10-24 REELLIFE digital - Flipbook - Page 24
fishing
HERE WE GO…
target or catch them in
the salt, and they turn
very quickly upon hitting
the fresh water in our
tributary rivers. Since
they are not great table
fair unless caught at the
perfect time, we tend to
focus on the other species
that remain edible after
they have spent weeks or
months in the freshwater.
It is important to note that
Chum are targeted in the
Chum salmon, also known
salt water up and down
as dog salmon or keta
the Pacific Coast, but they
salmon, is a species of
are talked about much
anadromous salmon native
less than their coveted
to the coastal rivers of
cousins, the Chinook and
the North Pacific and the
Coho. Chum salmon are
Beringian Arctic. The Chum
typically commercially
is an often-overlooked
caught and marketed as
species that is not targeted
canned or smoked products
by recreational anglers quite
and exported to Asia and
like Chinook and Coho.
Europe. Their flesh tends to
The primary reason for this
be lighter in color and oil
is that we don’t usually
content than other species
of salmon, but its firmness
Fall is upon us. The Sockeye
have done their thing,
Chinook have made their
way into the rivers and are
spawning, and the Coho are
showing up until January
in some places. Since it is
an even year in the Pacific
Northwest, we will not see
a return of pink salmon this
year. That leaves us with the
fifth species of salmon, the
Chum salmon.
and flavor, if caught fresh,
make chum salmon
pleasant table fair.
One thing to be said for the
mighty Chum however is
that pound for pound, they
are one of the toughest and
hardest fighting salmon
species. They can grow to
nearly the size of Chinook
with an average weight
of 8-15 pounds, and large
fish weighing up to 35
lbs. Chum have an ocean
coloration of silvery bluegreen with some indistinct
spotting in a darker shade,
and a paler belly.
When they move into fresh
water the color changes
quickly to dark olive
green and the belly color
deepens. When adults are
near spawning, they have
purple blotchy streaks near
the caudal peduncle that
resemble stripes that get
