Expert-Guided Oregon River Fishing | Reel Fast

Chinook Salmon

# Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Chinook salmon is also known as King Salmon and is the largest of the Salmon species. It is a popular game and commercial fish. Oncorhynchus tshawytscha is similar to its brethren Coho salmon and Rainbow trout. King Salmon has silver sides and blue-green back. It has black spots on the head, back, tail, and all the fins. It also has a black mouth and gums. Wild salmon are well known for their hard fighting ability and excellent table fare. ## Chinook Salmon Size and Weight Chinook salmon is a large fish and it can grow from 12 to 39 inches and weighs around 7 to 15 pounds. But depending on the habitat, weight can exceed 20 - 30 pounds. ## Chinook Salmon Interesting Facts • They can live up to 7 years. • This specie is anadromous. They migrate to Seawater and later return to spawn in freshwater. • Oncorhynchus tshawytscha die soon after spawning. • King salmon have reddish-pink or orange meat. • Males are more colored than females and have a distinguished nose and upper jaw. • Chinook salmon leaves a water body if the habitat starts degrading, making it a good indicator of the water conditions. ## Chinook Salmon Habitat Young Chinook salmon can be found in freshwater and estuaries. Adults move into the open Ocean for better nutrition and food. The fish can also be found in cold streams, especially in hiding places such as tree roots. Snow melting into lakes and streams also helps their environment. ## Chinook Salmon Spawning Chinook salmon are ready to spawn from 2 to 7 years of age. Female makes redds or gravely nests and lays the eggs. Depending on spawning time and temperature, hatching takes place in early spring or late winter. ## Chinook Salmon Food Young Chinook salmons feed on plankton, insects, small fish, and invertebrates. Adult Salmon in Ocean also enjoy many organisms such as sand lance, pilchards, squids, herrings, and crustaceans. ## Chinook Salmon Fishing Chinook salmon is sensitive to light so they stay at water bottom mostly. So, anglers should use weighted baits. The best time for fishing them is early morning or in the evening. Ship Creek in Anchorage, Alaska, and Lake Oahe in South Dakota are among the top spots to fish them. • Fly fishing King salmon is very exciting, but keep in mind to not swing too far and keep the fly swimming in water. • When Salmon fishing in lakes, down-rigging and trolling works best. • Anglers can also still fish in deep water using a herring. • Trolling is also an effective method using plugs, spoons, live or dead bait. ## Chinook Salmon Baits and Lures Fly Fishing: when selecting flies for king salmon, most of the time exact fly pattern is not overly important. However, depending on a bunch of variables (light, water levels, location, etc.) fly color can make a big difference. Some examples include rhea tube intruders, bunny leeches, marabou tubes, shanked intruders, minnows. On a bright day lean towards bright color combos like chartreuse/blue or pink/orange, and for cloudy/dark days blue/black and purple/black color combos. Other Fishing: Use of plugs, spoons, trolling flies, live or dead bait, sand shrimps ## Chinook Salmon Distribution Chinook can be found in the colder water of the Pacific Ocean from the coast of Alaska, Western Canada, Oregon, Idaho, Washington State, and Northern California. It has been introduced in Great Lakes of United States and can also be found in Japan and Russia.

Lake Sturgeon

Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) Fish Description

The Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) or Rock Sturgeon is a freshwater gamefish found in almost all water systems across North America. It is also sometimes called the “Prehistoric Fish” as it’s been found that, according to fossil records, it already existed since the Cretaceous period about two hundred million years ago. They are also known for their long lifespan with males reaching up to fifty-five years while females can reach more than a century.

Aside from being the oldest native freshwater fish on the continent, it is also the largest. Females are often much bigger than males as they can measure up to nine feet long and weighing a little more than three hundred pounds. Males, on the other hand, have been known to reach only six feet in length. The biggest verified catch, however, measured eight feet long and weighed three hundred pounds. It was caught in Lake Michigan way back in 1943.

Lake Sturgeons easily be identified because of their rather menacing appearance as well as their size. These freshwater behemoths have a long, sleek body that’s greenish to grey in color. It doesn’t have scales, rather, rows of spiny plates on the sides that act as armor that protects them from abrasions and predators. Much like sharks and rays, most of their bones are cartilaginous, making their body a bit more flexible, which helps them fit into crevices at the bottom of lakes and rivers as they forage for food. And with the help of their four barbels (whisker-like organs) located in the front of their mouth, they can “feel” their way around the lake and river beds and locate their diet, which consists mainly of insects, worms, snails, crayfish, and small fishes.

Interesting Facts About Lake Sturgeon

• The biggest Lake Sturgeon caught on record measured eight feet long and weighed more than three hundred pounds.
• The world record fish was caught by a sports angler in Lake Michigan in 1943.  
• Despite its intimidating size and appearance, the Lake Sturgeon is a docile creature.
• They eat by sucking their mostly bottom-dwelling preys into their retractable mouth.
• They have been known to jump in the air during the spawning season.
• They have one of the longest lifespans among freshwater fish with some individuals known to live for more than a century.
• They are also sometimes called “Prehistoric Fish” as fossil records have shown they already existed since dinosaurs still roam the earth.
• They are mostly targeted for their tasty meat and eggs, which are made into caviar by curing in salt.
• Lake Sturgeon populations were once healthy in The Great Lakes but have seen a drastic decline from the late 1800s up to now. 
• The population dropped due to overfishing and pollution as well as the construction of man-made structures near and on the waters, which destroyed their natural habitat.
• Strict regulations, including fishing limitations for both sport and commercial fishers, were placed to help with the species’ population recovery.
• Other population recovery measures have also been taken, including taking eggs from their habitat and brought to hatcheries until they reach their juvenile stage when they would be released back into the wild.
• Lake Sturgeon populations have recently reached “safe” levels

Lake Sturgeon Average Size and Swimming Speed

Although there were some reports of Lake Sturgeons reaching six to nine feet long, these sizes are quite rare. Most that can be fished today can only reach three to six feet and weigh between thirty to one hundred pounds on average. Also, Lake Sturgeons can often be seen swimming slowly on river and lake beds, but they can swim quickly in short bursts if they have to, especially when they feel threatened.

