The Silver Salmon Award Goes To...

We did not watch the Olympics. This year, our free time was almost completely diverted to fishing. We have just completed our first full year here in Nome, becoming eligible for subsistence fishing and hunting. While The hunting might become a possibility in the future, fishing seemed like the better first step.

In my humble opinion, Silver salmon are the best to fish for. There are several types of fish including 5 types of salmon commonly seen in Alaska: Pink salmon, Silver salmon, Chum Salmon, King Salmon, and Red Salmon. The differences between them make them each a unique prize of the river.

Pinks or "humpys" are the most numerous. They are, however the least wanted. They are a bit smaller and are more fatty than some other types. They come up stream early in the summer and will bite almost any hook. They are the "practice fish" while you wait for the Silvers. Many people catch these for food themselves because it is possible to catch enough to feed a family for much of the year, however, some people catch them primarily for sport or dog food. Not a bad idea considering how much dogwood it takes to feed a team of sled dogs.


Chum salmon or "dog salmon" aren't ones that I have seen much and therefore don't know that much about. They are a decent sized fish that seemed to taste okay once grilled. I think they aren't in high numbers in the river.

King Salmon and the Red Salmon both are very desirable fish, as they have a very tasty meat and have a lot of it. Kings are usually the largest of the salmon types and reds are, in certain locations, in huge numbers. The problem with fishing for Kings or "Chinooks" and
Red's or "Sockeye salmon" is that they just don't bite a hook. To catch them you need a net. Dip netting is very popular, but can leave you with any where from 4 fish after a day, to 450 fish. You have to be able to deal with that many at a time.

Silvers or "Coho salmon" are the ones to fish for. They can get pretty large (I caught one about 22" last year) and are not nearly as common as the Pinks. They are a little pickier about the lures they go after and once they bite, they'll put up an amazing fight before you can bring one to shore. Silvers are the most fun of all the fish to fish for and are super tasty. 
Learning to fillet our own salmon has been an exciting part of this subsistence experience.