Salmon - includes related articles on salmon fishing on the West Coast

The West Coast's wonder-fish is staging a comeback . . . or is it? Here is how and where to go fishing. And here is how to understand the salmon dilemma

"Fish on!" the deck hand shouts, staring hard in your direction. For an instant no one moves, then everyone moves at once. Angling pals back away as you scramble for the dancing rod, feet sliding on the pitching deck. Reeling for all you're worth, you quickly feel the power of the salmon at the other end of the line.

Will the 20-pound-test hold, will the hook stay put, will your prize be lost at the net? The battle has been joined, but the outcome is never guaranteed. That's part of salmon fishing's appeal, and why so many of us in the West can't get enough of it.

After decades of decline in salmon's fortunes, some runs are rebuilding, offering good fishing from California's Monterey Bay to Puget Sound, Is this the beginning of a general turnaround, as fisheries managers contend? Or do recent increases, welcome as they are, only mask fundamental problems?
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On these eight pages, we survey the nascent West Coast salmon comeback. You'll find tips on where to fish and when, how to book a charter or go on your own, and (on page 196) how to bleed, clean, and ice your catch.

But not only sportsmen have a stake in salmon and their fate. This legendary fish affects all of us in one way or another.

Salmon means food for the table and a livelihood for commercial fishermen. It's the spiritual centerpiece of North Coast Indian culture and a barometer of the health of our streams. With so much at risk, we review what's being done (or not done) to protect salmon on their two most important rivers in the West--the Columbia and Sacramento.

Born to roam, salmon begin their lives in Western rivers

Five species of Pacific salmon, or Oncorhynchus, originate in fresh-water streams from Alaska to California or, increasingly these days, in hatcheries.

In the wild, the miracle begins in gravel beds beneath the waters of clear, cold, fast-flowing streams. Battered and exhausted after their long journey from the ocean, their bodies transformed by the onset of spawning, salmon pair up, mate, then die.

With her powerful tail, the female digs out a nest, or redd, about 18 inches deep and deposits up to 5,000 eggs. The male-back arched, jaws booked, teeth enlarged to ward off other suitors (see box below right) fertilizes the eggs with a milky liquid called milt. More gravel is layered over the eggs, and the cycle begins.

Young fish typically feed in fresh water for 3 to 18 months before migrating to sea. Most spend two to five years roaming the North Pacific, generally in a counterclockwise direction.

Finally, salmon return to the streams of their birth, sometimes traveling across thousands of miles of ocean to reach our coast. They school at river mouths before ascending their natal streams, often for hundreds of miles, to spawn.

When salmon meet fresh water, they begin to lose their silvery brightness and gradually take on darker spawning colors.

Big chinook, tasty sockeye, feisty coho

Salmon boast a string of common names and aliases. Starting below, we describe the five West Coast species (a sixth is native to Japan). All but pink are shown in their sea-run stage; the pink's spawning dress is typical, but the male boasts an exaggerated hump, hence its nickname"humpy."

Pink (O. gorbuscha) are smallest (1-1/2 to 12 pounds) and, in Washington, run only in odd-numbered years, such as 1989.

Chum (O. keta), or dog salmon, range from 3 to 35 pounds and are largely commercial fish. You'll know them by their pattern of faint vertical stripes.

Coho (O. kisutch), or silver, spend one to two years at sea, and average about 8 pounds (30 pounds tops). But coho are great leapers, famous fighters, and much prized by sportsmen, Look for a whitish

gum line and tail with few spots.

Sockeye (O. nerka), alias red, spend a year or so in a fresh-water lake before heading to sea, where they roam up to four years. Average weight is 7 pounds, maximum is 12. Sockeye are often regarded as a primarily commercial species, but sport anglers swear that they're the most flavorful salmon. Most streamlined of the species, sockeye have prominent eyes and soft, almost toothless jaws.

Chinook (O. tshawytscha) earn the nickname "king" (also tyee or spring) for their enormous size-average weight is 20 pounds, the world record 126. The most important salmon to sportfishermen, chinook are bigger because they spend up to five years at sea; "five-salt" salmon are always bigger than two-salt fish. Look for a black gum line and flowing tail covered with round spots.

What you catch, and where

Upriver migrations begin in spring in many areas, with successive runs continuing through summer, into fall, and even into early winter on some streams.

Ocean sportfishing begins in February in California, as late as July in parts of Oregon and Washington. Legal fishing seasons vary widely, but the ocean is often finished by Labor Day, while action continues until winter in bays, river mouths, or farther upstream. In Puget Sound, you can fish legally year-round.