HuntGridPacific and Atlantic salmon, steelhead
The salmon and steelhead fishing app
Salmon and steelhead come and go with the runs, so the river and the timing matter as much as the fly or the lure. HuntGrid Fishing keeps your pools and trolling spots private, logs every fish in three taps and helps you tell a coho from a Chinook.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, © OpenMapTiles; terrain: Copernicus WorldDEM-30 (credits)
Know the runs
Where these fish are depends on where they are in their life.
Born in rivers, grown in big water
Salmon hatch in rivers, grow up in the sea or a great lake, then return up their rivers to spawn. Chinook and coho stocked in the Great Lakes do the same between the lakes and their tributaries.
Pacific salmon spawn once
Chinook, coho, pink, sockeye and chum salmon die after they spawn. Atlantic salmon and steelhead can survive and return to spawn again.
Steelhead are rainbow trout
A steelhead is a rainbow trout that migrates to the sea or a great lake and returns to rivers to spawn: the same species, as a bigger, more silver fish.
Each river keeps its own time
Runs come at different times of year for each species and river. Local reports and your own log are the best guides to when the fish arrive.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, © OpenMapTiles; terrain: Copernicus WorldDEM-30 (credits)
Species guide
Coho or Chinook? The guide shows you
The species guide in HuntGrid Fishing works with no signal. Each species has its own page (open this species in the app):
- The marks that tell them apart: a coho salmon has white gums and spots only on the upper lobe of its tail; a Chinook salmon has black gums and spots on both lobes.
- Look-alikes side by side, like a coho and a rainbow trout, or an Atlantic salmon and a brown trout.
- Their habitat and the techniques that catch each one.
- Fish counts where agencies publish them openly, the latest season against the ten-year average.
- A question key: answer a few questions about the fish in your hand and it narrows down the candidates.
- Waters near you where agency surveys or stocking records show the species, with the year.
Salmon and steelhead rules change by river, by species and often by stretch of river, and some waters are fly-fishing only. HuntGrid never guesses them: the official regulations always have the final word.
How salmon and steelhead anglers use HuntGrid Fishing
Pools and trolling spots
Mark pools, runs, river mouths and trolling waypoints with fishing icons, with the months, flows and winds each one fishes best.
Log a salmon in three taps
Tap +, Catch, Coho salmon: the place and time are saved, even with no signal. Note whether you kept it or released it.
River how-tos, offline
The how-to library covers rivers and the Great Lakes, float and three-way rigs, and how to handle and release a fish well.
Trolling speed
Fish Mode shows your speed over the ground and a trolling speed bar that sounds when you leave your range.
Go or no-go on big water
Wind and waves hour by hour against your boat’s limits: Go, Caution or No-go, with the reasons. A second opinion, not a promise.
Can I keep it?
Fish Check gives the rules for a salmon or steelhead of that length at that water today, with the official source.
Personal bests
Your biggest Chinook, coho and steelhead, by length and by weight.
Offline lakes and rivers
Download a lake or a stretch of river in one tap: its map and your spots work with zero bars.
Questions
Still have a question? Read the HuntGrid Fishing help pages or email support@huntgrid.net.
What is the best app for salmon fishing?
The one that fits how you fish. HuntGrid Fishing keeps your pools and trolling spots private, logs a catch in three taps and carries a species guide and a how-to library that work offline. It’s free: try it on your own river before you decide.
How do I tell a coho from a Chinook?
Look in the mouth and at the tail. A coho has white gums in a dark mouth and spots only on the upper lobe of its tail; a Chinook has black gums along the lower jaw and spots on both lobes.
Is a steelhead a trout or a salmon?
A trout: steelhead are rainbow trout that spend part of their life in the sea or a great lake. In the species guide they’re under rainbow trout.
Does HuntGrid Fishing show salmon limits and seasons?
Fish Check gives the rules for a salmon or steelhead at a water on a date, with the official source. Rules a person hasn’t checked yet are labelled as not verified. The official regulations always have the final word.
Your next fishing trip starts on the map
Create a free account and open HuntGrid Fishing in your browser. The same account works for HuntGrid Hunt.
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