Fish

Onchorhynchus gorbuscha

Also known as the Humpback or Humpy describing the outrageous hump the male fish acquire on their back when they enter the fresh water.

Average size: 3 – 5 lbs
Alaska state record: 12 lbs 9ozs
Tackle used: Pink salmon like the Chum’s are quite aggressive and in most cases will attack anything pink. Knowing this, one can use small marabou lead head jigs and do quite well with either conventional or fly gear.
Habitat: Pink salmon are also bank runners, often slowing to rest in soft water back eddies or slough mouths. This combined with their aggressive nature makes these fish quite easy to target.

Oncorhynchus nerka

Also known as Red’s or Blueback(describing the blue sheen on the dorsal surface of the fish when they first enter the fresh water).
Average size: 6 – 10 lbs
Alaska state record: 16 lbs
Tackle used: Being plankton feeders during their lives in the salt water, Sockeye salmon can be very finicky and challenging to hook. Most Sockeye salmon fisherman use small sparsely tied flies, some anglers do well using simply a small red hook.
Habitat: Sockeye salmon are the most abundant of all the pacific salmon species, some of the river systems getting returns of up to two million Sockeye.Like the Chums, Sockeye tend to run the shallow water on the edges of the rivers, and it is not uncommon to see a steady stream of moving fish for days on end.

Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

Also known as Chinook, Tyee, Blackmouth, Tule, Quinnat, or Spring salmon.
Average Size: 20 – 25lbs
Alaska state record: 96.4lbs
Tackle used: Everyone has heard the statement, “to catch big fish you have to fish with big lures”, when fishing for the large Alaskan King’s this is definitely a true statement. While fishing conventional tackle we often fish with large crankbaits or “plugs”. One can use a variety of colors, but we have found that green [chartreuse] and dark pink produce very well for us.
If flyfishing is your game, large 2/0 or 3/0 marabou and rabbit strip flies in the same colors work well. The most efficient way to hook Kings on a fly rod is using a two-handed ‘Spey’ rod with heavy sink tips.
Habitat: While in the ocean, Kings live and feed at depths averaging 80 to 280 feet down, so when they enter the rivers it is no surprise that they like the bottom. While traveling through the many river systems King salmon tend t move through and hold in the deeper river channels and buckets (8-12 foot depths). Whether using flies or conventional tackle, the key to hooking these fish is using whatever means to get your lures down to there level.

Oncorhynchus keta

Is also known as Calico, keta, Fall or Autumn Salmon, and the Dog Salmon due to their large sharp teeth during the spawning phase.
Average size: 8 – 12 lbs
Alaska state record: 27 lb 3oz
Tackle used: Chum salmon are very aggressive fish, and when hooked can be absolutely explosive. The conventional tackle fisherman can do very well using small marabou lead head jigs(hot pink) fished under a sliding dink float. By the same token, fly fisherman can utilize this same technique using a floating fly line and a strike indicator.
Habitat: When the Chums arrive in the fresh water they tend to congregate in the shallow soft water areas on the down river end of gravel bars. This can be a great situation, often times you will see the Chum’s rolling and moving about in 2-3 feet of water. This makes it possible to stalk and sight cast to these fish. It can almost be like stalking Bonefish on the salt water flats of the south.