Body shape :  Elongate and spindle-shaped, slightly laterally compressed

Average size :  50 to 100 cm (20 to 40 inches), 2 to 10 kg (4 to 22 lb)

Coloration :  Pale with dark markings; brown, green or blue back with large black spots; silvery flanks; dorsal fin with large black spots; caudal fin usually unspotted; bronze or dark brown during spawning period; males darker with red-spotted flanks after spawning (“black salmon”)

External characteristics :  Large mouth with well-developed teeth; spawning males with hooked lower jaw; large, obvious scales; adipose fin well beyond dorsal fin; dorsal and pelvic fins at mid-body length; caudal fin deeply forked in younger fish, slightly forked in older fish.