CHINOOK SALMON (KING OR SPRING)
| Limit |
2 per person over 62 cm(24.5 inch) |
| Life |
4-7 years |
| Av. Size |
6-14 pounds |
| Season |
All year |
Chinook salmon have black gums and a silver,
spotted tail distinguish the chinook from
other salmonids. It has a lightly spotted
blue-green back and is the largest, most
prized game fish. the chinook lives from
three to seven years. It weighs between 1.5
kg and 30 kg. Average-size chinooks are often
known as springs in B.C. Those over 13.5
kg are called tyees, and in the U.S., chinook
are called king salmon.
COHO SALMON (SILVER)
| Limit |
2 per person over 30 cm |
| Life |
3 years |
| Av. Size |
3-8 pounds |
| Season |
May-Oct |
Coho have white gums, black tongues and a
few spots on the upper portion of their bodies
and silver-coloured tails. They have a wide
tail base. The cleithrum(collar of the fish,
under the gillcover) is distinctly blue peppered
or mottled. Bright silver with a metallic
blue dorsal surface, coho usually live for
three years and grow rapidly in their final
year. They weigh between 1.3 kg and 14 kg.
In the Strait of Georgia from April to early
June, small coho passing from the grilse
stage to maturity are called bluebacks.
SOCKEYE SALMON (RED)
| Limit |
4 per person over 30cm |
| Life |
4-5 years |
| Av. Size |
6-10 pounds |
| Season |
Aug-Oct |
The sockeye is almost toothless, with numerous long gill rakers and prominent,
glassy eyes. Slimmest and most stream-lined of the Pacific species, the
silver-blue sockeye lives from four to five years. It usually weighs between
2.2 kg and 3.1 kg but can reach 6.3 kg. Young sockeye remain in fresh-water
nursery lakes a year or more before migrating to the sea.
PINK SALMON
| Limit |
4 per person |
| Life |
2 Years |
| Av.Size |
4-6 pounds |
| Season |
July-Oct |
Pink salmon have tiny scales and a tail heavily
marked with large oval spots. Unlike the
other salmon species, the tail of a pink
has no silver in it. In the sea, pinks have
silver bodies with spotted backs. They are
the smallest of the Pacific salmon, usually
weighing about 2.2 kg, but occasionally reaching
5.5 kg. They are more abundant in northern
waters in even-numbered years and in southern
waters in odd-numbered years. Pinks live
only two years.
CHUM SALMON
| Limit |
4 per person |
| Life |
3-5 Years |
| Av. Size |
8-14 pounds |
| Season |
Sep-Nov |
A white up on the anal fin usually identifies
a chum salmon. Resembling sockeye, but larger,
chum have silvery sides and faint grid-like
bars as they near spawning streams. The tail
base is narrow and there is silver in the
tail. They live three to five years and weigh
about 4.5 kg to 6.5 kg, but they have been
known to reach as much as 15 kg.
LING COD
| Limit |
closed |
| Season |
All year |
You can catch them anywhere there is a rocky
bottom. Because of there has been a decrease
in their population over the past few years,
we can't retain any in the Strait of Georgia.
They put up a good fight so it's very enjoyable
to catch them. One of the methods is by mooching
using live herring.
ROCK COD
| Limit |
1 per day |
| Season |
All Year |
| Av. Size |
20-30 cm |
You can catch them at the same locations
that you catch Ling Cods. After the salmon
have stopped bitting, fishermen can always
try their luck catching rock cod as a bonus.
The above information is only for the Vancouver
Coastal Area. Salmon limit is 4 per person
a day. |
