Also known as
- Red Salmon US
- Blueback Salmon US
- Kokanee US
- Kickininee US
Identification
A slim Pacific salmon with a plankton-feeding ocean life and a famous spawning transformation to brilliant red body and green head. Delivers quick runs and dogged fights. The landlocked kokanee form stays smaller and freshwater-resident.
- Ocean phase: dark steel-blue to greenish-blue back with silver flanks and white belly
- Spawning phase: bright red body with green head — the most dramatic colour change of any salmon
- No distinct spots on back or tail — a key separator from other Pacific salmon
- Long, fine, closely spaced gill rakers for filtering plankton from the water
- Pronounced hooked lower jaw and thickened back on spawning males
Where it holds
- Offshore
- Lakes
- Rivers
Behaviour
Plankton-feeding anadromous salmon with a lake-first life history. Juveniles spend 1-2 years in natal lakes before smolting seaward. Ocean adults feed on krill, copepods, amphipods, and small squid in the upper 20m — famously unresponsive to conventional lures. Peak feeding 5-12°C (41-54°F). Returning adults stop feeding on river entry but can still be induced to strike small bright flies and wedding-ring spinners as they stage. Landlocked kokanee follow the same diet in lake form.
Diet: Krill, Copepods, Amphipods, Small Baitfish, Squid
How it's caught
Line Fishing
Trolling
The primary method — particularly for landlocked kokanee. Troll wedding-ring spinners, small hoochies, and Apex plugs tipped with white corn or Gulp behind dodgers or flashers at 0.8-1.5 knots. Pink, red, orange, and UV chartreuse dominate. Downriggers hold the gear at the thermocline where fish hold; adjust depth as water warms through the season.
Drift Fishing
Bottom-bouncing (often called 'flossing' in Alaska) is the standard river method. Cast a weighted bare-hook or sparsely-tied fly up-and-across and let it swing through holding fish on a tight line. Fish hooked in the jaw are legally retained in many Alaskan waters — check rules strictly, as flossing is banned or restricted in many other jurisdictions. The Kenai and Russian River peak runs are fished almost exclusively this way.
Spinning
Cast small spoons, inline spinners, and tungsten-head jigs to river staging fish and holding schools. Sockeye rarely commit hard — slow the retrieve and swing the lure repeatedly through the same holding pocket until a territorial strike comes. For kokanee, ultralight tackle with small pink or chartreuse lures produces well from shore in lakes.
Fly Fishing
Streamer
The standard river fly method — dead-drift or slow-swing small bright flies (Coho fly, Russian River fly, Comet, Flash fly) in pink, red, or chartreuse through holding water. Fish repeatedly through the same fish until one takes out of aggression. Short leaders, weighted flies, and controlled drifts at fish level. Effective on the Kenai, Russian, and Copper systems during the peak run.
