Chinook Salmon
Black gums, spotted tail lobes, and immense migrations identify a salmon whose life carries marine nutrients far inland.
Artwork inspired by Amanda Snyder
Chinook hatch in freshwater, migrate to sea, grow on marine food webs, and return to natal waters to spawn and die. Black pigment along the lower gum line is a key field mark; spots usually cover both lobes of the tail. Distinct runs enter rivers at different seasons and depend on different habitats and flow conditions.
A salmon on the redd has completed an extraordinary passage through estuary, dams, predators, warm water, and fisheries. Observe spawning from the bank without wading through clean gravel depressions, and never treat every hatchery and wild fish as interchangeable. Fin clips, tags, basin, run timing, and local regulations all matter.
- Best mouth clue
- Black lower gums
- Tail
- Spots on both lobes
- Oregon link
- Official state fish
Quick guide
- Watch from shore
- Avoid stepping on redds or driving fish from shallow spawning water.
- Check the mouth
- Black gums help separate Chinook from several other salmon.
Recognize and observe
- Watch from shore
- Avoid stepping on redds or driving fish from shallow spawning water.
- Check the mouth
- Black gums help separate Chinook from several other salmon.
- Read the run
- Season and watershed can indicate a distinct population.
- Follow local rules
- Harvest, hatchery marks, and protected stocks vary by place and date.
Good to know
“King salmon” and “Chinook salmon” name the same species. Size alone cannot identify it, especially among juveniles and smaller adults.
Notice these
- Black lower gums
- Spots on both lobes
- Official state fish