"Yamame" is a dwarf riverine form of cherry salmon/masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou). Almost all Yamame are males, and they participate in spawning with sea-run females.
On Sakhalin, we call them "podkamenka" (literally "under the rocks"). They inhabit mountain rivers in large numbers and bite well on all types of lures. Legally, it is prohibited to keep them, but unfortunately, many anglers continue to take these fish in large numbers. Moreover, they sometimes argue that it is a separate species.
During spawning, unlike the sea-run individuals, they do not turn pink but turn black. Some die after spawning, while others continue to live on.
P. S. I'll say in advance that in some of the photos my hands are dry. Those photos were either taken a long time ago (at that time I had little experience handling fish properly) or I simply had no way to wet my hand (I was fishing from a bridge or a steep bank). Nowadays I try not to make this mistake.
Posted by Mannelig_127
5 Comments
Nice catches, and interesting to know
They need to plant them in the US
Beautiful fish and river. Where are you located? Thank you for sharing.
Masu salmon have been on my bucket list for years now, they’re the only species of pacific salmon I’ve yet to catch. These almost sound similar to the “Jack” (we call em jacks as they’re male 100% of the time) coho and Chinook we have over here in BC, they return to spawn at 2-3 years of age rather than the standard 4-7, they tend to survive longer in freshwater than the adults, allowing them to get upriver in low water conditions and wait for the females to make it up to spawn. Though if I’m reading your description correctly it appears those guys aren’t anadromous and spend their lives entirely in the river.
Yes I see you did post that initially. Must admit, I had to bust out Google Maps to find you – very cool.