Chinook fish - "salmon prince"

In Kamchatka, in the Anadyr River, near the Commander Islands, in the Amur River, on the northern coast of Hokkaido, along almost the entire American coast, and in the Sacramento River, there is a chinook - a fish that Americans call "royal salmon" and Japanese - "salmon prince" . She has paired almost black fins, light grayish belly and sides, and on the back there are small dark spots.

During spawning, the male is colored in a darker color and covered with reddish specks. In our country the chinook fish comes to spawn in the riverbeds of Kamchatka, but due to its scarcity, it does not represent an interest for large-scale fishing.

Like all Pacific species, the "salmon king" spawns only once in a lifetime. At this time the fish chinook is able to overcome huge distances, reaching in some cases up to four thousand kilometers. The diameter of its light red with orange tinge eggs reaches seven millimeters. Spawning of this fish lasts all summer. Being powerful enough, she is not afraid of fast current. With his tail, the Chinook salmon pits for spawning in cobblestones and large pebbles. The female is able to save up to 14 thousand eggs. Hatching fry for a long time, almost up to two years, remain in the river. Some of them, mostly males, there and ripen, reaching at the age of three in length to a hundred centimeters.

The young of this fish live in large rivers, feeding mainly on insect larvae and crustaceans. In the sea, the fish of the seagrass eats small fish, crustaceans and squid.

Everywhere the chinook-fish is a desired object for fishing. Its English name "royal salmon" completely corresponds to its essence. It combines all the qualities that true lovers of real fishing prefer: it sometimes has simply gigantic dimensions and exceptional power. According to the fishermen, she is very secretive and capricious about the biting, so it is not easy to catch her. This is especially noticeable in small rivers, where this large salmon, taking care of its safety, chooses places and parking areas that are difficult to catch. Therefore, to feel her bite, you need pretty much to torment, but for gamblers, this increases the interest and sportiness of this fishing.

The most delicious, as, indeed, all the representatives of the salmon family, is the meat of individuals caught in the mouths of rivers during their spawning. This is explained by the fact that at this time the chinook-fish is not exhausted because of the upstream uplift and therefore did not lose weight. Its raspberry-red meat is very similar to salmon, but it is with a lower fat content. Because of this, it is a welcome delicacy on any table. Especially delicious is a salted chinook-fish, which is used not only as an independent and very refined cold snack, but also as an ingredient in salads. In California, it is baked on hot bricks, serving in many restaurants as a signature dish. In our country it is very popular as a fish for smoking: it makes a delicious balyk or smoked layer - fillets.