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Salmonid fish

Salmoninae

Photo by Dan Doucette
Published on Project Noah
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43.1422, -79.3687

Field Notes

Description:

large fish, black speckled pattern, almost 2' long
I think it's either a speckled trout or salmon, not sure
I've ID'd it as a Salmonid fish because it may never get a true ID without seeing all of it.

Habitat:

freshwater

Notes:

I spotted a lot of these large fish trying to swim upriver in the Jordan. I've never seen this before. It was amazing to watch them swim upriver. I saw 2 of them just hanging out in the same spot on the river. I took off my boots and walked out to them. I came to within about 3' of them before they took off quickly upstream. Downstream a women's dog got very close to them and the fish splashed it with its tail.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (9)
Dan Doucette
That's too bad, I was hoping these photos would be enough for ID. I could see the head and it looked like in color and very ugly, if that helps. Looks like next time I'll have to pick it up out of the water! Thanks for everyone's work on this one.
BrandonBlount
I agree! It's difficult to id the species correctly unless it's caught and taken out of the water. Either way, it's a great spotting and with awesome photos!!! (btw, if you like fish, these are the freshest, I am not certain what the regulations are where you live, but I am certain one of those could be caught rather easily). ;-)
LauraMaria
I think it's impossible to 100% ID this. The spots just don't look like salmon markings to me, more trout. They look most like a rainbow trout, but it doesn't have the pink along the lateral line... but then, of course, we can't see the whole fish, so I think we might not ever get a positive ID!
BrandonBlount
I actually caught two a week ago with the same markings. The smaller salmon do look quite a bit like the brown trout, with the same spots and coloration on it's dorsal. The large salmon I caught had pretty much the same markings on the dorsal, just less color and less spots. I think it depends on the age and size of the fish as to the coloration and markings. The older fish tend to be less colorful.
BrandonBlount
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/7368572 We have them running here as well in western NY coming from Lake Ontario. They are most definitely Salmon, the brown's haven't started their run yet. Usually not until late Oct.
auntnance123
I think you're absolutely correct, Laura. I was thinking the size of it pointed toward salmon too. This is an impressive trout.
LauraMaria
It's hard to tell since some of the distinguishing features between salmon and trout aren't clear enough... but I really think this is a trout, probably a brown trout. A lot of brown trout (and others) were introduced in the Niagara area for sport. Brown trout have the speckles on the dorsal fin, and salmon aren't quite this spotted. It could also be a rainbow trout (also introduced) given the doral fin has a tinge of pink, but there would also be more pink in the body. Probably won't be able to get 100% ID, but I would go with brown trout.
auntnance123
It's most likely an Atlantic salmon considering the spots, shape of the head and location.

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Wildlife of the Niagara Region

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Photographed
PublishedOctober 9, 2011

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