How do you identify a kelt (poor tablefare fish)?

They will be dark and very skinny almost worn out looking. They are not as "flashy" as other steelhead, from my expierence they almost look like they have a little bit of a grey tint to them.

Chromeo

I don't disagree with everything that Chromeo states, but I will disagree with the dark part. Most all of the downstream kelts I have caught have been quite bright but do have that kind of pewter gray look to them. One way I have always been able to tell with the hens - their vent has a red thing sticking out of it (I know, real scientific description) and their bottom fins are scuffed and in some cases worn to the point that their are bones showing in their fins. They are also quite skinny, however, as we are seeing (or soon to see) summer runs entering some rivers, the skinniness is hard to be a 100% determining factor. I would go with the vent and the wear on the bottom fins.

some kelts can be very bright. Usually the fish are very snakey---- very thin, and most times don't have much endurance.

They look like the skinniest steelhead you have ever seen. Kelts have spawned and are now working their way back to sea. A real shame to keep one. I did it once years ago. Worst tasting fish..... I still feel bad.

New Guy:

Here is a pic of a kelt. I am 100% in agreement with others on the lack of taste...made that mistake this once...won't do it again.



Notice how the belly section looks like it lost a bunch of weight, like it should be fatter, but isn't. Notice the vent with Eddie's red thingy sticking out, as well...

Mike

If you ever catch one, please release it as it has the potential of returning again next year even bigger.

And I thought this post was about Scottish guys wearing skirts!

FJ,

I agree. This was my first ever steelhead, and once I saw it was a hatchery fish I bonked it...too late did I notice it was a kelt and probably should have been released to "do it all over again".

Next time I'll know better.

Mea Culpa..

Mike

Eddie...I always wondered what the scientific term was for that little red thingy...and the other scientific term "vent" is that like the "bung"....Actually some fishermen I have been with do alot of venting....especially after a few beers.

It looks like I left out that they can be chrome. Probably because I have never caught one like that.

Grandpa2,
That little red thingy is called the overdepositer or something close along those lines.

Mike B,
Don't beat yourself up too much about killing that kelt. It is a very nice looking fish and I think if that would have been my first steelhead I wouldn't have known that it was a kelt. In result I would have probably bonked it too. Plus it is a hatchery fish and thats what they are there for. Right?

Chromeo

Mike B:

You're not alone, on the last day of the season this year, my father hooked into a bright hatchery kelt and I not being more observant promptly took the knife to it's gills and proceeded to bleed it out. It took a while for it to register in my brain that the fish did have a rather snaky look to it. I didn't pay very close attention to the vent or the fins, but I did however notice that the tail was someone beat though not "flagtailed" like a salmon. Fish had the slightest hint of a pink stripe down the lateral line, but was chrome overall. When I finally gutted it, I found nothing but an empty skein(just one mature egg) and next year's developing eggs. The flesh was white. And yep, it sure tasted rather bland. Not to the point of unpalatability, but definitely not the best tasting fish I've had despite it's freshness.

So I don't feel that bad about killing that hatchery kelt. But it has led me to wonder if anyone here knows how uncommon it is for hatchery kelts to exist.

Im not trying to be a smart ass here but they dont just vanish after they spawn. Id imagine that for every hatch fish that spawns, there would be one more kelt.

Chromeo, I think that the word you are looking for is ovapositor.

For wild fish the rate is 10%-15%, almost all females(the males keep doing "it" until they die), when they return to spawn again they don't pick up much weight but do have almost half again as many eggs.

here in southwest WA( columbia tribs) hatchery kelts are very common January through may.. Though hatchry fish come in sooner they spawn around the same time as the wild fish except the extremely late fish.. I see them spawning every year march through april..

When you catch a kelt take a loof at the fins they are usually in rough shape. also they are typically very skinny and may look unhealthy. Males are usually very well colored but females may look fairly bright but again they'll be skinny...

On the short run coastal rivers we've caught chrome "downers" during all parts of the season. Yes, some are very distinguishable, but on larger hens it can be difficult to determine if they've spawned. We look for a slight "fold" or a channel on the belly, up around the pec fins. This sunken-in area is from an empty cavity.

The "red-hang down thingy" can be seen on both spawned and ripe hens though.