![]() ![]() When that time comes around, the males turn a deep red and start to develop a hump on their back. Kokanee salmon are silver fish, but only until its time to spawn. The average length of a Kokanee salmon is 9 – 12 inches. Most that get close are caught by humans or eaten by other fish, usually rainbow trout. Some can get up to 3 – 5 lbs, but that is not very common. ![]() The average weight for a Kokanee salmon is only 1 lb. ![]() Because the lakes and rivers don’t have enough nutrients, or in their case plankton, the Kokes cannot get as large as the ocean-dwelling Sockeye salmon. Kokanee salmon, although related to Sockeye salmon, are a lot smaller than their ancestral species. Some even have a way to the ocean, but do not choose to return there. Some populations are completely stuck in the lakes they live in, while others have access to rivers and streams. Kokanee salmon, or Kokes, spend their complete life in fresh waters. Kokanee Salmon are actually land-locked Sockeye salmon, a different ocean-dwelling fish. The offspring could be either a steelhead or a smaller river rainbow trout.īoth the freshwater rainbows and the steelhead can live around 11 years, but not many make it to being alive that long. When rainbow trout spawn, it doesn’t matter too much if the parent was a residential rainbow trout or a steelhead rainbow trout. The rivers would not be able to support a trout that big, unless the population of fish was depleted to nearly zero. Steelheads are larger than rainbows and are so because of the rich nutrients found in the ocean. Steelhead trout spend the majority of their lives in the ocean, returning only to spawn. They start to spawn around 3 or 4 years of age. Some trout spend part of their lives in the ocean, but they always return to the rivers and streams to spawn, or to lay their eggs. Unlike other types of fish, the trouts can spawn multiple years in a row without dying. Rainbows can spend their entire lives living in a river, returning to a specific point in the river to spawn. The steelhead variation tends to be more silvery and narrower in proportion, while being longer and larger. The colors of their scales depends on their location, maturity, and sex. Their bellies are usually silver or pale, but are always a lighter color. The average length is 20 – 35 inches.Ī freshwater rainbow trout can have all the colors of the rainbow of their back and sides, or they can be a dull olive-brown or dark blue. They are larger than ra inbows for sure, and because of this, they usually travel to the ocean to get more nutrients to survive with that weight. The Rainbow Trouts have an average length of around 12 – 30 inches.Ī steelhead’s average weight is 8 – 11 lbs. When I catch Rainbows, I usually catch three or four, depending on the bag limit, and feed my family a delicious dinner. This is a good sized fish to eat, and one can feed one person easily. The average size of a rainbow trout, not a steelhead, is around 2 – 5 lbs. Steelheads are ocean-dwelling trout that are bigger and more aggressive than river Rainbows. The second branch are called Steelhead Rainbow Trout. They taste amazing and give a good fight on the hook. These are usually the fish that are talked about when talking about Rainbow Trout. The main branch, simply called Rainbow Trouts, are smaller than the other branch. Rainbow Trout have two branches, or subspecies considered Rainbow Trout. Kokanee Salmon are landlocked in lakes and even those in rivers do not have the urge to seek the ocean. The steelhead branch spends most of their time in the ocean, while the main branch spends all of its time in freshwater. There are many fisheries on the West Coast, from California to Canada and Alaska, that have made it their purpose to maintain a steady population of Rainbows and Kokes in the lakes and surrounding rivers.īut what is the difference between Rainbow Trout and Kokanee Salmon? Rainbow Trout are a type of ocean-going trout with two branches of species. They are both delicious fish and are both fun to catch, two of the main reasons they are so popular. Rainbow Trout and Kokanee Salmon are the two most targeted fish on the west coast. ![]()
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