Kiss Me, I'm Spawning!

It has finally happened, the fish have changed into their spawning physiques, e.g. enlarged noses, jaws, teeth, humped backs (in pinks), and color changes. Once they enter freshwater the salmon stop feeding and literally survive by eating themselves alive (calorie stores in fat, scales, etc.), so as the season progresses they can start looking pretty gross. And of course, once they spawn, they die. I’ve been trying to get pictures of every species as they come through the weir, so I’ll share with you what I have so far – there may be more pictures to come.

Sockeye:

Both males and females turn bright red. I think they’re the prettiest. The bright red color (of both their meat and their scales when they’re spawning) is probably why they’re also called “reds”.

Chum:

Get very stripy and have huge teeth! They’re our biggest salmon species in Redoubt and they look super cool, especially when you go snorkeling with them.

Pink:

The males get huge humps (thus the nickname “humpies”) and they kind of just get gross. Unfortunately, because the net weir is blocking quick migration out into the lake some of the pinks have even started spawning on the sandbags reinforcing the weir. Although, it is fun to watch the males fight each other.

Coho:

I don’t really have any good pictures of spawning coho, but as they start to lose their scales their backs take on a “goldschlagger” look.

Coho "jack" (underdeveloped male)