Chinook Salmon
Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is a freshwater and saltwater species. The first thing to check: black gums at the base of the teeth on the lower jaw — the classic king salmon check. The look-alike to rule out is Coho Salmon: coho have white gums with a black jaw line and spots on the upper tail lobe only.
Last updated
| Scientific name | Oncorhynchus tshawytscha |
|---|---|
| Also called | king salmon, king, spring salmon, tyee |
| Water | Freshwater and saltwater |
| Group | Salmon |
| Temperature | Holds and feeds best between 44 and 58 °F. In the Great Lakes, boats follow that band through the water column all summer. |
How to identify a Chinook Salmon
- Black gums at the base of the teeth on the lower jaw — the classic king salmon check.
- Small black spots on the back and on both lobes of the tail fin.
- The largest Pacific salmon by a wide margin, with a heavy body and a blunt head on mature fish.
If you would rather not work through a key on a wet deck, photograph the fish and let the app name it — you get the common and the scientific name back, and the record is filed before you release.
Fish it is mistaken for
| Species | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Coho Salmon | Coho have white gums with a black jaw line and spots on the upper tail lobe only. |
| Pink Salmon | Pinks have very large oval spots on the tail and much smaller adult size. |
Side-by-side comparisons
Read the full entry for Coho Salmon and Pink Salmon.
Where it lives
Pacific coast from California to Alaska, and established in the Great Lakes. Feeds in salt water for years before running natal rivers to spawn and die.
Temperature
Holds and feeds best between 44 and 58 °F. In the Great Lakes, boats follow that band through the water column all summer.
The conditions that matter
Chinook are a thermocline fish in open water and a river-stage fish once they run. Trolling depth is chosen from the temperature profile, not a guess. In rivers, the run is triggered by flow and temperature together — a logbook holding water temperature and depth per fish is the record that finds the band next season.
Global Fishing League records 18 weather and water readings against every catch automatically — tide stage, barometric pressure, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, swell, current, moon phase and more, taken at your GPS position at the moment you log the fish. Over a season that turns a hunch about chinook salmon into a pattern you can read.
See every reading recorded with a catch, or the guides to what each reading means.
Size limits, bag limits and seasons
Size limits, bag limits, slot limits and seasons are set by your state wildlife agency — and for many offshore and migratory species by federal regulators — and on many waters they differ from the statewide rule. They also change between seasons. Check the current regulations for the exact water you are fishing before you keep a fish — we do not republish limits here, because a number that is a season out of date is worse than no number.
What the app does do is make your side of it accurate: every catch carries a length measured from the photograph, a GPS position and a timestamp, exportable if you ever need to show your work for a tournament or a record claim. It is also what a Global Fishing League entry is built from — a record that verifies itself, without publishing where you caught the fish.