Salmon fishing is a popular angling pursuit across many parts of the United States. From the Pacific Northwest to the Great Lakes and beyond, salmon thrive in waters across the country. This complete guide will provide everything you need to know about the top salmon fishing destinations in the US.
Best Salmon Fishing Rivers
Some of the best salmon fishing in the US can be found on major river systems Here are a few top salmon rivers to consider
Willamette River, Oregon
People know the Willamette River in Oregon for the Chinook and Coho salmon runs that happen there. Massive Chinook exceeding 50 pounds are caught here every year. You can fish for salmon in the Willamette River from boats, the banks, and the docks in and around Portland.
Salmon River, New York
One of the best places to catch salmon on the east coast is the Salmon River in New York. In the fall, huge groups of stocked Chinook, Coho, and Atlantic salmon come in from Lake Ontario. Excellent wading and bank fishing opportunities.
Skeena River, British Columbia
The Skeena in British Columbia is one of the most productive salmon rivers in the world All five species of Pacific salmon can be caught here, with huge runs of Sockeye salmon being the main draw. Remote wilderness fishing at its finest.
Kenai River, Alaska
No list of top salmon rivers is complete without the legendary Kenai River. The massive Chinook salmon of the Kenai reach sizes up to 100 pounds. Consistently regarded as the top king salmon river in the world.
Best Salmon Lakes
Salmon also thrive in many lakes across North America. Here are some top salmon lakes to check out:
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario sees impressive runs of Chinook, Coho, and Atlantic salmon every year. Most salmon are taken by trolling offshore over deep water. Charters out of ports like Oswego offer great salmon fishing.
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain between New York and Vermont offers a unique fishery for landlocked Atlantic salmon. Local anglers target them during the spring spawn. These small but hard-fighting salmon average 3-5 pounds.
Lake Shasta
Lake Shasta in northern California boasts some of the best landlocked king salmon fishing in the country. Trolling with downriggers produces Chinook up to 20 pounds with some exceeding 30 pounds.
Great Lakes
All the Great Lakes harbor multiple salmon species like Chinook, Coho, and Steelhead that were stocked to control invasive alewives. Many charter boats target salmon over deep water.
Best Salmon Fishing States
In terms of sheer variety and numbers of salmon, these states offer some of the best salmon fishing opportunities:
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Oregon: Abundant Chinook, Coho, and Steelhead runs in rivers like the Rogue, Umpqua, and Deschutes.
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New York: Excellent salmon fishing for stocked Chinook, Coho, and Atlantics in Lakes Ontario and Champlain.
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Michigan: Big runs of Chinook, Steelhead, and Coho salmon thrive in Lake Michigan tributaries.
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Alaska: No other state comes close to Alaska for trophy-size Chinook salmon, especially on rivers like the Kenai and Copper.
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Washington: Large runs of Pacific salmon return to the Columbia River system and Puget Sound every year.
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California: From the Sacramento River to Lake Shasta, options for Chinook salmon fishing abound.
Best Times to Catch Salmon
Salmon runs occur during different times of year depending on location:
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Great Lakes: September through November sees huge salmon runs into tributaries and nearshore waters.
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West Coast: Fall is prime time, but salmon runs occur May through October on rivers like the Columbia and Sacramento systems.
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Alaska: Mid-May through September is peak season for salmon runs, with July/August being optimal for trophy Chinook.
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New England: Spring and early summer offers the best stream fishing for landlocked Atlantic salmon.
Top Salmon Fishing Techniques
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Trolling: Using downriggers offshore over deep water produces great results for Chinook, Coho and Atlantic salmon.
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Casting Spoons: Casting big spoons and spinners near river mouths is deadly for salmon staging to enter tributaries.
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Drift Fishing: Drifting cured salmon eggs on a leader works great during spawning runs up smaller rivers.
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Fly Fishing: Using streamers and wet flies when salmon are spawning in shallow riffles can yield explosive strikes.
Salmon Fishing Tips
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Research regulations – some rivers are fly fishing only or have strict limits on keeping salmon.
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Use heavier line/leaders – salmon can easily snap lighter line during hard runs.
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Watch the weather – salmon fishing is best with overcast skies or light rain.
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Know the runs – timing your trip to coincide with peak salmon runs is key.
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Hire a guide – experienced guides can help you hook trout-sized salmon or massive kings.
So there you have it – a complete guide to experiencing world-class salmon fishing across the United States! Follow this advice to plan an unforgettable salmon angling adventure.
