Trout and salmon

Coho salmon

Oncorhynchus kisutch. Also called silver salmon.

Length to weight chart, typical size by age, and how to photograph a coho salmon so fishline measures it well.

Typical top length
32 in
about 13.3 lb
A 24 inch fish
5.5 lb
5 lb 8 oz
Age at 24 inches
3 to 4 years
rough, varies by water
Growth levels off
about age 4
gains slow to a crawl after

Coho salmon length to weight chart

Estimated weight for a coho salmon in average shape at each length, from the formula W = L^3.05 / 2,930 (W in pounds, L in inches). It is the same relationship fishline uses when it measures a coho salmon from a photo.

Coho salmon length to weight chart
LengthWeightRough age
12 in0.67 lb1 to 2 years
14 in1.1 lb1 to 2 years
16 in1.6 lb1 to 2 years
18 in2.3 lbabout 2 years
20 in3.2 lb2 to 3 years
22 in4.2 lbabout 3 years
24 in5.5 lb3 to 4 years
26 in7.1 lb4+ years
28 in8.9 lb4+ years
30 in10.9 lb4+ years
32 in13.3 lb4+ years
34 in16.0 lb4+ years

Total length, nose to the tip of the pinched tail. Weights are for a coho salmon in average shape. A fat fish, like a female before the spawn, weighs more and a thin one less, which a girth measurement picks up. Rows past 32 inches are bigger than typical for the species.

Size by age

fishline's growth model puts a typical coho salmon at around 32 inches when fully grown, with most of its growth done by about age 4. Younger fish add length fast; older fish mostly add weight.

Age from length is rough. Fish in warm water with plenty to eat grow faster than this, and fish in cold or crowded water grow slower. For a quick estimate from any length, use the fish age calculator.

Typical coho salmon size by age
AgeLengthWeight
1 year10.5 in0.45 lb
2 years17.6 in2.2 lb
3 years22.4 in4.5 lb
4 years25.5 in6.7 lb

From a von Bertalanffy growth curve. Fish in warm, food-rich water grow faster than this and fish in cold or crowded water grow slower, so treat every row as a rough middle.

Weigh your coho salmon

Enter the length, and the girth if you taped it, for an estimate on your fish.

Total length: nose to the tip of the tail, with the tail pinched closed.

A soft tape around the body just ahead of the dorsal fin. It tells a fat fish from a thin one.

Enter a lengthPick the species and type the length in inches. The weight shows up here, with the formula behind it and a rough age.

Photo tips for coho salmon

fishline reads length from the photo using whatever is in frame for scale, so a clean, side-on shot gives the tightest number.

  1. 1Keep the fish wet and low. Cradle it just above the water with one hand under the belly and one near the tail, side-on to the camera.
  2. 2Silver sides throw glare. Put the sun behind you or off to one side, and skip the flash when the fish is right in front of the lens.
  3. 3A wet measuring board or a net with printed marks gives fishline the tightest read. Your hand in the shot works too.

More in how to take a fish photo that measures well.

Or skip the tape. Snap a photo and fishline measures it.

Species, length and weight from one photo. 5 free measurements every month.

Measure a fish free