Chinook salmon
Know your fish
Chinook salmon
Also calledking, spring, tyee (over 30 lb)
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Typical size:55–100 cm, 3–15 kg
- Black gum line at the base of the teeth
- Black spots on the back AND on both lobes of the tail
- Large, silver-blue; square tail with spots all over
Looks like: Coho has white gums and spots only on the upper tail lobe. Chum has no spots and purple bars.
cm
OK to keep
- Minimum 62 cm in most inside waters, 45 cm on the west coast (see Area)
- Annual limit 10; record each fish on your licence immediately
- Barbless hooks only
Must release
- Anything under the Area's minimum
- Any chinook in a non-retention sub-area (e.g. Saanich Inlet, tidal Fraser)
Best months
January, February, March, April, June, July, August, September
Rules
Barbless hooks only. Annual limit 10. Record every retained chinook immediately. Multi-point hooks and single-point hooks over 22 mm prohibited Sep 1 to Mar 31.
Fishing licences across Canada
Rig to tie
- 1Main line 20–30 lb braid
- 2Swivel Size 4 barrel swivel
- 3Leader 20 lb mono, 45 cm
- 4Buzz Bomb / Zzinger 2.5–3.5 in, sliding free on the leader. White or pearl for chinook, pink for coho and pinks
- 5Bead and hook Plastic bead then a single 2/0 barbless siwash (barbless is the law for salmon)
How to tie and fish it
Tie it:Thread leader through the Buzz Bomb, then the bead, then tie the hook. The lure slides up the leader when a fish takes so it cannot lever the hook out.
Fish it:Cast long, count down to depth, then lift the rod sharply and let the lure flutter down on a slack line. Most hits are on the fall. Fish the tide change in the first and last hour of light.