The "King" has very distinctive black gums and a silver spotted tail. It has a lightly spotted blue-green back and is by far the largest and most prized game fish. The "King" lives from three to seven years. It weighs between 1.5 and 30 kg. ( 4 and 70 lbs. ) "Kings" are commonly known as "Springs" in B.C. and sometimes called the "Black Mouth". Those over 13.5 kg s. ( 30 lbs. ) are called TYEES. Tyee sized Salmon routinely take up to an hour or more to land and have been known to take over 4 hours to successfully bring in the boat.
Silver Salmon have white gums, black tongues and a few spots on the upper portion of their silvery green colored tails. "The acrobat's of the Pacific" are 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 and 14 kg s. ( 3 and 30 lbs. ). In the Strait of Georgia from April to early June, small Coho passing from the grilse stage to maturity are called Blue backs. When the Coho "bite" is on, the action can be hot and furious.
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 ( 4lbs. ), but occasionally reaching 5.5 kg ( 12 lbs. ). They are more abundant in Northern waters in odd numbered years. Pinks live only two years. When they start the spawning cycle of their lives, they will develop humps and hooked upper jaws. They are known as the "Humpy" during spawning season.
The Sockeye is almost toothless, with prominent, glassy eyes. Slimmest and most streamlined on the Pacific species lives from four to five years. It usually weighs between 2.2 kg. and 3.1 kg. ( 5 and 7 lbs. ). Young Sockeye remain in fresh water nursery lakes a year or more before migrating to the sea. Sockeye changes to a brilliant Red when spawning. They are a preferred eating fish as the flesh is a bright pink or red in color.
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