In Kamchatka, in the Anadyr River, near the Commander Islands, in the Amur River, on the northern coast of Hokkaido, along almost the entire American coast, as well as in the Sacramento River, there are chinook salmon - a fish that Americans call “royal salmon”, and the Japanese - “salmon prince” .
She has paired almost black fins, light gray belly and sides, and on the back there are small dark spots.
During spawning, the male turns darker and becomes covered with reddish spots. In our country, chinook salmon fish spawns in the river channels of Kamchatka, however, due to its small numbers, it is not of interest to large-scale fishing.
Like all Pacific species, the salmon king spawns only once in a lifetime. At this time, Chinook fish is able to overcome enormous distances, reaching in some cases up to four thousand kilometers. The diameter of its light red with an orange tint of eggs reaches seven millimeters. This fish spawns all summer long. Being powerful enough, she is not afraid of a fast current. With his tail, the chinook salmon knocks pits for spawning in cobblestones and large pebbles.
The female is able to lay up to 14 thousand eggs. Hatched fry for a long time, almost up to two years, remain in the river. Some of them, mainly males, mature in the same place, reaching up to one hundred centimeters in length at the age of three.
Young fish live in large rivers, feeding mainly on insect larvae and crustaceans. In the sea, Chinook salmon eats small fish, crustaceans, and squid.
Everywhere, Chinook salmon is a desirable target. Her English name "royal salmon" is fully consistent with its essence. It combines all the qualities that true lovers of real fishing prefer: it sometimes just has gigantic dimensions and exceptional power.
According to anglers, she is very secretive and capricious in biting, so it’s not easy to catch her. This is especially noticeable in small rivers, where this large salmon, taking care of its safety, chooses places that are difficult enough for fishing to move and park. Therefore, in order to feel its bite, you need to suffer a lot, but for gambling anglers, this increases the interest and sportiness of this fishing.
The most delicious, as, however, among all representatives of the salmon family, is considered the meat of individuals caught in the mouths of the rivers when they enter the spawning. This is due to the fact that at this time the chinook salmon has not yet been exhausted due to the upstream movement and therefore has not lost weight.
Its raspberry-reddish meat is very similar to salmon, but it is lower in fat. By virtue of this, she is a welcome delicacy on any table. Salted chinook fish is considered especially tasty, which is used not only as an independent and very delicious cold appetizer, but also as an ingredient in salads. In California, it is baked on hot bricks, serving in many restaurants as a specialty. In our country, it is very popular as a fish for smoking: it makes a delicious balyk or smoked layer - fillet.