Chinook Salmon

Salmon make big, powerful line-peeling runs using their great strength to their advantage.

Chinook or “king” salmon are the largest of any salmon, with adults often exceeding 40 pounds. Chinook on these rivers generally mature at about 30 inches and 20 pounds, but there are opportunities in the 30 – 40 pound range. Chinook look a lot like coho while at sea. They're blue-green back with silver flanks with small black spots on both lobes of the tail, and black pigment along the base of the teeth.

Chinook may spend from 3 months to 2 years in freshwater before migrating to the ocean to feed and mature. They generally remain at sea for 2 to 4 years. Adults migrate from the ocean into the freshwater streams and rivers of their birth in order to mate. They spawn only once and then die.

I fish these rivers for spring and fall runs. The runs are identified based on when adult Chinook salmon enter freshwater to begin their spawning migration. I’ve found that the spring Chinook, or “springers” are spectacular in flavor.

Resources

More about Chinook salmon from NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service.