Clean SeaTrout or salmon..?

[Eoghan]

According to Mike Ladle and another very high profile bass guide this is a Salmon Grilse...!

[patk]

Thought it was a grilse on first viewing too.

[Eoghan]

I spoke to my mate Steve about it again and he said it fought like no trout he caught before, it also had a purpleish shine from it on the flank. very hard to really say its one or the other, just doesnt look like most of the trout I have caught before and prime example to the trout that Steve from this forum posted a few under mine.

[billybob1013]

I would say it was a grilse , i have been game fishing fir 20+yrs and still find it difficult at times with photos. Jaw line ,tail , fins, spits there is a list but it still can be hard with smaller fish. Well done on both fish on this thread both great condition fish and great to see them being put back to give another angler the joy of catching it when they get bigger

[Stephen8wood]

If I were a betting man I'd say Salmon. The tail does it for me. The eye/jaw placing is borderline but that tail is forked and not collapsed.

[cathalger]

According to Mike Ladle and another very high profile Bass guide this is a Salmon Grilse...!

Well Im afraid they are mistaken Eoghan, according to quite a few experienced sea trout anglers on here who have seen sea trout images like this crop up over the years, and personally went through all the 'is it a sea trout, is it a grilse?' conundrums in their own fishing lives, this is a sea trout.

Ive caught plenty of sea trout like this, there is zero about this fish that says its a salmon but for the salmon like colouration, everything else points to trout, the heads are very distinctive. Many sea trout have salmon like colouration not because they are salmon but because the 2 fish are similar in appearance, very closely related.

Its a trout and you will catch more like it and become familiar with them. Closely study the heads and tails- if you fish for salmon study them too. As I said earlier, look for the black edge to the tail, salmon dont have it. Its an unmissable sea trout feature.

[cathalger]

Regarding the forked tail, that isnt how a salmons tail is forked anyway, that tail is half closed and all sea trout tails are forked when they are half closed. Its relaxed, not straightened out and rigid. A salmons tail is forked with a V shaped dent in the centre when its at full stretch, this isnt that. This is a relaxed and semi collapsed sea trout tail. Pity you didnt get it all in the shot Eoghan to see all of that black edge.

You cant say anything definitive about the forking of a salmon or a sea trouts tail from a photo in many instances. Unless the tail is held erect by the fish or by human hands so dont worry about the forking here, its not a reliable feature. If that says thats a salmon then are millions of photos of sea trout on the go with salmons tails- dont mind it. Moreover, young finnock have forked tails and theyre not salmon and many large salmon have unforked tails and theyre not sea trout.

[leadhead]

fine look'n trout....

[Eoghan]

Hi cathal, not my pic, not my fish. I'll take your word for it. If what your saying about the black trim on the fins is right then it settles it. Btw my mate was stopped by a fisheries officer to check his license, great to see that!

[patk]

Fishing for seatrout and salmon for 33 years recent (10 years) doing sea fishing. Still think its a grilse the tail is a give away compared to the spade tail of a sea trout. Grilse often had the black trim especially when that age/size. Pity theres not a better picture of the fish. Maybe its a munster backwater or lee or kerry grilse escaped to there!!!! either way lovely fish and the thing that would puzzle me is its so rare that a grilse is caught spinning in the sea as opposed to a seatrout relatively common.

[patk]

Fishing for seatrout and salmon for 33 years recent (10 years) doing sea fishing. Still think its a grilse the tail is a give away compared to the spade tail of a sea trout. Grilse often had the black trim especially when that age/size. Pity theres not a better picture of the fish. Maybe its a munster backwater or lee or kerry grilse escaped to there!!!! either way lovely fish and the thing that would puzzle me is its so rare that a grilse is caught spinning in the sea as opposed to a seatrout relatively common.

[cathalger]

Hi Pat, similarly, been fishing for salmon and sea trout a long time myself, 31 years, worked as a commercial salmon fisherman on the sea too catching grilse and sea trout in salt water for 6 seasons. Other points relating to this fish are that grilse are usually a lot darker on the gill plate and generally have quite dark pectoral fins. Thats a trouts head in every respect. I agree it is a lovely fish. The reason salmon dont have the dark edge that trout do is because their tails are all dark.

[cathalger]

White trout all showing forking in the tail as they are in a relaxed semi collapsed posture, live fish which were returned and some which had been recently killed and taken for eating. As stated earlier dont mind the appearance of forking. These are all trout and they all appear to be forked due to tail posture. These and another 4 or 5 white trout pics Ive just looked at all show the forking, its not reliable to go by in photos.

[billybob1013]

Cathalger did you catch these in the sea or in the Dun. I would love to try the fly rod for them in the sea.

[cathalger]

Cathalger did you catch these in the sea or in the Dun. I would love to try the fly rod for them in the sea.

Caught at the mouth of the Dun Billybob and over at Rockport at the top of the beach, I should add theres several blanks for each success, it all looks great when you ram a seasons worth of tormentin yourself into a few pics. I hear Glenarm can be lively but I havent fished it yet. Have you ever fished near Larne for them? I hear the Inver runs big ones. 2nd pic werent caught by me but by a friend. If theres anywhere you can see them jumping just get at them and stick at them, dusk is good and dusk plus low tide seems to work in some places.

Sorry for the off subject chatting on your thread Eoghan.

[Eoghan]

Not at all cathal. I'm not one of those merchants. I welcome it as you can learn something in every reply to a post.

[billybob1013]

I have seen them at Glenarm jumping and have tryed for a short period for them. There is a bay near Larne that have had some good trout from it.The Inver does get a good run of salmon and sea trout. Portaferry is getting some super fish at the moment.

[Tom H]

stuff it just call it a steelhead

[Eoghan]

stuff it just call it a steelhead

Ha ha, why didnt I just call it "Silver Fish Post"

[davyp]

FWIW - id say seatrout too - lots in sligo are like that, very silver with little spotting - , like cathalger says the tail of a salmon tends to be all dark and concave rather than forked, heres a pic of the curved concave of a 9 1/2 lb salmons one.... had him 2 nights ago off lough beltra

salmon fb.jpg

salmon fb.jpg