posted on the other thread!

"Other than the Columbia I have never fished Oregon waters so what do I know. That said it can be problematic IDing fish from photos however I think all those loose scale tell us all we need to know. Considering that we are talking about an in-river fish in January there are not many salmonid adults that would be shedding scales like that.

Neither coho or steelhead would be one of those shedding scales like that. Remember any coho this time of year would be near spawning and have scales that are "set" and I have never seen a steelhead shed scales like that except as smolts.

I would be very interested to hear what the folks found when that fish was cleaned. My expectations was that a lot of fat was found and poorly developed gonads; very small egg skeins or even a male. Almost like it was many months from spawning. Finally when it final reached the "table" I expect it may have been the best eating coho/steelhead ever."

Tight lines
Curt