Mystery Fish Contest #6 Result
Answer: Coho Salmon
The mystery fish species in our sixth mystery fish species contest is a coho salmon or Oncorhynchus kisutch.
The main feature of a coho salmon include small spots across the dorsal region/back and white gum inside the mouth. This is a male salmon close to the spawning phase as the "hooked-noise" feature is very distinct. As coho salmon approach spawning, their body colour becomes red, which can be seen in this photo.
Out of 358 entries, 79.9% (279 entries) were correct. The most common incorrect answer was chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), which look similar to coho salmon but their gum inside the mouth is black and the "hooked-nose" feature is absent in spawning males. Other incorrect answers which we received include sockeye, pink and chum salmon.
The winner of this contest is Corey Chase, who has won one 6-weight Scientific Anglers Mastery Textured Series fly fishing line of his choice! Congratulations! There are five lines that are available to choose from:
- GPX Taper
- Trout Stalker
- Nymph/Indicator
- Magnum Taper
- Titan Taper