Fish Identification

Alaska Wilderness Charters offers wildlife viewing for family and group charters, fishing charters, paddleboard adventures, photography expeditions, and destination whale-watching trips. We provide all the gear you need for a great trip!

Saltwater Fish

Halibut

(Hippoglossusstenolepis) to 450 lb. (204 kg)

The Pacific halibut is the world's largest flatfish. In July 2014, 76-year-old Jack McGuire caught a 482-pound Pacific halibut in Glacier Bay,Alaska. Halibut are dark brown on the top side, with an off-white underbelly, and have tiny scales invisible to the naked eye embedded in their skin. Halibut are symmetrical at birth, with one eye on each side of the head. Then, about six months later, during larval metamorphosis, one eye migrates to the other side of the head. The eyes are permanently set once the skull is fully ossified. At the same time, the stationary-eyed side darkens to match the topside, while the other side remains white. This color scheme disguises halibut from above (blending with the ocean floor) and from below (incorporating into the light from the sky) and is known as countershading.

Yelloweye Rockfish

(Sebastes ruberrimus) to 25 lb. (11.5kg)

The yelloweye rockfish is one of the most prominent members of the genus. Its name derives from its coloration. It is locally known as"red snapper," not to be confused with the warm-water species that formally carries the name red snapper. The yelloweye is one of the world's longest-lived fish species and can live to a maximum of 114 to 120 years. As they grow older, they change color, from reddish in youth to bright orange in adulthood to pale yellow in old age. Yelloweye live in rocky areas and feed on small fish and other rockfish. They range from Baja California to Dutch Harbor in Alaska. Yelloweye rockfish are prized for their meat, declared overfished in 2002, and subject to a rebuilding plan.

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of ray-finned fish. Other fish in the same family include trout, char, grayling, and whitefish. Alaska has five species of salmon. They are native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean. Salmon die after spawning, and their decomposing carcasses enrich the land and waters for future generations. 

King/Chinook

(Oncorhynchustshawytscha) up to 100 lb. (45.4 kg)

King salmon (Chinook) is blue-green, red, or purple on the back and top of the head, with silvery sides and white ventral surfaces. It has black spots on its tail and the upper half of its body. King Salmon has a Black gum line which is present in both salt and freshwater. Adult fish range in size from 24 to 36 inches (61 to 91 cm) but may be up to 58 in (150 cm) in length. The current sport-caught world record, 97.25 lb (44.11 kg), was caught on May17, 1985, in the Kenai River (Kenai Peninsula, Alaska). The commercial catch world record is 126 lb. (57 kg) caught near Rivers Inlet, British Columbia, in the late 1970s.

Coho/Silver

(Oncorhynchuskisutch) up to 25 lb. (11.3 kg)

Coho salmon (Silver) have silver sides and dark-blue backs during their ocean phase. During their spawning phase, their jaws and teeth become hooked. After entering fresh water, they develop bright-red sides, bluish-green heads and backs, dark bellies, and dark spots on their backs.Sexually maturing fish grow a light-pink or rose shading along the stomach, and the males may show a slight back arching. Mature adults have a pronounced redskin color with darker backs and occasionally reach up to 36 pounds (16 kg). They also develop a large kype (hooked beak) during spawning. Mature females may be darker than males, with both showing a pronounced hook on the nose.

Sockeye/Red

(Oncorhynchus nerka) up to 15 lb.(6.8 kg)

Sockeye salmon (Red) is sometimes called red or blueback salmon due to its color. Sockeye is blue-tinged with silver in color while living in the ocean. When they return to spawning grounds, their bodies become red, and their heads turn green. Sockeye can be up 20 33 inches (84 cm) in length and weigh 15.4 pounds (7.0kg). Two distinguishing features are their long, serrated gill rakers that range from 30 to 40 in number and their lack of a spot on their tail or back.

Chum/Dog

(Oncorhynchus keta) up to 22 lb.(10 kg)

The body of the Chum salmon (Dog) is deeper than most salmonid species. Familiar with other species in the Pacific, the anal fin has 12 to 20rays, compared with a maximum of 12 in European species. Chum has an ocean coloration of silvery blue-green, indistinct spotting in a darker shade, and a paler belly. When they move into fresh water, the color changes to dark olive-green, and the belly color deepens. When adults are near spawning, they have purple blotchy streaks near the caudal peduncle, darker towards the tail. Spawning males typically grow an elongated snout or kype, their lower fins become tipped with white, and they have enlarged teeth. Some researchers speculate that these characteristics are used to compete for mates.