Where to Find Them - Habitat and Distribution

They were once abundant in the Great Lakes. And though the populations have grown since regulations were placed, their numbers haven’t fully recovered yet. Aside from the Great Lakes, you can find them in the Mississippi River drainage basin south to Alabama and Mississippi. You may also check out Detroit River and up north to Lake St Clare. You can also fish up north in Canada via Lake Winnipeg as well as both North and South Saskatchewan Rivers and even as far north as the Hudson Bay Lowlands. They are also said to be abundant in Lake Champlain and various Vermont rivers as well as in the lakes and rivers of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Lake sturgeons are bottom-dwellers, meaning they prefer sandy or gravel habitat at the bottom of a river or lake bed from where they forage for food. That said, you will have a better chance of hooking one near deep holes, eddies and along drop offs.

Lake Sturgeon Fishing Tips

Lake Sturgeons are quite huge so you will need to use tackle that is strong and sturdy enough to handle a fish that weighs 100 pounds or more. You may also need a big landing net and gloves not only because of their size but because they have rough skin as well as bony plates with razor sharp spines, which, of course, can be painful if they made contact with your bare skin. As for bait, a glob of nightcrawlers would be enough to lure these behemoths into your trap. 

Steelhead Trout

Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Fish Description 

Steelhead (often called steelhead trout) is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coastal rainbow trout that typically returns to freshwater to spawn after living two to three years in the ocean. Steelhead and Rainbow Trout are actually the same species, but they have different lifestyles. Steelhead spends part of their lives in the sea before going to rivers to breed—while rainbow trout spend their lives entirely in freshwater. Because of this, rainbow trout and steelhead are different in appearance, most noticeably in size and color. Rainbow trout derive their name from their beautiful, multi-hued coloration. Their bodies are blue, green, or yellowish, shading to silvery-white on the underside, with a horizontal pink-red stripe running from the gills to the tail and black spots along their backs. Steelhead is generally more streamlined in shape and silvery or brassy in color as adults, with black spots on their backs earning them their name. Steelhead has a streamlined body. They have black spots on the back and a pinkish-red stripe is present between the tail and the gills. Unlike rainbow trout, its body is more brassy and silvery in color. The anal fins contain 10 -12 rays. 

Steelhead Trout Habitat and Distribution 

Steelhead trout come and occupy freshwater lakes and streams during their lives. As a protective cover, Steelhead trout use wood, boulders, and vegetation. For spawning, Steelhead trout returns to freshwater bodies for a small period and spends most of their life in sea or estuaries. 

Oncorhynchus mykiss is an excellent game fish in northern America.it native to the west of Rockies. But now steelhead trout is introduced in the majority of states. It is also present on all continents. The only place that has no steelhead trout is Antarctica. 

Steelhead Trout Weight and Length 

The average length of Steelhead trout is 24 inches but there are reports of steelhead trout reaching 45 inches. 55 pounds is the maximum weight that is reported for steelhead trout. 

Steelhead trout Interesting facts 

1. The life expectancy is 11 years.
2. Steelhead trout spawn multiple times.

• They are migratory fish. 

• Rainbow trout lives all its life in freshwater but steelhead trout spend life in the sea and only come to rivers to breed • Due to time spent in the marine environment, they develop a lot of black spots on the body. 

Steelhead Trout Diet 

They can eat anything like eggs, crustaceans, mollusks, small fish, and insects in adult age and when they are young they feed on zooplankton. 

Steelhead Trout Best Fishing Techniques 

The best techniques for this fish are drifting, plunking, back trolling, and fly fishing. For fly fishing, both double and single-handed rods can be equally effective. They can be helpful to drift a nymph rig or swing a fly in the water. Spey rods and switch rods are very popular for fly fishing. The handiest Spey rod is a 13.5-foot 7-weight rod. Steelhead fly fishing is challenging but the reward is a tremendous fight. 

Steelhead Trout Baits and Lure 

For wet swing, it is better to use number 6-number 8 flies that are tied thinly such as Golden Demon, Skunk, Brad’s Brat, Silver Hilton, Max Canyon, Surgeon General, Purple Peril, and Skykomish Sunrise. You can use a bomber as a dry fly. 

Steelhead Trout Migration and Spawning 

They show migratory behavior as they spent the majority of their adult years in the sea. They come to freshwater for spawning and then return. On the gravel of freshwater bodies such as tributaries, steelhead trout female lay eggs which are fertilized by the male. They can lay 9000 eggs at a time but it depends on the female steelhead trout size. 

Steelhead Trout Season 

The best time of year for catching starts in mid-fall and ends in spring. ## The Trout Family Trout are members of the family Salmonidae, order Salmoniformes. The native trout family is closely related to salmon. A top fly fishing family of fish that are both tremendous game fish and tasty eating fish. Found in small streams, large rivers, and any trout stream with the right water temperature, aquatic insects, and clean water. The trout species is usually restricted to freshwater, though a few types migrate to the sea between spawnings. Members of the trout species include Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Lake Trout, Steelhead Trout, Bull Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Apache Trout and several other smaller species.