Which Fish Should You Go After?
Here’s how to decide:
Want the biggest fish? Go for halibut
Want that famous Alaska salmon? Go for king or red salmon.
Want a river fishing experience? Go for salmon or trout.
An ocean experience? Go for halibut (or certain salmon).
Want to fine tune your decision? Here’s more detail:
| Fish | Why | Weight | Tackle |
| Halibut | Great tasting fishHuge-a challenge to land | Avg: 20 – 50 lbs.Rare: 200 lbsRecord: 400+ lbs | Heavy duty reel, 70-120 lb test |
| King Salmon (Chinook) | Largest salmonLots of meat | Avg: 20 – 30 lbs.Rare: 60 lbsRecord: 97 lbs | Strong spinning tackle |
| Red Salmon (Sockeye) | Great fighterRichest meat | Avg: 6 – 8 lbs.Rare: 16 lbsRecord: 22 lbs | Fly, spinning |
| Pink Salmon (Humpies) | Small and easy to catchNot uncommon to land dozens | Avg: 3 – 5 lbs.Rare: 9 lbsRecord: 13 lbs | Light tackle, fly or spinning |
| Chum Salmon (Dog Salmon) | Large and strongAttracted to flies; novice fly fisherman’s dreamBut not good eating | Avg: 10 – 15 lbs.Rare: 22 lbsRecord: 33 lbs | Light tackle, fly |
| Silver Salmon (Coho) | AbundantQuality meatGreat fighters & acrobatic | Avg: 8 – 12 lbs.Rare: 18 lbsRecord: 26 lbs | Fly, spinning |
| Rainbow Trout | Strong fighting fishHighly sought-after | Avg: 7 – 22 lbs.Rare: 28 lbsRecord: 42 lbs | Light tackle, fly or spinning |
The link to the original article can be found here: https://www.alaska.org/advice/salmon-or-halibut
