Kokanee Salmon Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Small to medium size for a salmon, typically 12 to 18 inches as adults
• Silvery blue-green body in the lake phase with no black spots on the back, dorsal fin, or tail
• Fine, numerous gill rakers used for filtering plankton
• At spawning, the body turns brilliant red with an olive-green head; males develop a hooked jaw (kype) and a humped back
• Deeply forked tail and a small adipose fin

Common look-alikes

• Rainbow trout: shows black spots along the back, dorsal fin, and tail that kokanee lack, plus a pink lateral stripe rather than uniform silver
• Lake trout: much larger, with pale spots scattered on a dark body rather than turning uniformly red at spawning
• Sockeye salmon: the same species in its ocean-migrating form, larger, and found in coastal rivers and the sea rather than landlocked lakes

Where you'll see one

Kokanee are landlocked sockeye salmon that complete their entire life cycle in freshwater, found in cold lakes and reservoirs throughout the Pacific Northwest and other stocked or naturally occurring populations across western North America, spawning in tributary streams or along lake shoals in fall.