The mouth is white with a white gum line and contains well developed teeth. Fry have 8–12 vertical, uniformly-shaped and spaced dark bars (parr marks) typically not extending below the lateral line. Overall color is dark greenish-brown along the back and pale iridescent green below the lateral line. Ocean-stage chum are metallic bluish-green along the back and above the lateral line with profuse tiny speckles often present. Absence of large black spots on the body or fins. The tail is highly forked and not spotted. They have a narrow caudal peduncle and white tip on the anal fin. When spawning, males take on a dark olive to brown coloration with red to purple wavy vertical stripes. They develop a hooked snout lined with canine-like teeth. Females become brown to grey colored with a broad dark horizontal bar running along the lateral line.