Fishing Status Commercial and recreational fishing for Atlantic salmon is prohibited. The stock is not subject to overfishing.
Only farm-raised Atlantic salmon are found in U.S. seafood markets.
Commercial and recreational fishing for Atlantic salmon in the United States is prohibited. Under the Endangered Species Act, the Gulf of Maine distinct population segment (DPS) of Atlantic salmon is also protected. Learn more about protected Atlantic salmon.
- The bodies of Atlantic salmon are shaped like a spindle. They are round in the middle, wide, and tapered at each end. Its shape is a bit flatter on the sides, which is typical of salmon species.
- About one-fifth of the length of the body, the head is pretty small. The underside paired fins are prominent, especially on juveniles.
- When adults spawn, they turn a bronze color when they get into fresh water and even darker after they spawn. Once they are done spawning, they are often called kelts or black salmon. Their silver color returns after they re-enter the sea.
- Salmon in the Atlantic leave the ocean to breed in streams and rivers that have fresh water.
- Each female lays about 7,500 eggs in redds, which are gravel nests.
- Eggs incubate slowly due to cold winter water temperatures. Nine to twenty percent of the eggs make it to the fry stage.
- The fry stay buried in the gravel for about six weeks and come out in the middle of May.
- They quickly leave the redds and get stripes on their sides to help them blend in, which is the start of the parr stage.
- In the end, parr go through a physiological change called smoltification that gets them ready for life in the ocean. Fish leave their mark on the stream or river’s chemistry during smoltification so they can find their way back to where they were born. When smoltification is over in the spring, the fish move to the ocean to grow, eat, and become adults.
- Atlantic salmon growth rates change depending on the season, the quality of their habitat, their age, their sex, and how many of them there are.
- They grow much faster in saltwater than in freshwater. Adult salmon can get up to 28 to 30 inches long and 8 to 12 pounds heavy after two years at sea.
- Atlantic salmon, unlike Pacific salmon, don’t die after they spawn. Instead, adults can go through the breeding cycle again and again. They live for 4 to 6 years.
- When they are in fresh water, juvenile Atlantic salmon eat mostly invertebrates and land insects. When they are at sea, they eat mostly fish, amphipods (small crustaceans that look like shrimp), and invertebrates.
- Atlantic herring, alewife, rainbow smelt, capelin, mummichogs, sand lances, flatfish, and small Atlantic mackerel are some of the fish that bigger adult Atlantic salmon eat.
- Birds, marine mammals, and fish prey on Atlantic salmon.
Commercial and recreational fishing for Atlantic salmon in the United States is prohibited. Atlantic salmon found in the market is farm-raised.
Wild-caught is not available. Farm-raised isavailable year-round.
Commercial and recreationalfishing for Atlantic salmon in the United States is prohibited. Atlantic salmon found in the market is farm-raised.
Nutrition Facts Servings: 1; Serving Weight: 100 g (raw); Calories: 142; Protein: 19.84 g; Total Fat: 34 g; Total Saturated Fatty Acids: 0.981 g; Carbohydrate: 0 g; Total Sugars: 0 g; Total Dietary Fiber: 0 g; Cholesterol: 55 mg; Selenium: 35 mcg; Sodium: 44 mg
- The U. S. The Atlantic Salmon Assessment Committee is made up of biologists from both the federal government and state governments. They gather information about Atlantic salmon populations across New England and make decisions about their future. The 2022 stock assessment says that Atlantic salmon are being fished too much and that returns are still at historically low levels. Summary stock assessment information can be found on Stock SMART.
- Scientists figure out how the population is doing by keeping track of how many adults come back to spawn, either directly at traps and weirs or indirectly through nest surveys and modeling.
- Atlantic salmon stocks started to drop in the middle of the 1800s because of things like habitat loss and past overfishing.
- NOAA Fisheries, the U. S. The New England Fishery Management Council, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the State of Maine are in charge of Atlantic salmon.
- Managed by the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Salmon: It is illegal to possess wild Atlantic salmon or any Atlantic salmon caught on purpose or by accident in federal waters. All Atlantic salmon caught by accident in other fisheries must be released in a way that gives them the best chance of survival. This protects Atlantic salmon in U. S. marine waters and helps with management in riverine and coastal waters that are run by the state
- In 2000, NOAA Fisheries and the U. S. Under the Endangered Species Act, the Fish and Wildlife Service said that the Gulf of Maine distinct population segment of Atlantic salmon was in danger. The recovery of this endangered population of Atlantic salmon is a joint job of the two agencies.
