When Is The Best Time To Catch Alaska Wild Salmon

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

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

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

Many anglers are now trying to catch what’s known as a “grand slam”-all 5 species of salmon. Some say a straightforward way to remember which kind is which is to match them up with the fingers on your hand.

• Thumb-Chum salmon ( Dog ). The best fishing for this fish is mid-July to late August. Buddy salmon have a firm texture, tantalizing orange-pink color and delicate flavor that makes it a perfect fish for smoking. The average weight is 8 pounds and they can grow to be 25 to twenty-seven inches long.

&8226 ; Pointer finger-Sockeye salmon ( Red ). Most available late May to early June or mid-July, sockeye salmon are the second most common Alaskan salmon species. This species turns from a silvery color to a bright red body and green head as they begin the journey upriver to spawn. Their average weight is 6 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 largest species of salmon in Alaska, they are prized for their color, high oil content, firm texture and succulent taste. Average weight is roughly 20 pounds and length ranges from 30 to forty inches.

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

&8226 ; Pinky finger-Pink salmon ( Humpy ). At the height of their run, millions of pinks swim up the freshwater brooks and streams to spawning grounds. Pinks are the littlest and most abundant of the species and average about two to 3 pounds. The best fishing for pinks takes place in mid-July to late August.

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