CHINOOK SALMON

Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

.(king - tyee - spring salmon - quinnat)

Chinook or "King" salmon currently represent the backbone of the Lake Ontario fishery. Like most of the lake-run fish they are a shiny silver with with a metallic blue/green back. Black spots are scattered along the back, dorsal and adipose fins, and on both lobes of the tail (caudal) fin - 15-17 anal rays. Kings have a distinctive black mouth (See Coho) and they can be "tailed" for  easy handling - a plus for a fish this size.

Chinook usually reach sexual maturity in 3-5 years and return to the stream of origin to spawn. During the spawning cycle they lose their lake-run color and turn a overall bronze to blue/black. Researchers have found that Chinook salmon are reproducing naturally in the Lake Ontario. However, at the present time the extent of this contribution to the system is not known.