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Salmon Fishing Equipment Article
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King Salmon Fishing Adventures
from: Maxx Sports GuidesKing salmon fishing is one of the most popular and important sporting activities throughout the coastal and river areas of the Pacific Northwest, which includes British Columbia, Canada and Alaska. King salmon fishing is the destination of hundreds of thousands of anglers each year, bringing income to the area and money for the natural resources and wildlife management and conservation through the sale of fishing licenses.
The Key to King Salmon Fishing
The key to King salmon fishing is to understand their habits and behaviors to be able to fish for this species in the best style based on the conditions. King salmon are known by a variety of names -- Chinook, Spring, Tyee, Tule and Bluemouth. Since they're the largest of the salmon species, they can weigh more than 35 pounds.
The largest King salmon ever recorded was caught in 1949 in a fish trap just outside of Peterson, Alaska. This King weighed 126 pounds, and still has the record today. The largest King salmon ever caught using a rod and reel was also caught in Alaska, in the Kenai River and weighed just over 97 pounds.
King salmon fishing focuses on catching these fish in both salt and fresh water since they spend part of their lives in each environment. King salmon are hatched in fresh water, migrate downstream to salt water to mature, then return to fresh water to spawn and die. The Chinook or King salmon species all die after spawning, but they spend between 2 - 7 years maturing in salt water before they return to spawn. This means there's a huge variety in the King salmon fishing runs. Some years there's a difference of many pounds in the size of the run.
Young King salmon feed on plankton and insects, in fresh water and then, in their second year, they move into the salt water and begin to feed on herring, squid and crustaceans. After returning to fresh water to spawn, they again start to feed on flies, although there's some debate as to whether they're actually trying to eat the flies or just striking at them because they're irritated and excited.
Since King salmon fishing dependents on where the fish are, when choosing lures, anglers can make accurate predictions about what lure will be attractive to the fish in various waters.
For example, in ocean fishing and deep water fishing, heavier bait, Rapalas, jigs and downriggers are the most effective since they'll mimic the actions of the bait fish. In the river areas, spinner and rattle baits are more effective close to the bottom, being moved against the current. This is likely to mimic the bait fish in these areas to excite the fish moving upstream, causing them to strike at the bait.
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