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I do see a adipose fin, but it lookes like half of the fin, somtimes the scar puffs out a bit due to the fact its clipped when the fish is a smolt and that fish has been around for some time. However, notice the missing pectoral fin, a SURE sign it's a Looper. Nice fish!

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"missing pectoral fin" rofl. good one. whatever it is, kudos for catching it. I know If I ever get one that big I will be releasing it anyways.

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Laugh as much as you want! Learn a bit about fish anatomy first though. The Pectoral fins are the fins behind the gills, it's "arms" per say! Look at the the pic, there aint no pec fin!

And I'd have to say that both the fish in DeathRoe's Pics that Shiner2367 posted are Steelhead for sure. They look too streamlined and shiney to be Loopers.

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I know what a pectoral fin is, and it is right there. YOU are the one who said there is no pectoral fin. it is kinda hard to see on the vertical pic, but obvious on the horizontal one. its the adipose that is supposed to be cliped.

not a looper, but a steelie...

facebookpics015.jpg

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I'm with bruledrifter on this one. No questions about it that is definitely a looper.

That's a healed over scar where the adipose fin was clipped, like brule said, sometimes they puff out like that. And the pectoral fin IS clipped on the right side of the fish. If you look at the horizontal hold, you can see the fish has it's LEFT pectoral fin, but on the vertical hold - the RIGHT pectoral isn't there. They clip the pectoral fins to distinguish the year class of the fish.

Loopers don't naturally reproduce in the rivers, at least that's what the dnr claims since they have found no evidence of this(See article here.), so I have no problem with people keeping big loopers, they don't live forever and can only take so many runs before the stress is too much anyway. They aren't like salmon because they don't die right away, but they don't spawn infinite times either.

From what I've heard, they might only spawn 2-3 different years before they die, maybe more if they don't get too beat up...but I wouldn't know...any else know more about this?

There is a lot of controversy over the subject of loopers, many people would like the dnr to stop stocking them and concentrate their efforts and funds strictly on the steelhead.

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Casaloma,

Are you reading any of this? Can you confirm that either of these fins were clipped?

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This is a great conversation and with the "season" right around the corner this might benefit a lot of people. I know when I first moved here I released a tagged 29 in. Looper because I thought it was a Steelie, didn't even take the time to get a picture. I was pretty upset when someone asked me about the fins! Lets keep pictures and discussions going....

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I found this on the MN dnr page:

Quote:

Fin clipping is a management tool used to identify hatchery-reared fish. In Minnesota we use fin clips extensively in our rainbow trout management program. Fin clips are used to determine if a fish is stocked or wild, the strain of rainbow trout stocked, the stocking location, and whether or not an angler can legally harvest the fish. In Minnesota only rainbow trout over 16 inches with a healed adipose clip may be harvested. With the exception of the adipose fin, clipped fins do sometimes partially regenerate...


Quote:

...Note that maxillary clips distinguish hatchery-reared steelhead from Kamloops. Most of the hatchery steelhead with front fin clips are no longer surviving and Kamloops will likely be the only Minnesota origin rainbow trout with a front fin clip.


The last time they clipped the pectoral fins on stocked steelhead was 1999, but this was along with the maxillary being clipped (part of the jaw that protrudes) and possibly one of the rear fins.

And this is interesting too:

FAQ on rainbow trout management in MN portion of Lake Superior

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

I'll settle this one.

RedLake1.jpg

Its a Looper, there done, finished, the end.

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you're right Frank, not the Steelie vs. Looper forum! Thanks for settleing it for us grin.gif

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

Its poor quality but if I can read it so can you.

fin%20clips%20test%201.JPG

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Looper. Now lets get back on the topic of how the shore and streams are shaping up.

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OK!!!! OK !!!!!!!!! I Got it keep all finn clipped fish. They are put and take grin.gif Boy this was a heated Deal can not wait to get some will be out tomorrow.

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Ya we all just need to get out and catch a bunch of loopers and toss them on the grill. Yummy.

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All this talk is making me a bit "loopy" about loopers!

Gonna pull the boat out of the garage today and do some last minute touches!

Ahh....can the ice melt fast enough?

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Remember not all adipose-clipped fish are loopers. Stocked steelhead have the adipose clip too. Check for a pectoral clip to know if it's a looper. If you're going to keep fish, it would be better to keep a looper rather than a clipped steelhead, which may successfully spawn.

The table Surface Tension posted is very helpful if you are interested in knowing the year class of the fish you caught or the stocking location. You'd be surprised how far some of those fish roam.

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I was not aware that they clipped a pectorl fin. I would think it would screw up the fishes ability to evade predators. Do they take the whole fin or just part.

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As a roving predator, and the habitats trout reside in, they don't really use their pectoral fins for much. They thrust themselves along with their caudal fin and streamlined body.

The whole fin is cut, btw.

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Looks like I've been out of the Loop, but certainly not out of Loopers. grin.gifgrin.gif

These things usually start when someone misses an obvious clue ( such as the clip fins ) & has certain ideals about what is ok to keep. That's cool cool.gif

I consider myself a sportsman & sportsmen don't cheat.

Back to the ice topic if anyone wants to, as the poster I just wanted to say thank you for getting my daughters pic out there again next to a Looper. That was one reason to even post the pic. To let some friends see Claire.

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Claire, is the best thing I see in the photo great she was there with Dad can she say fish Daddy?? grin.gif.

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the ice is gone to about glenshen mansion, but the little floating chunks are a good 40 fee out in some places.

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