How to Identify a Freshwater Salmon

Salmon is easily one of society's most favored fish for eating. It is healthy for you (considered "brain food") without the mercury risk that most of the fish we consume have. Though many of the fish in the salmon family are similar in look, these steps will help you to find the distinguishing markers on six of the most common varieties of freshwater salmon.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Identify Chinook, Coho and Pink Salmon

1. Notice the silver coloring of the Chinook salmon, also known as the King Salmon. There are dark spots over the silver background that will cover its head and tail as well as back. This salmon has black gums and mouth, different from the other varieties of this species.
2. Look for gray gums and spots on the lower part of the tail of a Coho salmon. Keeping in mind that salmon migrate from salt to fresh water, the Coho salmon has a silver background with black spots when in salt water or recent to fresh water.
3. Note how the flesh is pink on the Pink Salmon, giving it its name. They are also known as Humpback Salmon for the hump that the males have on their backs during the spawning season. There are also large oval spots on its back and tail.

Identify Sockeye, Atlantic and Chum Salmon

4. See the blue-green coloring of the Sockeye Salmon with tiny black spots on the back. When they are spawning, their bodies are bright red with pale green heads.
5. Identify the Atlantic salmon by the X or Y shaped spots on its back. This variety is mostly silver or white on the belly and the back coloring could be anything from olive to blue. Their jaws are very short and do not extend past the eyes.
6. Consider that the Chum Salmon is the easiest of the six varieties to spot. Their bright green bodies with purple and green bars give them the nickname calico salmon and makes them different from other fish in their areas.