SOCKEYE SALMON (Oncorhynchus nerka)
-also known as Reds 

Color:	Bright silver sides, white belly, darker bluish green back and head When spawning, bright red and green heads Males develop arched back and hooked nose	Sockeye salmon, also known as Reds, are an excellent species of sportfish as well a tasty Alaskan treat.  A hooked sockeye puts up a feisty fight, readily leaping from the water and giving fishermen a run for their money.
Size:	Average 6 – 10 lbs, Up to 15 lbs
Method:	Cast and retrieve with flies and tackle, drifting eggs, dip netting, ocean trolling
Gear:	Medium-action spinning and fly rods
Range:	Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Island, Southcentral, Southeast
Season:	Peak June to September, year-round in ocean
Taste:	Orange-red flesh, excellent smoked or canned Recipes
Record:	16 lbs, Kenai River, by Chuck Leach, 1974
Back Issues:	June 2002 June 2003

Appearance

Prior to spawning, sockeye are a shiny greenish blue on the top of the head and their back, bright silver on the sides, and white on the belly.  Adults may carry small black dots on their backs, while juveniles may have dark marks on their sides.

When late in the spawning run, all sockeyes have a bright red body with a dark-green head.  The skeletal structure of males transforms into a humped back while their jaws become hooked and elongated.  Their teeth also begin to protrude from their twisted snout.  The upper jaw of both sexes turns a greenish color and the lower jaw contrasts in white.

Location

The largest populations of sockeye are found in the Bristol Bay area of southwestern Alaska, including Kodiak Island.  Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound are also well known for sockeye.  Salmon streams along the Alaska Peninsula, Kenai Peninsula, Southcentral and eastern panhandle will almost always have an annual run of sockeye. Sockeye populations have had an encouraging hand from hatcheries in some areas, such as the Copper River and Kasilof River on the Kenai Peninsula.

Diet

Young sockeyes in freshwater mainly eat zooplankton, benthic amphipods and insects.  Once in the ocean, they continue to eat zooplankton, but add crustacean larvae to their diet.  As they become larger, they will prey on small fishes and sometimes squid.  Upon entering fresh water to spawn, salmon stop feeding entirely.

Angling Method

Working a stream by casting and retrieving with spinning or fly rods is a simple and productive method.  Tackle such as spinners and lures or large streamers or Coho flies work, as well as drifting eggs.  Dip netting, which involves wading waist deep into the current with a large net, is one quick way to fill the freezer.  But be sure to consult the regulations before doing so.

Life History

Like other salmon, sockeyes are anadromous.  Annual spawning runs of sockeye occur every summer in many of Alaska’s rivers and streams.  Although actual spawning takes place in rivers or streams, the ones most favored by sockeyes are those that are interconnected with lakes.  Females, which can carry between 2,000 and 4,500 eggs choose the exact spawning grounds by digging a redd with her tail.  She deposits the eggs while a male, possibly more than one, fertilizes them.  The female then hides the eggs beneath a layer of gravel.  The sockeyes, weakened by their journey and exposure to freshwater, die soon after spawning.

The eggs hatch in the winter and the young sockeyes, called alevins, stay hidden beneath the gravel and subsist from their still attached egg sacs.  By spring, the fry move from the gravel into the shallow areas of the stream or river.  A young sockeye may stay in fresh water for one to three years before migrating to sea, at which time they are called smolts.  At this stage they will still only weigh a few ounces.

Once in the ocean, the salmon grown rapidly and can reach four to eight pounds within two to four years.  Juvenile males that only spend one year at sea before returning to freshwater to spawn are called jacks.  However, most sockeye will wait longer (usually two to four years) before returning to their native streams to spawn.

Some sockeye populations have been recorded as staying in fresh water indefinitely.  The fish grow at a slower rate than their nomad counterparts; rarely spanning larger than 14 inches.  In many places they are known as “kokanee.”

Fish Alaska Magazine