Salmon swim upstream to mate and lay their eggs for several reasons. Laying their eggs in small rivers and shallow waters help protect them from larger fish that would happily eat them as a snack in the ocean. The shallow streams and rivers also provide shelter for the eggs so they don’t get washed away by heavy currents.
One of the next things we wanted the answer to was; is salmon the only fish swimming upstream?
The fishes which swim upstream from sea to freshwater are called Anadromous fishes. Amongst them are Sturgeon also called Acipenser, Shad (Alosa), sea trout, Salmon (Salmo salar) and Hilsa (Hilsa ilisha). These fishes undertake this migration for breeding.
Can you catch salmon while they swim upstream in rivers?
While not being in much of a feeding mood, it is possible to catch salmon while they swim upstream in rivers. Many salmon are caught on dry and streamer flies during their journey up the rivers. As the flies usually just pass them by fairly quickly, due to the fast current, I don’t believe they take them because they are hungry.
The run up the river can be exhausting, sometimes requiring the salmon to battle hundreds of miles upstream against strong currents and rapids. They cease feeding during the run. [5] Chinook and sockeye salmon from central Idaho must travel 900 miles (1,400 km) and climb nearly 7,000 feet (2,100 m) before they are ready to spawn.
A common inquiry we ran across in our research was “How far do salmon swim upstream each day?”.
One source stated that salmon can undertake extensive ocean migrations of over 3,000 miles, and average approximately 18 miles per day depending on the species. Generally, juvenile salmon from southwestern Alaska streams migrate from the Bristol and Kuskokwim bays through the Aleutian Island chain into the northern Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Alaska.
How do salmon know where to swim?
Young salmon learn the smell of their home stream, possibly even memorizing it at various points along the way, as they migrate toward the ocean. As adults returning to freshwater, when they encounter that familiar smell, it stimulates them to swim upstream. So there may be some “testing of the waters” as salmon migrate home.
When we were researching we ran into the question “How do salmon find their spawning grounds?”.
According to studies, salmon use both the earth’s magnetic field and their highly developed sense of smell to first find their natal river and then their respective spawning ground. This amazing ability is evolution at its finest! The salmon never seem to swim up the wrong river and always know exactly how far upstream they have to go.
What season of the year do salmon swim up stream?
Most salmon species migrate during the fall (September through November). Most salmon mostly spend their early life in rivers or lakes, and then swim out to sea where they live their adult lives and gain most of their body mass.
Do salmon migrate home?
So there may be some “testing of the waters” as salmon migrate home. If they swim up the wrong river, that memorized scent of their birth stream will fade, decreasing their drive to swim upstream.