Evergreen State Anadromous Challenge Complete!

First off this is an unofficial challenge that I set out to complete a couple of years ago, to catch (on a fly) and photograph the anadromous form of every salmonid in the State of Washington. While this challenge should have been completed back in October, however all of the coastal variety of steelhead that I had caught had been slightly too crafty for me to get a picture. A couple of weeks ago that changed and I finally finished this mini-quest off.

Steelhead - Coastal Rainbow Trout - Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus

Steelhead - Columbia Basin Redband - Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri

Coastal Cutthroat Trout - Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii

Bull Trout - Salvelinus confluentus

Chinook Salmon - Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

Coho Salmon - Oncorhynchus kisutch

Chum Salmon - Oncorhynchus keta

Pink Salmon - Oncorhynchus gorbuscha

Sockeye Salmon - Oncorhynchus nerka

It is possible that sea-run Dolly Varden may also exist in Washington State, but I have not found any evidence yet to show that the anadromous char found in our waters are anything but Bull Trout. Plus the fact that it is challenging to tell the two species apart without a genetic test would make it near impossible to prove that a fish is a Dolly and not a Bull, so I consider the quest complete!