Pink Salmon Fishing Guide

Pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) are the most abundant and smallest of the Pacific salmon, making up the largest share of the total annual Pacific salmon commercial harvest. Males are immediately identified during spawning by a dramatically humped back — giving them the widespread nickname 'humpy' — and a dark-spotted body that turns from silver to greenish-gray. Pink salmon operate on a strict 2-year life cycle, with odd-year and even-year populations largely genetically isolated — in some rivers, fish return only in odd or only in even years. Despite their abundance, pink salmon are underrated by most anglers and outstanding to eat when caught fresh and bright from the ocean. They were successfully introduced to the Great Lakes in the 1950s, where self-sustaining populations now exist.

Pink Salmon is a freshwater and saltwater species.

Habitat

Pacific Ocean near-shore waters from California to Alaska; spawning in coastal streams, often small ones very close to saltwater — pinks do not penetrate far inland like chinook. Great Lakes populations exist in Lake Superior tributaries. They spawn in fall in the lower reaches of rivers, often within a few miles of the ocean.

Diet

At sea, feed on euphausiid krill, amphipods, and small squid, building fat reserves for the brief spawning migration. Do not feed in freshwater — struck by lures primarily out of territorial aggression near spawning redds.

Fishing Techniques

• Small spinners in pink or chartreuse
• Small spoons
• Fly fishing with pink and white streamers
• Drift fishing roe under a float

Best Seasons

Summer, Fall

Size & Records

Average weight: 4 lbs. World record: 14.5 lbs (Kenai River, Alaska, USA (2001)).