Chinook vs Coho: How to Tell Them Apart

Every fall there's a moment on the gravel bar when someone holds up a fish and the whole group starts arguing about what it is. Chinook and coho overlap in timing and water on a lot of BC systems, and from a distance they can look like cousins wearing the same jacket. Once you know what to check, though, the mix-up stops happening.

What's the fastest way to tell chinook from coho?

Open the mouth and look at the gum line. Chinook have black gums along the base of their teeth, on both the upper and lower jaw, while coho gums are white or pale grey. This one check settles more arguments on the bar than anything else, and it works whether the fish is bright or already colouring up.

How do the spots differ?

Chinook carry spots on both lobes of the tail, usually small and spread evenly across the whole fin. Coho tend to have spots only on the upper lobe, and they're often larger and fewer in number. If you're standing over a fish in shallow water, tipping the tail toward the light makes this an easy call before you even check the mouth.

Does body shape give it away?

Chinook generally run bigger and bulkier through the shoulders, with a thicker caudal peduncle (that's the narrow part just ahead of the tail). Coho are more streamlined and torpedo-shaped, and the peduncle is noticeably slimmer relative to the body. This is a softer clue than the gum line or spots because size overlaps a lot between smaller chinook and larger coho, but paired with the other checks it adds confidence.

What changes as they move upriver and start to colour?

Chinook darken toward olive, brown, and black with maroon patches, and males develop a pronounced hooked jaw. Coho turn a deep red on the sides with a greenish-black back and head, and that red can get vivid enough to be mistaken for a sockeye at a glance. The gum-line check still holds up at this stage, which is handy once colour alone stops being reliable.

Why does the species matter for bead and gear choice?

Chinook tend to key on larger, more muted roe clusters, while coho are famous for chasing something brighter and more aggressive. A lot of us reach for bigger, deeper-toned beads for chinook water and bump up the brightness and size of the bead for coho, especially in coloured or faster flows where the fish need a reason to commit. Our soft beads for salmon guide breaks down how we think about colour and profile for each species, and the bead size chart is worth a look if you're matching bead diameter to hook size for the first time.

If you're not sure which way to lean on a given river, the bead match tool is built for exactly that question — tell it the species and water conditions and it'll point you toward a starting colour. A lot of anglers run something like orange blaze for coho in off-colour water and switch to a more natural roe tone for chinook in clearer flows, but there's no single right answer — it changes river to river and day to day.

Does timing help narrow it down before you even see the fish?

Run timing shifts from watershed to watershed, so leaning on a calendar alone will mislead you more than it helps. It's a reasonable second clue once you've already checked gum line and tail spots, but never a substitute for looking at the fish itself. For anything tied to seasons, retention, or identification requirements where it actually matters on paper, our regulations guide is the right place to check before you head out.

Once you've got the ID dialed in, the rest is just presentation. If beads are new to your game plan, our how-to guide walks through pegging, hook placement, and drift basics so you're not guessing twice in one day.

Common questions

What's the single easiest way to tell a chinook from a coho?

Open the mouth and check the gum line — chinook have black gums on both jaws, coho have white or pale gums. It works on bright fish and coloured-up fish alike.

Do chinook and coho have different tail spot patterns?

Yes. Chinook have spots on both lobes of the tail, while coho usually show spots only on the upper lobe and they tend to be larger.

Should I use different bead colours for chinook versus coho?

Many anglers lean toward larger, more natural roe tones for chinook and brighter, more aggressive colours and sizes for coho, but conditions on the day still matter more than a hard rule.

Can I use run timing to guess the species before seeing the fish?

Only loosely — timing varies a lot by watershed, so it's a decent secondary clue but shouldn't replace checking the gum line and tail spots in hand.

Ready to put this into practice? Browse our hand-poured soft beads in the shop — orders over $75 ship free across Canada and the US.