chum salmon
Oncorhynchus keta · Salmonidae · forage fish
North Pacific salmon, exotic to Chile, where it was introduced. Heavily fished commercially, it also appears in sport fishing.
Also called: salmão-keta, keta, salmón chum, chum salmon
- maximum
- 100 cm
- record/max.
- 18.1 kg
- depth
- 0–250 m
the right time
to be on the water
Choose the place and the species. The index, from 0 to 100, combines weather, sun, moon and tide with each fish's habits. Up to 28 days, with each day's confidence.
Reading the weather across 3 global models and 31 simulations…
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hour by hour
slide your finger or mouse over the chart to see each hoursee hour-by-hour table
why this index at —?
choose the day
Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
the fishing month at a glance
what's the best window for the crew?
Choose how many fishing days. We compare each stretch by its average index, discount days with a warning or closed season, and show the 3 best.
trend for the coming weeks
Line: the middle value of 31 simulations of the American GEFS model. Band: where 8 out of 10 fall. Narrow, firm trend; wide, high uncertainty.
everything about the chum salmon
who is the chum salmon
A fish of the family Salmonidae, with a spindle-shaped, compressed body, reaching 100 cm and 18.1 kg. It is exotic to Chile, where it was introduced; its native range is the North Pacific, from Korea and Japan to Alaska and California. It lives at sea, in surface waters, and runs up rivers to spawn. It mainly eats copepods, tunicates and euphausiids, plus squid and small fish, but does not feed in fresh water. Adults die after spawning. It is heavily fished commercially, farmed, and used for caviar.
Essential profile. Identification, where it occurs and rules, with data from FishBase and the cited regulations. Season, time of day, technique and bait are added once we have a good source for the chum salmon; in the meantime, see the similar species.
fun facts
- Juveniles go down to the sea and return, after 3 to 4 years, to the exact place where they were born.
identification
Spindle-shaped, compressed body, with an adipose fin, like other salmonids. Large adults have a steel-blue back with small black spots and silvery flanks. They lack well-defined black spots on the back and tail, which separates them from coho and chinook salmon, which have distinct spots. When spawning, males darken: olive green to black back, reddish-grey flanks with green bands and white tips on the anal and pelvic fins.
where found
Exotic to Chile, where it was introduced. Native to the North Pacific, from Korea and Japan to Alaska and California.
Habitat: Surface and coastal ocean, 0 to 250 m, with upstream runs into rivers to spawn.
rules for the chum salmon
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
catch and release
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
Harmless to people. Adults that run up rivers have already stopped feeding, so handle them with wet hands and release them quickly, without lifting the fish out of the water.
in the kitchen
Most is canned, but it is also sold fresh, salt-dried, smoked and frozen.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01445, b = 3.1; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.
- scientific FishBase: Oncorhynchus keta (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Oncorhynchus ketaNames by country and language.
similar species
where each number comes from
The weather comes from three independent global models, cross-checked hour by hour: when they agree, confidence goes up; when they diverge, the band between them shows on the chart. Beyond 16 days, we use the GEFS ensemble of 31 simulations: if 20 of the 31 predict rain, the chance of rain is 65%. Sun and moon are calculated astronomically, with no uncertainty.
The index adds up, weighted for each species: time of day (species curve anchored to real sunrise and sunset), moon (transits, rise and set, phase), pressure (3 h trend and 24 h swing), water temperature (in rivers, estimated from air temperature; at sea, estimated by an ocean model), wind, rain, clouds, tide and the month in the species' cycle.
sources for this lookup
how accurate the forecast is
Accuracy measured in the reference project (4 regions, 93 days, forecast vs. observed): maximum temperature is off by 0.6 °C on average the next day and 1.7 °C at 7 days; rain of 5 mm or more is detected 76% of the time the next day and 57% at 7 days. Detection isn't everything: the false alarm rate isn't published here yet, and 93 days in 4 regions is still a small sample. We now also measure every day, at the app's destinations: