Archives: Travel Pages

The Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus Oncorhynchus.  Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, Quinnat salmon, Tsumen, spring salmon, chrome hog, Blackmouth, and Tyee (more…)

Arowanas are freshwater bony fish of the subfamily Osteoglossinae, also known as bony tongues (the latter name is now often reserved for Arapaiminae). In this family of fish, the head is bony and the elongated body is covered by large, heavy scales, with a mosaic pattern of canals. The dorsal and anal fins have soft (more…)

The payara, also known in the fly fishing community as vampire fish, Hydrolycus scomberoides, is a species of dogtooth tetra. This predatory fish is found in the Amazon Basin in tropical South America. It was the first of four species to be described in the genus Hydrolycus. The most noticeable feature of H. scomberoides is (more…)

Hoplias aimara, also known as anjumara, traíra, trahira, manjuma, anjoemara and wolf fish, is a species of freshwater fish found in the rivers of South America. This is the largest of the Hoplias species with fish caught at a length of 120 cm (47 in), the largest rod and reel record stands at 101 cm (more…)

Lenoks, otherwise known as Asiatic trout or Manchurian trout, are salmonid fish of the genus Brachymystax, native to rivers and lakes in Mongolia, Kazakhstan, wider Siberia (including Russian Far East), Northern China and Korea. Lenoks can be sharp-snouted (B. lenok) or blunt-snouted (B. tumensis).  Traditionally both these were included in B. lenok, but today they (more…)

A barracuda, or ‘cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behavior. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus Sphyraena, the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. It is found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide (more…)

Amur trout (Brachymystax savinovi) are an impressive trout species that are unique to the Amur system in Mongolia.  Amur trout are beautiful with coppery flanks, big black spots and heavy shoulders. They hit the fly with commitment and fight hard.  Amur trout have been caught pushing 30 inches. While speaking with Michael Caranci, guest services at (more…)

The Amur pike (Esox reichertii), also known as the blackspotted pike, is a pike native to the Amur River system in east Asia, as well as freshwater habitat on the island of Sakhalin. Closely related to the northern pike, it reaches a length of 115 cm (3 ft 9 in), a weight of 12.5 kg (28 lb), sporting a silvery (more…)

Tigerfish can refer to fish from various families, and derives from official and colloquial associations of these with the tiger (Panthera tigris). However, the primary species designated by the name “tigerfish” are African and belong to the family Alestidae. In the western game fishing world, Hydrocynus vittatus is considered Africa’s equivalent of the South American (more…)

The bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) is a char of the family Salmonidae native to northwestern North America. Historically, S. confluentus has been known as the “Dolly Varden” (S. malma), but was reclassified as a separate species in 1980. Bull trout are listed as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (1998) and as (more…)