Steelhead and Salmon fly fishing is a little different from regular trout fishing and requires a different mindset, different gear, and different techniques, all of which we’ll discuss below. The great thing is you don’t have to travel too far away from home to find them.
Most fly anglers, myself included, start their fly fishing career focusing on trout fishing. They are by far the most accessible and inexpensive species to target with a fly rod and provide a great training ground to get started on. But, one can’t help but think of other species.
With so much media showcasing fishing around the world, it’s hard not to dream of the flats or get excited about swinging flies for a bigger fish than a trout, and the most logical next step is often to go after your first salmon or steelhead.
Salmon species and where to find them
There are five main salmon species to target on the fly and luckily, they can all be found within North America.
King Salmon
King salmon are a type of Pacific salmon and are also referred to as chinook. They are the biggest salmon in the world and can grow in excess of 100 pounds. You can find King Salmon in Alaska and as far south as California plus they have been stocked into the Great Lakes and can be targetted in the many tributaries surrounding them.
Atlantic Salmon
Atlantic Salmon are prized by salmon fishing anglers all around the globe, most likely because their smaller population makes them harder to catch plus they look pretty gorgeous and are the iconic salmon in the fly fishing world.
Atlantic salmon are found all over Europe from Spain to Russia and on the East coast of North America from Maine up to Labrador in Canada. Atlantic salmon grow up to 50lbs, but a fish this size is rare and a fisherman should expect anything between 6-15lbs to be the average size.
If you’re after these Atlantic Salmon, you can also see our guide here on maine fly fishing.
Silver Salmon (Coho)
Silver salmon, also known as silvers or coho are one tough cookie and pound for pound, fight harder than any salmon out there. Silvers are a type of Pacific salmon and can be found on the Pacific North West all the way from Washington State to Alaska and in the Great Lakes too. Their average weight is 6-12 lbs but they can reach sizes of 30lbs.
Sockeye Salmon
Sockeye salmon are another type of Pacific salmon found from Washington up to Alaska plus they have been put into the Great Lakes as well. You’ll have seen them before in every nature documentary about bears in Alaska. They are red with a prehistoric-looking head and the bears feed on them in abundance during the salmon run.
Washington also offers a lot of destination for anglers that are looking for some trout adventure. So washington trout fishing should always be considered for your next fly fishing trip.
Pink Salmon
Pink salmon are only found in the Great Lakes and they spawn in abundance every year around July and August in the nearby streams. Pink salmon are the smallest salmon around and max out at about 30 inches.
Are Steelhead Salmon?
A common mistake a novice fly fisherman can make is thinking that salmon and steelhead are the same, but they are not. Steelhead are pretty much sea-run rainbow trout whereas salmon are their own species and are closely related to brown trout. Steelhead are great fun to catch and you can find steelhead all along the Pacific North West along with the pacific salmon mentioned above.
Fishing for steelhead does require similar tactics and dedication as salmon fishing, so you may as well add them to your bucket list too.
When to go salmon fishing?
Salmon are an ocean fish and they spend most of their time feeding in the ocean until it’s time for them to spawn (make babies). In spawning season, the fish will leave the ocean and return to the river they were born in making their way upstream to lay their eggs, known as a salmon run.
The best salmon fishing can be found when a large number of salmon have entered the rivers and are making their way upstream to the spawning grounds. This can happen in any season from early spring to summer and even autumn and winter, and the timing is different on each river.
If you had to pick a time of year to go salmon fishing, July and August would be your prime months as salmon tend to enter the streams and rivers when it’s a bit warmer, especially in northern locations like Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Norway, and Russia.