We are fortunate in the Bristol Bay region to have healthy runs of all 5 species of Pacific Salmon.
We first see King Salmon. Kings, the largest of the salmon species, show up in the last couple weeks of June and run through the end of July. No See Um has a day camp on the Nushagak River, which is our primary location for King fishing. The Nush has one of the largest king runs in the region. The Alagnak River also has a solid numbers of kings and is a short 10 minute flight for us.
The next run to arrive are the Sockeye Salmon. Sockeyes are probably the most famous of the region’s salmon, mostly due to their sheer numbers. In 2018, 62.3 million sockeyes entered the Bristol Bay system (read more). Sockeye runs typically peak early to mid-July and will go for a few weeks.
Chum Salmon runs will overlap with the Sockeyes. Chums are larger than sockeye, aggressive, and are a lot of fun to catch. We do not keep Chums as they’re not known for being good eating. The Chum run begins mid-July and goes through the end of August.
Pink Salmon will arrive with the sockeye and chum salmon. Pinks are unique in that they only run every other year.
Silver Salmon are the last to arrive with the run beginning around the first of August and going through mid-September. Silvers are one of the more sought after salmon species as they’re abundant in numbers, acrobats when hooked, and good to eat.
