The king among the pacific salmons is without dispute the chinook or king salmon. It lives after hatching for a year in the river before migrating down to the ocean. In the sea it can be identified by its steel blue back and head, the black dots on the tail fin and the typical black outlining of the mouth. The chinook spends its first six years in the ocean as an aggressive predator growing up to a weight of ninety pounds. Depending on its "home-river" it will reach an average weight of 25 to 66 lbs. The Skeena River's chinooks average 40 lbs. As soon as the chinooks enter the fresh water of the rivers, they stop eating, their color turns into a reddish purple and the males develop a distinctive hook-nose.

Whenever there is talk about great chinook-catches in Canada you will hear the name "Skeena river" along with it. Tens of thousands of these big fish swim up the Skeena River to their spawning grounds. The third biggest salmon run of the Skeena river enters the Sustut River.

Indians call the Sustut River "Mother of Skeena". In early August the runs and pools of this unique river far away from any civilisation fills up with more than 20'000 huge chinooks. You can fish for them with the fly or a spinning lure and their average weight reaches about 30 lbs. The majestic Sustuk flows like it always flowed and the salmon run arrives just as ever before in early August. Our guests are ferried to the best fishing spots with Jet-Boats.

The dog salmon or chum weighs up to 33 lbs and is probably canadas most underestimated food fish. Innuit feed their sled dogs with this salmon, thus the derogatory name "dog salmon". Right after the climb, the chum is a great food fish, that makes great sushi or smoked salmon - particularly the belly meat. It's roe is sold as caviar.

The chum lives up to 6 years. It leaves the rivers already a month after hatching for the ocean.

The sockeye is the most popular sport fish. It lives up to three years in rivers ans lakes before migrating to the ocean. It lives there for another 4 years growing up to a weight of 18 lbs. Depending on its "home river", they reach an average weight of 9 to 14 lbs. The sock eye eats mainly shellfish resulting in its shiny-red, lean meat. The sockey is great for smoking and saucing (Hans Birkl says: for smoking take only silvery climbers). The coloring of the sockeye is very intense, the head turing dark green while the body takes on an intens red. The hook-nose sometimes grows to take on bizarre dimensions. 

The pink salmon only migrates bi-annually to its spawning grounds up the rivers. The last times were 2009 and 2011, the next time will be 2013. When they come, the come in masses and when he populates the rivers, catching another salmon is almost impossible because whenever something bites, a pink hangs on the hook.

The pink lives only for two years. It descends to the ocean already one month after hatching. When they spawn and die after two years it is possible that whole rivers smell of dead fish because nature cannot absorb the sheer mass of dead bodies quickly enough.

The Coho lives for two years in rivers and lakes before migrating to the sea. There it lives 2 years as a predator growing to a weight of up to 40 lbs. Depending on its "homeland river", the coho's average weight reaches 11 to 22 lbs. Of all the species of salmon, the coho is spawning the latest in the season (September). The coho is the most skillful of all pacific salmons and fights it's way over all obstacles, even up the Yukon deep into Canada. 

The charr is being a by catch when fishing for salmon.

A trip to the Yukon will give us opportunity to fish for the Namaycush.