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Angling Publications - Index

Angling Publications - april2008 - Index

JOSEPH TOMELLERI ILLUSTRATIONS
chums don’t even require a boat to navigate. In Oregon, for example,
try the Kilchis and the Miami Rivers, which empty into Tillamook Bay.
In Washington, try the Nisqually, the Puyallup, and the Skokomish
Rivers, which empty into Puget Sound. In California, check out the
Sacramento and the San Lorenzo Rivers. And in British Columbia,
chums inhabit over 750 rivers.
Chums often stage at the bottom of a river system and wait for an
incoming tide to help them enter their spawning grounds. They rarely
travel more than 100 miles inland to spawn, leading some to believe
Male chum salmon undergo an amazing transformation from their
ocean-going state (bottom center) to their full spawning colors.
that chums are incapable of traversing obstacles easily—which might
explain why they are currently listed as an endangered species.
Most adult chums weigh between 5 and 15 pounds, depending
on how long they stay at sea. Some fish will return to spawn at only
three years of age, whereas others may wait up to seven years. When
migrating from the ocean, chums are the color of chrome, but they
begin to take on spawning colors after coming in contact with fresh
water. Black, green, and even purple bands run perpendicular to the
sides of the fish, a unique characteristic of the spawning chum.
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