Congratulations, Its A Steelhead! Thank you for thee release it is a native steelhead and it is illegal to keep native steelhead so you did the right thing.

wow. thats a nice fish

-hey derrick, do u know if those are there in may? i swear i caught one last may!

nice fish, but i dont think thats a cutt... most likely a steely like derrick-k said. good job catching and releasing. i dont think theres a lot of steelhead left in the cedar. congrats!

Very nice fish indeed! I am expecting to be out there within a few hours..... the skys are looking like they could go either way, but if you made it out in yesterday's weather, you are HARD CORE.
dude.

Beautiful fish. Howver it isn't a trout. Please note the anal fin which appears to have 11-13 spines, normal for a salmon. Trout have a shorter more square anal fin with only 6-8 spines. My guess would be a little silver, fresh from the Sound.

Ok, I just registered and ken was already taken. I think that Spider is most likely correct because the spots continue onto the tail but only the top part which is what the regs say characterize a silver. Ken (now Kokenny)

I've been catching a bunch of steelhead this winter and that is not one, that is a real late coho. It will probably make it's way to the Issaquah hatchery to make more. I'm glad you let it go. It's always a good practice to let fish go if you are not sure what it is.

Very nice fish. Before reading all the comments, I looked at the pictures you posted and I thought it looked like a salmon. Well done.

Absolutely a lost late Coho. Beautiful fish!

yea at first i saw it and automatically thought "lake washington has to be a sockeye" but then i read the comments and yes it is a real late coho. great catch!

I'd still say steelhead, it has the pink on its cheek, and no hook on its mouth. Look how small the mouth is, it looks like a hen steelhead.

i'm changing my mind and going with a silver. that thought never crossed my mind until i read the other comments bc it so late for coho. regardless, nice fish!

Based on the fact that this fish was caught at the mouth of the Cedar and the fact that it has,what appears to be, a square tail I say "steellhead". I think it is to bright to be a salmon - especially one that has probably been in the lake a for a while.

Congradulations Ken on starting the great fish debate....you know that he bought that fish at Top Foods and took a pic on his boat with it! Just playin'....great catch you've inspired me to get off my rear and hit this winter fishery in the big open water

That is a large Rainbow or a small steelhead. No way it is a Silver Salmon- Great catch!

wow what a nice fish!! Absolutely amazing!!! Did it put up a good fight?!? You know when i first saw this pic i was thinking coho but its so late in the season that im going to have to say a steelie. Im not saying thats what it is im just throwing out my guess but i have a felling its no bow or cutt.

This is one example of what is wrong with this state. We have a 140 page book of complicated regulations when many people cannot even tell the difference between a Trout and a Salmon.
First, there is nothing odd, or wierd about the fish in the picture. It is a perfect representative of its species. Turn to page 101 of the regulation booklet under "Salmon identification". The fish pictured is a bright coho just starting spawning phase. You can see it just starting to turn pink towards the tail. You can also see it has a slightly forked tail with spots only on the upper lobe, along with white gums. If you turn to page 36 you can see pics of Steelhead and Cuttthroat trout, notice the rounded nose and the spots on the tail. These are not great pics, but hopefully they will help educate someone. The only thing that some may think is odd is where and when it was caught. This really is not that wierd, I have caught native coho on small streams in January in February many times. Lake WA has MANY small tributaries other than the Cedar that have populations of native Coho. TIme of year and location do not identify fish, and its a scary thought if thats what some rely on!

Hey great catch! Despite what kind of fish it is you released it and I'm sure it was fun to bring in so thats all that really matters! Nicely done

Come on now - its a perch

Rutt,

Was that you I talked to out front of Waverly park on Saturday? I continued to fish until dark, but down on the south end - got skunked.

dang dog fish, I thought it was a catfish! ............I think every one know it's a salmon (which is pretty cool) and he didn't really release it he smoked it and it was good!

It is against the regs to remove a Salmon, steelhead, and Dolly/bulltrout from the water if it not legal to retain one or if you are going to release it. Way to rat yourself out breaking the law. Download a copy of the regs and read them.

Come on guy's! That's a Coho, no if and or buts. Good job on the indent based on the anal fin Spider! It's the true way to differentiate the species,, Oncorhynchus and Salmo. And no a Salmo is a Trout.