating out to sea as a smolt.

can't remember the exact measurements, something like above 18" and below 14" can't be kept

[Nutterbug]

The definition of steelhead from the Synopsis pretty much takes care of this ambiguity:

"steelhead ... a rainbow trout longer than 50 cm in waters where anadromous rainbow trout are found.  Both hatchery and wild steelhead may be found in BC waters."

So it technically doesn't have to have been to the sea and back, nor have a silvery colour to be legally classified as a "steelhead".  Now, if they'd only specify and publish a list of all known water bodies where anadromous rainbow are found, there would be no confusion.

Is there any such disambiguation for sockeye/kokanee?

[shortfloat]

Technically speaking it does, as anadroumous means to ascend a river from an ocean.

[Gooey]

Isnt a lake that is landlocked have no river outflowes to the sea?  If thats the case you will never need to worry about distinguishing between a kokanee and a sockeye...they are 2 different fish that should never cross paths?!?  Same with steelhead...you can''t have a steelhead in a land locked lake so you wont need to differnetiate bewtween the two either!