Other Common Names:

King Salmon, Spring Salmon, Tyee, Quinnat, Blackmouth, Blackjaw

State Record:

83 pounds 0 ounces

Identifying Features:

Chinook salmon have a silver body with dark spots on the back and tail. They also have black gums.

Typical Adult:

Length: Up to 46 inches (sometimes up to 58 inches)
Weight: Up to 43 pounds (sometimes up to 125 pounds)
Life span: Up to 9 years

Habitat:

An anadromous (entering a river from the sea to breed) fish, the Chinook salmon lives in the Northern Pacific Ocean but enters large Pacific coastal streams to spawn. The preferred water temperature is 53-57 °F.

Feeding Behavior:

Chinook salmon feed on other fish, as well as squid, shrimp, crab larvae, and other crustaceans.

Reproductive Behavior (Spawning):

When: Fall, but may have separate runs in the spring
Preferred Water Temperature: 40-55 °F
How: The female digs a large nest-like depression called a "redd" in a deep gravel riffle of main stream channels. She is accompanied by one dominant male and several smaller ones called "jacks." The female guards the nest.

Did You Know:

After spawning, the female Chinook salmon guards the nest for up to two weeks and then dies.

The redd is sometimes 12 feet long and 1 foot deep.

Some Chinook salmon swim as far as 1,500 miles upstream to spawn.