Sockeye Salmon
Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) is a freshwater and saltwater species. The first thing to check: no distinct dark spots on the back or the tail — the quickest separation from every other Pacific salmon. The look-alike to rule out is Coho Salmon: coho carry small black spots on the back and on the upper lobe of the tail; sockeye carry none.
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| Scientific name | Oncorhynchus nerka |
|---|---|
| Also called | red salmon, blueback, kokanee when landlocked |
| Water | Freshwater and saltwater |
| Group | Salmon |
| Temperature | Runs and holds best between 46 and 58 °F. |
How to identify a Sockeye Salmon
- No distinct dark spots on the back or the tail — the quickest separation from every other Pacific salmon.
- A large, prominent gold-glassy eye on a slim, streamlined body.
- Spawning fish turn brilliant crimson with a green head, and males develop a pronounced humped back and hooked jaw.
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 carry small black spots on the back and on the upper lobe of the tail; sockeye carry none. |
| Chum Salmon | Chum are also unspotted, but show purple-green calico bars when spawning and white tips on the anal and pelvic fins. |
Read the full entry for Coho Salmon and Chum Salmon.
Where it lives
Pacific coast rivers from the Columbia to Alaska, always tied to a lake system, since the young rear in a lake before going to sea. Landlocked populations are kokanee.
Temperature
Runs and holds best between 46 and 58 °F.
The conditions that matter
Sockeye feed on plankton at sea rather than baitfish, which is why they are famously reluctant to take a lure in the river. The fishery is about intercepting moving fish, so river level and water temperature — which govern when a run pushes through — matter more than anything happening at the surface.
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 sockeye 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.