A chinook salmon has small black spots on the back, dorsal fin, and tail fin. Chum weigh an average of 12 pounds. While chum are fast swimmers, they are not good jumpers and don't migrate far inland to spawn. Chum salmon make up about 13 percent of the West Coast catch. Coho average about 10 pounds, and are the number one sport fish.
Coho spend only one winter at sea, returning the next fall to spawn.
Coho is fourth in Pacific fishery abundance. The Pink is the smallest of Pacific salmon, averaging three to five pounds. They travel more than 150 miles in the ocean from their natal river, but they rarely travel far upriver to spawn. Pinks make up more than half the total West Coast commercial catch. When sockeye enter freshwater after a typical two years at sea, both males and females develop bright red bodies and green heads.