Silver (Coho) Salmon
Yet another member of the salmon family, the Silver or Coho Salmon is one of the most exciting to fish for largely because of its attitude when hooked, but it is also a delicious tasting salmon that can sometimes run in very large numbers. If you see large congregations of fisherman in the fall, in Alaska, they are probably on a Silver stream.
Adults usually weigh 8 to 12 pounds and are 24 to 30 inches long, but individuals weighing 31 pounds have been landed. Adults in salt water or newly returning to fresh water are bright silver with small black spots on the back and on the upper lobe of the tail fin. They can be distinguished from Chinook salmon by the lack of black spots on the lower lobe of the tail and by their white gums; Chinook have small black spots on both tail fin lobes and they have black gums. Spawning adults of both sexes have dark backs and heads with maroon to reddish sides.
