I agree with your statement.

In this case, making the positive ID was easy and was correct.

Convincing people on the internet that you are not a looney and really what they see in the photo is not a coho has not been easy. Not that I care, but it's been fun any ways.

It's just a photo, guys. You are not seeing enough evidence to make a valid conclusion. The evidence you do see can be altered by camera settings, light, chromatic abberations, digital abberations, CCD flaws, glare, relfection, how the subject was held and presented, EXTREME CHROMAGE, etc.

Turn the subject around 180 degrees in the boat, and the photo would have been completely different.

I will be the first to admit that I am not a good photographer.