When Is The Best Time To Catch Alaska Wild Salmon

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When Is The Best Time To Catch Alaska Wild Salmon

Sunday, August 16th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

Alaska is feted for its wild salmon. The flavour 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 unique flavor.

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

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

Many anglers are now attempting to catch what’s known as a “grand slam”-all five species of salmon. Some say a simple 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. Chum salmon have a firm texture, tempting orange-pink color and fragile flavour that makes it a perfect fish for smoking. The average weight is eight 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 abundant 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 three feet in length.

&8226 ; 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 valued for their color, high oil content, firm texture and tasty taste. Average weight is roughly twenty pounds and length goes from thirty to forty inches.

&8226 ; Ring finger-Silver salmon (Coho). With its orange-red flesh, firm texture and fragile flavour, cohos are really preferred among neighbors. The best fishing for them is in early August to mid-September. Cohos are the second biggest of the species, with average weights of 12 pounds, and range from 25 to 35 inches in length.

• 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 usual of the species and average about 2 - 3 pounds. The best fishing for pinks occurs in mid-July to late August.

To get more recipes and cooking ideas, visit cooking101.org and while you are at it, you might also want to have a look at salmon fishcakes.

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