In Washington, they run primarily in odd years, while in Alaska, they run heavily in even years. Sockeye salmon are the only salmon species to spend part of its life cycle in inland lakes. Few rivers in Washington State accommodate the special lake-rearing needs of this salmon. However, two small runs of Sockeye go to Baker Lake and the Sauk River via the Skagit River. They make their home in freshwater and have anadromous forms, spending much of their life out in the ocean.
Trout can spawn up to four times before dying, unlike the above salmon species.
The Pacific ancestral salmon was a freshwater fish, according to current hypothesis, that spread across North America and Asia via river systems. As land and glacial processes changed through the Ice Ages, differences in salmon stock characteristics became more pronounced. As species adapted, less time was spent in freshwater habitats. Cutthroat and steelhead trout are considered the most primitive of the salmonids due to their greater dependence on freshwater. Coho and Chinook have long freshwater residence but vary in their patterns of migration and time in the ocean.