KING

The largest is also Alaska's state fish and considered top of the line for grilling or preparing fresh, the king or chinook salmon, also called tyee, which averages 20 to 40 pounds and ranges from Monterey Bay in California to the Chukchi Sea in Alaska.

In the sea, kings have steel-blue backs and heads, silver or white sides and bottom. Large black spots adorn their dorsal fins, backs, sides and lower tail lobes. No other salmon has the distinctive black gum line on the lower jaw. Kings remain at sea two to seven years. They stop eating when they enter fresh water. Like chameleons, they turn a bright red-purple and males develop a hooked snout.

COHO

Coho or silver salmon have a light-gray gum line, black spots only on the upper lobe of the tail and average 8-12 pounds, though some grow to 36 pounds. Great for poaching or grilling, coho turn a dark maroon-red color on their sides when spawning. They develop a hook snout with large teeth. Coho are the last of the salmon to spawn and the most acrobatic of the Pacific salmon. They range from Southeast Alaska to the Chukchi Sea and fight their way up the Yukon River to the Alaska-Canada border.

SOCKEYE

Sockeye or red salmon are sleek as polished silver in the ocean, and is the number-one fish for smoking. Also called blueback and kokanee (landlocked salmon), sockeye range from the Arctic to the Sacramento River in California. Average weight is 4 to 8 pounds, with the state record at 16 pounds.

Spawning sockeye turn a brilliant scarlet color, their heads olive, the males hump-backed with hooked jaws and sharp, doglike teeth.

PINK

Pink, humpback or humpy salmon also range from northern California to the Arctic. Pinks are often used in Southeast Alaska as a bait fish.

Spawning males develop a pronounced hump on their backs and turn brown to black with a white belly. Females turn olive green with dusky bars or patches and a light-colored belly. They're the smallest of the Pacific salmon, averaging 3-4 pounds.

CHUM

Chum or dog salmon, average 7-18 pounds and weigh as much as 32. Spawning males develop green and purple vertical bars, a hooked snout and large teeth. In females the bar is less pronounced. Alaska Natives fed these salmon to their dog teams.

For Salmon Derby purposes, you want to avoid these last two species. But you can still eat them if you catch one!