Fall Chinook salmon, also known as king salmon, are the largest of the Pacific salmon species. Historically, some Chinook salmon stocks included individual fish weighing 100lbs. Chinook salmon are native to cold-water rivers in North America from California to Alaska, as well as Northern Japan and rivers feeding the Siberian Sea. Fall Chinook salmon are born in freshwater rivers, they quickly migrate as young fish to the ocean where they grow and mature for up to eight years. When they reach maturity adult fall Chinook return to their natal streams during the late summer and fall months and spawn during the fall and early winter months. All fall Chinook salmon die after spawning.
