Telling them apart
Chinook Salmon vs Coho Salmon
Open the mouth and look at the gums at the base of the lower teeth. Black gums mean chinook. White gums with a black line along the jaw mean coho. The tail confirms it: chinook are spotted on both lobes, coho on the upper lobe only.
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Side by side
| What to look at | Chinook Salmon | Coho Salmon |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Oncorhynchus tshawytscha | Oncorhynchus kisutch |
| Gums | Black at the base of the lower teeth | White, with a black jaw line |
| Tail spots | On both lobes | On the upper lobe only |
| Size | The largest Pacific salmon by a wide margin | Smaller, though still a heavy fish |
| Spawning colour | Deep olive to maroon, blunt head on mature males | Deep red flanks with a green head |
| Where in the column | Deeper, following the cold band | Higher and nearer shore |
Why the difference matters
Nearly every Pacific and Great Lakes fishery sets separate seasons, bags and size rules per salmon species, and many require you to identify the fish before it comes in the net. On the water the distinction is also practical: chinook hold at a temperature and are found by reading the profile, while coho sit higher and respond to surface conditions and low light.
Size limits, bag limits, slot limits and seasons are set by your state wildlife agency — and for many offshore and migratory species by federal regulators — and on many waters they differ from the statewide rule. They also change between seasons. Check the current regulations for the exact water you are fishing before you keep a fish — we do not republish limits here, because a number that is a season out of date is worse than no number.
Full entries
Each fish has its own page with every field mark, the rest of its look-alikes, where it holds and the conditions it feeds in: Chinook Salmon and Coho Salmon.
Or skip the key entirely — photograph the fish and Global Fishing League names the species, returns the scientific name with it, and files the catch with the tide, pressure, water temperature and everything else it came from.