Atlantic or Pacific Salmon?

[Yellow14]

Hi Everyone

 

I've been away for a while and just got back into fishing now that my kids are a bit older. My wife is out of town and my kids are in school so I took the day off and headed to the tribs to the east of Toronto. First place was a trib near Markham that is reputed to have salmon, browns and Rainbows, so far nothing south of a dam on this waterbody.

 

After this I headed to a related trib of the above and parked in a park/conservation area and made my way to the water. Here I found a number of salmon but maybe 10 meters away there was a sign "Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program". Now Atlantics are OOS in this zone and am standing there wondering if they are atlantics or pacifics, I was unwilling to take my chances at fishing here in because I just know that if I do a CO will appear as if by magic just as I land the fish and before I ID it.

 

Is there a way to tell from the behavior?

 

From the MNR stats for these waters they were most likely a pacific species on this trib but it is also one of the waters that is being stocked for atlantics.

 

I was actually looking for brook trout spots and stumbled on the salmon by accident.

[Tom S]

Very much doubt that they would be Atlantics. There may be the occasional Atlantic returning, but the majority of the fish are Pacific salmon.

[Yellow14]

That's what I figured but the sign gave me pause. Plus I had left my roe at homes so would've been using spoons on a baitcaster, not sure if that would work on salmon in shallow creeks.