Pink/Humpy

(Oncorhynchusgorbuscha) up to 12 lb. (5.4 kg)

In the ocean, Pink salmon (Humpy) are bright silver fish. After returning to their spawning streams, their coloring changes to pale grey on the back with a yellowish-white belly (although some turn a dull green color). As with all salmon, they also have an adipose and dorsal fin. A white mouth characterizes the fish with black gums, no teeth on the tongue, large oval-shaped black spots on the back, a v-shaped tail, and an anal fin with 13-17 soft rays. During their spawning migration, males develop a pronounced humped back, hence their nickname "humpies." The maximum recorded size for a Pink salmon was 30 inches (76 cm) and 15 pounds (6.8 kg).

Shellfish

Dungeness Crab

(Cancer magister) to 4.0 lb. (1.8kg)

The Dungeness crab inhabits bays, estuaries, and the near-shore coast of Alaska. Dungeness is named for a shallow, sandy bay inside Dungeness Spit on the south shore of the Straits of Juan de Fuca. It is widely distributed, from the Aleutian Islands to Magdalena Bay, Mexico. The Dungeness crab is a decapod related to shrimp, lobster, and other crabs. It has a broad, oval body covered by a hard chitinous shell, four pairs of walking legs, and a pair of claws. This species can be distinguished from other commercially important crabs (King Crab and Tanner crab) because its portions are much smaller and shorter concerning its body size. The dorsal surface of its carapace is smooth and spineless.

Spot Prawns

(Pandalus platyceros) to 9" inlength (23cm)

Spot Prawns (Alaska Prawns) is a large shrimp in the NorthPacific. They range from the waters off Unalaska Island, Alaska, to San Diego. The commercial spot prawn industry is considered sustainable. Spot Prawns occur in sufficient numbers to support several small commercial and recreational fisheries.

Freshwater Fish

Artic Char

(Salvelinus alpinus) to 20 lb. (9.1kg)

The Arctic char is closely related to both salmon and lake trout and has many characteristics of both. The fish is highly variable in color, depending on the time of year and the lake's environmental conditions where it lives. In northern Canada, anglers have taken record-sized fish, iqaluk ortariungmiutaq, in Inuktitut. The flesh color can range from bright red to pale pink.

Cutthroat Trout

(Oncorhynchusclarkii) to 14.8 lb. (6.7 kg)

Throughout their native and introduced ranges, cutthroat trout vary widely in size, coloration, and habitat selection. Their coloration can range from golden to gray to green on the back. Cutthroat trout can generally be distinguished from rainbow trout by basibranchial teeth at the base of the tongue and a maxillary that extends beyond the posterior edge of the eye. Depending on subspecies, strain, and habitat, most have distinctive red, pink, or orange linear marks along the underside of their mandibles in the lower folds of the gill plates. These markings are responsible for the common name "cutthroat," first given to the trout by outdoor writer Charles Hallock in an 1884 article in The American Angler.

Dolly Varden

(Salvelinus malma) to 13.2 lb. (6kg)

The back and sides of Dolly Varden are olive green or muddy gray, shading to white on the belly. The body has scattered pale yellow or pinkish-yellow spots. There are no black spots or wavy lines on the body or fins. Small red areas are present on the lower sides. These are frequently indistinct. The fins are plain and unmarked except for a few light spots on the base of the caudal fin rays. S. malma is remarkably similar in appearance to the bull trout (S. confluentus) and Arctic char (S. alpinus), so much so that they are sometimes referred to as "native char" without a distinction.

Rainbow Trout

(Oncorhynchus mykiss) to 55 lb. (25kg)

Rainbow and steelhead trout are the most widely known trout globally, and anglers highly prize them because of their strong fighting abilities. Freshwater resident rainbow trout usually inhabit and spawn in small to moderately large, well-oxygenated shallow rivers with gravel bottoms. They are native to the alluvial or freestone streams typical tributaries of the Pacific Basin but introduced rainbow trout have established wild, self-sustaining populations in other river types such as bedrock and spring creeks. Lake resident rainbow trout appear in moderately deep, calm lakes with adequate shallows and vegetation to support good food sources. Lake populations generally require access to gravelly-bottomed streams to be self-sustaining.

Steelhead Trout

(Oncorhynchusmykiss) to 55 lb. (25 kg)

Rainbow and steelhead trout are the most widely known trout in the world, and anglers highly prize them because of their strong fighting abilities. In Alaska, the two commonly recognized forms of the rainbow trout and their “forms” are based primarily on where they spend their time feeding and maturing. The most common rainbow trout in Alaska is the stream-resident form that lives entirely in freshwater with maybe short periods spent in estuarine or near-shore marine waters. The second form is commonly known as steelhead. These trout leave freshwater as juveniles and migrate long distances in the ocean, growing to maturity before migrating back to their original home waters.