Strange thing in MA 9

[Stein]

So, I'm out bobbing around with 300-400 of my closest friends in their boats near Possession bar when the 65' rigger goes off hard.  I pick it up, get the line tight and hand it off to my deck hand who is 6.  Somehow, he winches the thing in by himself rather quickly while I keep the boat trucking right along hoping for a double.  Fish gets to the side of the boat, netted and bonked.  Since you can keep any coho, I don't pay much attention other than notice it is a decent fish in the 7-8 pound range - not huge, but a nice fish.

Fast forward to my driveway where I cut it open and am a bit surprised to find flame red-orange meat - like sockeye orange?  I have cut more than my share of coho and I have never seen one anywhere near this color.

Anyone ever hook a sockeye out there on coho gear this time of year - hootchie and flasher?  I can't wait to cook it up and see what it tastes like.

[lokidog]

I caught one three years ago off San Juan on a hoochie and flasher.  Same as you, I figured coho and only realized when I went to filet it.  It was earlier in the summer though.  Nice score.   

[Stein]

I pulled it out of the oven and it 100% is not coho.  Dang, wish I had a few more.

Fish checker checked it and didn't notice either.  After I studied it on the driveway it did look a bit narrower like a sockeye but man you have to look close to tell the difference between a large sockeye and a small coho.

[WAcoueshunter]

Seems super late for sockeye, but the gear doesn't surprise me.  We caught about 15 this August in the San Juans trolling normal king/coho gear.  Mostly green or white flashers with a green needlefish squid or irish cream spoon. 

[lokidog]

One way to tell the difference is with the scales.  When I filet salmon, I blast the scales off with a hose, that way it doesn't bruise or soften the meat and I can marinate it w/o little scales all over.  The sockeye, I caught, held on so tightly to it's scales that I had to scrape them off with a knife, that was the first clue I did not have a coho.