Chum Salmon
The most widely distributed Pacific salmon, chum return to rivers from Arctic Alaska down through the Pacific Northwest, often spawning closer to saltwater than any other salmon.
Second only to Chinook in size, fresh-run chum are thick, deep-bodied fish with a reputation among guides for breaking more rods than any other Pacific salmon — power that has finally earned them respect on the fly.
Scientific Name: Oncorhynchus keta
Also known as Dog Salmon, Keta Salmon, Calico Salmon, Silverbrite Salmon
- Ocean-phase fish are silvery blue-green with a deep, football-shaped body and almost no spotting — the white tip on the lower anal fin is the telltale field mark.
- In the river, both sexes develop bold red-and-black tiger stripes along the flanks, a pattern unique among Pacific salmon and the source of the 'calico salmon' name.
- Spawning males grow a hooked kype with prominent canine-like teeth — the 'dog teeth' that gave the species its other common name.
- Typical adults run 6–15 lb at around 24 inches; fish into the 20s are common and the IGFA record stands at 35 lb from British Columbia.
What to know
Habitat Distribution
- Native US range covers the Pacific coast from Arctic Alaska south to the Umpqua River in Oregon, with historical records as far south as the Sacramento. No species of Pacific salmon ranges more broadly.
- Anadromous — adults spend most of their lives in the cold North Pacific and Bering Sea (preferred ocean temperatures around 1–8°C) and only return to fresh water to spawn and die.
- Spawning habitat is unusually flexible: spring-fed side channels, large turbid mainstems, small headwater creeks, and even brackish intertidal reaches below the high-tide line all hold spawning chum.
- Alaska is the species' US stronghold; lower-48 populations are smaller and patchier, with the Hood Canal summer run and Lower Columbia stocks federally listed as Threatened.
Specific Spots
- Tidewater and the first few miles of river are prime — fish stage along the edges of sandbars and tidal flats before pushing upstream, and chrome-bright fish here fight hardest and eat most aggressively.
- Adult chum hold and travel in slow-to-moderate current deeper than four feet, so seams along gravel bars and the soft inside edges of runs are higher-percentage water than fast riffles.
- Tail-outs of deep pools and shallow gravel in lower-gradient reaches produce both staging and spawning fish — chum spawn closer to saltwater than coho in most systems they share.
- Look for visible pods. Chum push upriver in groups of dozens or more, and a single staging pod along a current break is usually worth working multiple flies and angles through.
Chum Salmon FAQ
Answers from onWater's species guide.
What are the best lures and bait for Chum Salmon?
Plugs are the boat-fishing standard: Kwikfish K13–K15 and Maglip 3.5–4.0, often wrapped with a sardine or herring fillet for scent, fished on a slow back-troll or anchor.
What flies work for Chum Salmon?
Chartreuse is the dominant color, followed by pink, cerise, hot pink, and purple/black as backups when fish go cold. Egg-sucking leeches and bunny leeches are the foundation patterns; sparser low-water flies for clear coastal creeks, bulkier weighted flies for big or stained water.
What do Chum Salmon eat?
At sea, chum eat a broader prey range than other Pacific salmon, euphausiids, amphipods, gastropods, and squid through summer, shifting to forage fish like myctophids in fall. They make daily vertical migrations through the thermocline to feed. Once in fresh water, adult chum stop feeding entirely.
Where do Chum Salmon live?
Native US range covers the Pacific coast from Arctic Alaska south to the Umpqua River in Oregon, with historical records as far south as the Sacramento. No species of Pacific salmon ranges more broadly.
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