Idaho salmon were made to move. They are perfectly formed to cruise from the ocean to the currents of their home rivers here in Idaho. Sometimes to finish their journey, they need to leave the water to spectacular effect.
Idaho Chinook leap toward their final destination
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It's a long swim from the Pacific, but Idaho Chinook are up to the challenge
Chinook salmon navigate some rapids on Idaho's South Fork Salmon River
Action at the Double Drop rapid - Regional Fisheries Biologist Amber Young and I went to check out a spot on the river: two small falls with a resting pool between. Salmon were leaping at the falls, first jumping the lower drop, resting, then hurling themselves into the foamy confusion of the upper falls. Most times they landed in the whitewater and were washed back. Sometimes their graceful arcs ended with a bounce off bare rocks (ouch!). Every now and then one would land in the clear water below the lip of the falls, give a frantic series of tail strokes, then vanish into the rapid above.
It was an amazing display of persistence and power. Idaho salmon swim farther than most other salmon and climb higher than any. The fish we saw swam more than 700 miles and climbed 4500 feet in the 5 to 6 weeks after leaving the ocean. In two months, their graceful bodies will give their last efforts to spawn the next generation of Idaho salmon. Idaho’s salmon are truly awesome.
