Fishing Addict

Hi readers, sorry about not posting for awhile but with driving truck I have been in and out of town and working the night shift and my sleeping schedule is all messed up, I will be posting more regularly when this job comes to an end and I am home everyday.

I have fished for all the types of salmon which are very smart fish. Once you fish for salmon, you will be hooked for life. This is how to identify the major types of salmon.

The Chinook (King) salmon is the largest of all the salmon species. They usually range from small jacks all the way up to the monsters that you can catch in Alaska on the Kenai river. They love salmon eggs, but are sometimes very lazy and will not chase the bait. They will usually only take it if the bait is put right in front of their nose. I love to fish for these as they aren't really acrobatic; but, when on the end of a fishing line they just try to out muscle you. Sometimes they use their weight to sit on the bottom after being caught or they can also take off like a freight train down the river in an attempt to spool all the line off of your reel (which has happened to me 1 day in Canada in the Veder River; I was spooled 5 times in 1 day and I was hooked). The Chinook have a black mouth and black gums (also sometimes referred to as Black Mouths) and round spots on the lobes of the tail.

(photo credit: BC Fish and Wildlife)

The Pink (Humpy) salmon is a small species of salmon usually about 8 pounds at the most and when in the spawning phase develop a hump on their back. Do not fool yourself as these small fish fight for every pound they are worth. These fish return to the rivers of the Pacific Northwest every odd calendar year. These fish love pink colored tackle such as spoons, spinners, and corkies. They have a white mouth with black gums and an off white belly when they enter the fresh water.

(photo credit: BC Fish and Wildlife)

The Coho (Silver) salmon are a very acrobatic fish and love to chase hardware (spoons and spinners as opposed to bait in the river system). They usually range 10 lbs to 20-25 lbs at the high range. When identifying these fish, look for their black tongue, black mouth, and white gums. They also have a few round spots on the upper lobe of the tail only.

(photo credit: BC Fish and Wildlife

The Chum (Dog) salmon are also very acrobatic fish and love to bite on the colors green, purple, pink, and black. They will also nibble on eggs. Dog Salmon are known as the second largest of the salmon species and range from 10 lbs to 25 lbs and in some rare instances, much higher. They are referred to Dog Salmon because when they enter the fresh water they develop canine-like teeth; the bite from these is very painful as their teeth are very sharp. When taking a hook out of the mouths, take extra precautions to not get bit. When identifying them in the fresh water (such as the river), look for large purple bars running from back to belly and they have no spots on their backs or tails.

(photo credit: BC Fish and Wildlife) This is a picture of the ocean phase when they are still very silver.

(photo credit: Yukon River Panel)As soon as they hit fresh water when they come up river to spawn, they start to change color getting ready to spawn.

Sockeye Salmon is a very small salmon species but fight very well and fight hard for their small size. They usually range from 5 lbs - 10 lbs in weight. In my experiences, they have bit on yarn and corkies. Colors will depend on the visibility in the water. They have a blue backs(commonly referred to as Blue Backs), no spots on their tails, large scales, and small black speckles on their bodies.