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Salmon Fishing

Individual Salmon Species Pages:

General Salmon Fishing Information:

Introduction to Salmon Fishing

Largely as a result of successful efforts to stock waters with salmon, these incredible game fish can be caught in the Great Lakes a swell as inland on the maritime coasts. Of course, salmon are one of the most popular gamefish in North America and can be broken down into two major categories: the Pacific salmon (chinook, coho, pink, sockeye and chum) and the Atlantic salmon. The Pacific salmon generally enter streams from northern California up to Alaska. The Atlantic salmon, on the other hand, enter streams from New York up to Labrador. Both are referred to as an anadromous fish, meaning they spend their adult life at sea and then return to freshwater streams to reproduce. Follow the links to each for detailed information on the species and the techniques to catch them.

Individual Species Overview

Atlantic Salmon

Named by early Romans, the Atlantic salmon (salmo salar), or "leaper," is arguably the most sought-after game fish in North America. Offering excellent table fare, the Atlantic salmon's original range is from Greenland to Cape Cod in the Atlantic Ocean and from Russia to Portugal. In Canadian lakes, resident landlocked Atlantic salmon are called Ouananiche.

Pacific Salmon

There are six species of Pacific salmon: chum or dog salmon (oncorhynchus keta); sockeye or blueback salmon (oncorhynchus nerka); humpback or pink salmon (oncorhynchus gorbuscha); coho or silver salmon (oncorhynchus kisutch); chinook salmon (oncorhynchus tshawytscha); and kokanee (landlocked sockeye salmon lacking anadromous instincts).

If you would like to know more about an individual species, please email us at ask@fishresource.com and we will try to assist.

Freshwater Fish Species

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