Was that fish real or a beautiful computer graphic?

According to the regs manual a Kokanee/Sockeye have gold eyes. This fish definetely had gold eyes. Determining if it is a Kokanee or Sockeye depend on the length of the fish. Less than or greater than 15 inches. My tape measure was in hand and I had my regs manual in the boat for verification before I put the BONK on it. I know in the picture the fish looks huge but indeed it was not big at all compared to some of the other trout I have been pulling out of the big lake lately (big for a Kokanee though). Believe me, the last thing I wanted to do was keep a fish I was not completely sure was legal to do so knowing both Kings and Sockeye are filling the big lake right now. After we cleaned the fish it was very apparent that the fish was not a migratory fish. It had no eggs or sperm sack similar to other large resident Cutts and Bows I have caught so far this season. Also, I caught this fish really shallow, which is not a depth that you would normally find migratory Sockeye.

Easy is a damn good angler, he's put his time in and is getting result's. I believe he could catch fish with a rusty nail and dental floss.

Don't say that pelican, you'll only feed his ego even more....LOL Just kidding. Nice Koke Carl, didn't know they were in Washington. I've never really fished for them untill 2 years ago in Montana. But we caught numerous Kokes over 4lbs. Yes, 4lbs. Longest one we got was 21 inches. Dats a big fish. So they are more than capable of getting alot bigger than 15" in such a lake as Washington. Did you happen to notice any schools around you on the fishfinder when you hooked it??? I wonder how thick they are...

I think Lake Roosevelt kicked out a state recrd Kokanee last year. If I remember correctly it was up near 6lbs.

I vote for REAL kokanee. Carl has always shot straight with his info in the past, and catches enough fish that he doesn't need to fabricate them.

Hehe Easy I'm just playin with ya. I know it was real I pretty much just wanted to play around with that new poll feature. That is a beautiful koke though. I went out to Deep Lake today and pulled in a 13 inch koke, a 9 inch rainbow, and a 17 inch bass by accident. I released the bass... I got plenty of witnesses though.
But yeah the koke was just beeeeautiful. I definitely gotta get some free time and bum some guide time off ya

Fronm looking at it, I rather doubt that it is a kokanee, as kokes are sockeye strain. In the last few months I have caught no less than 2 chinook residuals in the Lake Washington basin, one in Sammamish, and one in Cottage Lake. the one in cottage was the bigger of the two, 14" and fought like a linebacker on my 7 wt fly rod.

I plan only letting a couple of fisheries guys look at the photo, and I bet they will concur with me. Residual Chinook seem to be everywhere right now.

This fish was not a Chinook. It did not have any spots or black gums. The eyes were also gold. I know it is hard to tell but I do have a witness (the guy holding the fish) and he is even more experienced than myself. He is sort of my mentor.

I guess I should have taken the pix of the fish the usual lamo way I normally would, on a flat surface with a ruler next to it. Next time.

BBVD, As of July 1st I will be focusing my fishing attention on salmon, no more trout for a while. If you would like to join me drop me a line. I will put you into some fish you will want to be photographed with.