Oncorhynchus nerka.
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For most amateur fishermen or women one of the toughest parts about salmon fishing is being able to obviously identify which particular type of salmon that they have caught. Since fishing regulations are based on species it is highly critical that you can tell each from the other to prevent being in violation of the license and probably facing fines or more serious outcomes. Learning about salmon fishing and assorted species isn’t too troublesome, and the general outlines provided below should be all that is needed to spot the salmon species.

The following tips about salmon fishing species identification will apply only to grown up salmon and may not apply to juveniles and smelts.

Chinook - it’s important to recollect when talking about salmon fishing that many species go by different names. The Chinook is also known as the King and blackmouth. It’s the largest of the Pacific salmon, and is simply identified by the distinct black coloration to the lower gums. They’re olive or brown in coloration on the back with darker black coloration on the sides. They have many small, dark spots on the back.

Coho - AKA Silver salmon, are smaller than the Chinook or King salmon. They’ve a bluish green color to the skin on the head and back. Depending on the time of year the sides of the Coho might be wine colored or even a very brilliant red. The cover of the gills will be extraordinarily reddish across the year.

Chum - one of the less common salmon it is important to understand about salmon fishing this species to achieve success. They will generally not move far inland and will stay close to salt water. Buddy is the second largest of the Pacific salmon species and are simply distinguished by their red to purplish blue color and horizontal bars. They also have a particularly distinctive and pronounced set of teeth.

Sockeye - this salmon is terribly red in color and may occasionally be mistaken for the Coho because of the coloration. Sockeye spend up to 2 years in a fresh water lake before moving out the sea, and are unique in this aspect. They have no distinct spots and the female is less brilliantly colored than the male. Male Sockeyes have a noticeable hump on their back just before the dorsal fin.

Kokanee - this is the actually land locked salmon, living its complete live cycle in a fresh water lake, never venturing to the salt water. In physical description they are almost identical the Sockeye, being red in color and males having the dorsal hump.

When learning about salmon fishing and fish identification it is a brilliant idea to bring a salmon identification book and don’t forget to practice conservation and return fish to the water whenever limits are reached.

For more information about food and useful cooking tips, check out cooking101.org and also have a look at canning smoked salmon.