On then Off Salmon on the Sac, or, I think we're gonna need a bigger net 12/29

Sorry guys this old piece of crap comp. won't let down load pics. I have tried everything. Its 10yrs old and I only paid 300. for it . I had a great day wish I could have been there in time with the net . I really would have loved to have your mom go home with that fish .I guess I'll have to transfer onto a disk at a store to be able to share.

Bummer, I wanted to see that fish.

Fish #3 is a Sacramento sucker.

http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/datastore/datastoreview/showpage.cfm?usernumber=84&surveynumber=241

Did you notice the inside of those shakers was dark gray / baby chins?

From this I'm going to say #1 and #2 are rainbows (steelhead?).

http://www.fws.gov/r5crc/trout_or_salmon.pdf

Also in "Inland Fishes of California" Peter Moyle has salmon with anal fin ray counts from 13-19 and trout from 8-12.

Rainbows?

forked tail? check.....angle of mouth forward of, or not past the eye?  check.

Cant wait to see the big wet splashy pictures!
Brian

Salmon by the tail and mouth, but I dont know if they are coho. The hatcheries dont clip the adipose on chinook but they do on coho.

Apparently the fin clipping in the California hatchery system is an external mark to aid in the identification of fish (among salmon) that have a coded wire tag shot up their nose.  The California fishing regs also mention clipping with respect to wild or hatchery identification of steelhead, which is why in earlier posts I called these fish steelhead.  I agree with others here, that deeply forked tail = salmon, my opinion.

Check salmon info on clipping at the hatchery near Anderson, CA. 

http://www.fws.gov/coleman/happenings.html

"After sedation, fish are adipose fin clipped which is the external mark that identifies coded wire tagged fish. After the fin clip fish are placed in a nose cone and a small wire tag is injected into the cartilaginous portion of the nose. This small tag will remain in place for the entire life of the fish. When these fish return as adults the tag can be removed and read with the aid of a microscope. The coded wire tag code give the biologist information about where the fish came from (which hatchery)"

Great look'n Salmon!!! I learned on my 7'th fish in my kayak to carry a BIG NET, when I caught a 35.5" 11.5 pound Mackinaw and only had a 16" fly net The first time I tried to tail it, it splashed me and dove 50+ feet and sulked, then the second time I got it! Cograts and good luck, Eric

Ok so is there a size limit and does the 8" one I caught make legal AOTY points even though it was essentially by-catch

The dead givaway in the pics is the forked tail-not a trout. If there's any black in the mouth- not a trout, on big ones anyway, not sure about the juvies. Looks like a great hookup.
David- How far a drive from Chico is that?

20-25 min

#3, I have never heard the Term Sqaw Fish, but those look it does look like a damn Sucker.  Damn things back north were hated and despised as they ate a lot of trout eggs.

Pictures #1 & #2 are 100% hatchery Chinook salmon smolts.  There are no coho salmon in the Sacramento system.  One clue for salmon vs. trout at that size is spots in the dorsal fin, trout (cutthroat, browns and rainbows have spots in the dorsal) and salmon (coho and Chinook have no spots in the dorsal fin).  This all changes when they are adults.
Picture #3 is a Sacramento sucker, very common, but please do not throw them on the bank, their fry the following spring will serve as great forage food for juvenile salmonids, especially in the Sacramento and Russian rivers.