The Pink Salmon undergoes one of the most distinct physical changes when it spawns, well the male Pink Salmon that is.

Humpback Appearance

It develops a large hump. The male Pink Salmon is so distorted that it appears to be a physical anomaly.

The hump, as can be seen in the image above, appears between the head and the dorsal fin. The other change is the hooked jaw, common to many Pacific Salmon species. The only change that it does not go under is changing its body colour to a bright red.

The female change colour to an olive green on the sides and top with the underside being pale in colour.

Ocean Appearance

The humped appearance is a dramatic change from its silvery torpedo shaped that helps it propel itself through the water fast and with ease.

The Pink Salmon has round black spots on its head, back and all the way down to and including the entire tail fin.

Juvenile Pink Salmon Appearance

Juvenile Pink Salmon have a clean silver colour on the top bottom and sides. Unlike other juvenile Pink Salmon, the young Pink Salmon lack the parr marks.

The most populous salmon is the pink salmon with a conical head and small eyes. Breeding males’ snout is greatly extended and turned down at the tip. The lower jaw is enlarged and unable to close with sharp teeth on both jaws.

The male also has a large hump before the dorsal fin. However, the female changes little except in colour. There sides are steel-blue to blue-green with large black dots. A less brilliant, yet similar colour, is in permanent freshwater pinks.

All Tackle Record Size

As most Pink Salmon only live two years, they don’t get very old, unlike Coho or Chinook Salmon. However, some males do survive to spawn another year. The average size of pink Salmon is between 3 to 5 pounds/1.4 to 2.2 kilograms and are between 18-24 inches/46 to 61 centimetres long.

The largest Pink Salmon ever caught, all tackle record, 15.4 pound that was 31 inches long and had a girth or 24.75 inches. It was caught in 2008 by Adam Stewart, a 19-year old man. The previous all tackle record weighed in at 6.74 kg/14 lb 13 oz and was caught in Monroe, Washington back in 2001.