Looks like a rainbow to me. How did you determine it was a Koke? I can never tell differences so I throw them all back to be safe.
I also thought it was a Rainbow at first. It had some of the bluest lines running along its back that I've ever seen -- and I've seen more rainbow trout than probably anyone here -- and it wasn't slimy like most trout, but had a rougher, more scaly body. Also, we asked a couple of regulars out there what they thought of it, and they said it was definitely not a rainbow, and even thought it could be a Silver Salmon. Found this online: "the sockeye salmon is called the kokanee or silver trout when it resides in fresh waterways." I'm going to go with the local guys who know more than me. Either way, it was an amazing fish.
I hunt big game for sport. It's necessary here and much more humane than winter starvation kills or getting eaten alive by a cougar.
This is the small buck I took last year on the general draw muzzle loader hunt. I put a .50 caliber slug in his *** and another in his heart. I normally wouldn't shoot such a small buck but this one had some cool character on one of the right tines that I wanted to get a closer look at.
Small one? Haha, please. I have no desire to murder big beautiful animals, but if other people do, that's fine by me. I understand population control, etc. and I LOVE deer and elk meat.