- They finished the Recovery Plan for the Gulf of Maine distinct population segment with the help of the State of Maine in December 2005. This plan lists the steps that need to be taken to stop the species’ decline and a way to keep threats to a minimum.
- They added fish from the Penobscot, Kennebec, and Androscoggin rivers and their tributaries to the endangered Gulf of Maine distinct population segment in June 2009. This made more Atlantic salmon protected under the Endangered Species Act. These fish are also protected everywhere they live, including in the estuaries and marine environment of these rivers.
- A new recovery plan is being made to take into account the endangered salmon’s wider range and the fact that their critical habitat has been named. This is the area that the fish population needs to survive and recover.
- NOAA Fisheries announced a new program in 2015 to focus and double our efforts to protect eight species that are among the most likely to go extinct soon. This 5-year action plan is all about what needs to be done right away to help Atlantic salmon. Species in the Spotlight.
- The United States and other North Atlantic countries formed the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) in 1984 to manage Atlantic salmon stocks through conservation, restoration, and enhancement programs. This is because Atlantic salmon migrate all along the coast of North America. The US’s membership in NASCO backs up the long-term promise by the states and federal government to fix up and rebuild U.S. S. Atlantic salmon stocks. In terms of research, NASCO works with the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). ICES gives scientific advice to NASCO members so that they can make management suggestions based on science that will help protect North Atlantic salmon stocks.
- A lot of work is still being done to restore the habitat of wild Atlantic salmon Some of these are removing or changing dams to make it easier for fish to get to freshwater spawning and rearing areas that are important for salmon’s survival, learning more about and fixing the problem of historically low salmon survival in the ocean, and adding Atlantic salmon raised in hatcheries to wild populations.
- Since 1864, Atlantic salmon have been raised in hatcheries to increase the number of wild salmon. Today, these hatcheries help keep Atlantic salmon from going extinct by stopping their numbers from dropping even more.
- In Maine in the late 1970s, Atlantic salmon were raised for commercial reasons. See Atlantic Salmon – Farmed for more information.
- Commercial fishing: Salmon from the wild are not caught for sale in the United States. Atlantic salmon were a highly prized game and food fish. Native Americans caught them before the first settlers came. In the 1600s, Maine became the first place where Atlantic salmon were caught for commercial purposes. Weirs, which are made of stakes set in a stream to trap fish, became the most popular tool in the U.S. around the time of the American Revolution. S. Atlantic salmon commercial fisheries and were changed as better materials and designs came out. In the late 1800s, Maine caught more than 90 metric tons of fish, and in some early 1900s years, it caught 45 metric tons.
- Recreational fishing: People have been fishing for Atlantic salmon for fun since 1832, when the first Atlantic salmon caught with rod-and-reel gear was caught in Maine’s Dennys River. In the US, recreational fisheries are closed, but there are some landlocked Atlantic salmon fisheries in New Hampshire where fish that were raised in hatcheries are released for fishing.
This Report to Congress summarizes efforts to recover all transnational and domestic species under…
The U.S. Atlantic Salmon Assessment Committee monitors the population status of U.S. Atlantic…
2022 report of the 2021 CMS committee activities
The strategy establishes a system of governance that describes the working relationships between…
Alaska Salmon Country – Sockeye City
FAQ
Where is salmon caught in the US?
Where does the US get most of its salmon?
What state is best known for salmon?
What region of the USA is known for its salmon fishing?
Where can you catch salmon in the United States?
Salmon thrive in cold, oxygenated water, which means they do well in the northern states of the U.S. From Alaska to New York and Maine, there is no short supply of sizeable silver catches. Where are the best places to cast your lines in the U.S.? Let’s delve into the world of angling and discover the top 9 best spots for salmon fishing in the U.S.
Where is the best salmon fishing in the USA?
Some of the best salmon fishing in the USA is found in the states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, New York, and Michigan. These states have multiple salmon species with large populations and good angler access. Alaska is well known for its world-class salmon fishing. Some areas stand out, so let’s find out more. 1. Kenai River, Alaska
Where to fish for salmon?
There are plenty of places to fish for salmon, from the eastern USA for Atlantic salmon to the North Western Pacific inlets and rivers to the Eastern Great Lakes Region. Our criteria for the best salmon fishing spots are a good population of salmon that are accessible to anglers.
Where can I fish for salmon in Michigan?
The Western Great Lakes area of Michigan has some of the best fishing for salmon in the USA. Many rivers flowing into Lake Michigan have large runs of Chinook and Coho Salmon, some rivaling popular West Coast rivers. 12. Manistee and Muskegon Rivers: