The angler's concern, however, is not so much with the procreative habits of the salmon as it is with their behavior while feeding and after being hooked.
Salmon are rarely caught by still fishing, but they will take the spoon or a sardine or other small fish impaled upon the hook. They take the bait generally with some hesitation, though at times they strike it with all the impetuosity of the trout. Then the singing reel calls for careful and immediate action on the part of the angler, for the ten to forty pound fish on his light tackle is going to put up a fight worthy of his skill. In his mad rush for liberty the gamy fish gradually rises to the surface, and when at last checked by the skill of the angler, he will often leap out of the water to a height of from four to eight feet, his beautiful sides scintillating in the rays of the sun, forming a picture to gladden the heart of the angler, for if he be a true sportsman he will fish with such tackle only as will give his adversary a fair chance in the fight and require the fullest exercise of his own knowledge and skill to bring his fish to gaff. The salmon is a strong fighter but his rushes do not last long for a fish of its size. For this reason much of the sport of salmon fishing is lost through the use of too heavy tackle. The writer landed one without difficulty weighing 33 1/2 pounds on a nine thread, Cuttyhunk line and a 5 1/2 foot steel rod weighing less than six ounces, and I believe that a fifty pound fish can be landed with the same tackle. Trolling with hand lines for salmon is practiced by some, but such is not angling. Hauling in an impaled fish hand over hand with a small cable is neither sport nor sportsmanlike.
| CHINOOK SALMON (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) |
THE CHINOOK, OR KING SALMON
(Oncorhynchus tschawytscha)
This species has a multiplicity of names, being known in different localities as chinook, quinnat, king, Sacramento river and Columbia river salmon, besides half a dozen or more Indian names. Its distribution is the widest of any of the Pacific salmon, ranging on both sides of the ocean from the latitude of Monterey Bay to Behring Straits. The run begins on the Columbia river as early as the latter part of February, many of the fish going up its tributaries 1000 miles or more to spawn. Farther south the run becomes gradually later. The spawning season also varies with the locality, and ranges from the latter part of July to the middle of November. The date of spawning seems to be determined by the temperature of the water, for it is said that the salmon will not spawn, even if on the spawning grounds, until the water has fallen to a temperature of 54 degrees Fahrenheit.
The chinook salmon is the largest of the family, specimens having been taken in Alaska waters that have weighed 100 pounds, while 50 to 60 pound fish are common. Those taken in the Columbia river are said to average 22 pounds, while the average of the Sacramento river catch is 16.
Head, rather pointed; eye, small and situated a little in front of the back of the mouth; body, rounded and full, the deepest part being about midway of its length; pectoral fins, short and situated low and just behind the gills; dorsal fin, nearly midway of the back; ventral fins, a little behind the center of the dorsal; anal fin about half way between the ventral and the tail; adipose fin, a little in front of the rear of the ventrals; caudal fin, or tail, slightly forked.
The back, dorsal fin and tail are generally well covered with dark brownish black spots. There are few spots as a rule on the head, and those are of a slaty color.