When Is The Best Time To Catch Alaska Wild Salmon

Alaska is famous for its wild salmon. The flavour of Alaskan salmon depends on fat content and the environment in which it matured. Alaska’s pure waters and the wealth of natural food give Alaska salmon unparalleled flavor.

Although salmon are caught in Alaska’s pristine waters all year, fishing season in Anchorage and southcentral Alaska really heats up in late May, when the prized king salmon returns home to spawn in the area’s glacier-fed, freshwater streams.

The remaining 4 types of Pacific salmon-sockeye, coho, bud and pink-are also found in the general area.

Many anglers are now making an attempt to catch what’s known as a “grand slam”-all five species of salmon. Some say an easy way to remember which kind is which is to match them up with the fingers on your hand.

&8226 ; Thumb-Chum salmon ( Dog ). The best fishing for this fish is mid-July to late August. Chum salmon have a firm texture, tantalizing orange-pink color and fragile flavour that makes it a perfect fish for smoking. The average weight is 8 pounds and they can grow to be 25 to 27 inches long.

• Pointer finger-Sockeye salmon (Red). Most available late May to early June or mid-July, sockeye salmon are the second most abounding Alaskan salmon species. This species turns from a silvery color to a bright red body and green head as they start the journey upriver to spawn. Their average weight is six pounds and they can grow to almost 3 feet in length.

• Middle finger-King salmon (Chinook). The best fishing for king salmon is mid-June to mid- July. The biggest species of salmon in Alaska, they are cherished for their color, high oil content, firm texture and succulent taste. Average weight is roughly 20 pounds and length ranges from thirty to forty inches.

&8226 ; Ring finger-Silver salmon (Coho). With its orange-red flesh, firm texture and fragile flavor, cohos are very popular among neighbors. The best fishing for them is present in early August to mid-September. Cohos are the second biggest of the species, with average weights of 12 pounds, and range between twenty-five to 35 inches in length.

• Pinky finger-Pink salmon (Humpy). At the height of their run, millions of pinks swim up the freshwater rivers and streams to spawning grounds. Pinks are the smallest and most abundant of the species and average about 2 – 3 pounds. The best fishing for pinks occurs in mid-July to late August.

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