Side by Side

Brown Trout Salmo trutta

Typical: 16–26 in, 2–10 lb

Key field mark: Red-orange spots with pale halos and a nearly spotless tail mark a brown trout; steelhead and the salmon carry black-only spots and a clearly spotted tail.

• Buttery-brown to golden body
• Both black AND red/orange spots, many ringed with pale halos
• Few or no spots on the squared tail
• Adipose fin often tinged orange
• Sparse spotting below the lateral line
• Thick, blunt head

Full Brown Trout guide — season, gear and rules →

King Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

Typical: 24–36 in, 10–25 lb

Key field mark: Spots across BOTH tail lobes plus a solid black gum line (the "blackmouth") confirm King/Chinook over Coho, which shares a dark mouth but has WHITE gums and spots only on the upper tail lobe. (An adipose fin alone proves nothing, every salmonid has one.)

• Black gum line at the base of the teeth ("blackmouth"), inside of mouth dark
• Black spots on the back AND on BOTH lobes of the tail
• Silver body with greenish-blue back, small scales, silver retained on the tail
• Robust, deep body with a broad, firm tail that holds its shape when gripped
• Anal fin shorter-based than a trout's; large sharp teeth

Full King Salmon guide — season, gear and rules →

When Each Is Running July — current month highlighted

Where Brown Trout and King Salmon Overlap

Both run in Great Lakes — that is where telling them apart actually matters.

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