The fish begin staging near the mouth of the river waiting for nature’s signal that it is time to begin their run upstream to spawn. Sonar buoys give estimated counts of the fish as they pass by allowing for fisheries management to let enough fish up river to spawn. Very short periods of fishing (6-12 hours) are allowed when a sufficient number of fish have been allowed to pass. Alaska has been very successful at maintaining sustainable salmon and halibut fisheries.
Sockeye salmon are a smaller sized fish noted for its distinctive, sharper and almost mineral-like flavor. It is slightly leaner and is the species that people most commonly associate with the Copper River, perhaps due to its abundance. We will also have the King Salmon or “Chinook”. King Salmon is a much larger fish and is milder and more buttery than the sockeye. The king salmon supply is also more unpredictable and of shorter duration.