King Salmon
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
The largest, fattiest, and most prized of the five Pacific salmon. Buttery, silky, deep red flesh — the salmon experienced cooks reach for when they want to do as little as possible to the fish.
Best cooked simply: roasted with salt, grilled skin-on, or sliced for sashimi when the quality is right. Renders so much fat that overcooking is the cardinal sin. Pull at 125–130°F internal and let carryover finish the job.
Trolled by hook-and-line in Southeast Alaska. The Sitka fleet works the open coast for kings from May through July. Kodiak fishermen target them in late spring as the runs move up the Gulf.
Where king salmon lives
Biological range is not the same thing as catch context. This section separates public agency range information from the Alaska catching grounds connected to this guide.
Ocean-feeding salmon that return to large rivers and coastal streams to spawn.
North Pacific waters from Japan and Russia across Alaska and down the Pacific Coast.
Centers on Southeast Alaska troll fisheries and Kodiak-area spring and summer catches.
Catching grounds
The Alaska waters connected to this guide entry. Click through for the full story of each catching ground.
