If someone in Europe says that they are going salmon fishing, they will be talking about Alantic salmon, not any of the 7 Pacific salmon species. Alantic salmon are part of the Salmo genus (a genus is a taxonomic unit of science used in the classification of living and fossil organisms) which also includes various trout. The Oncorhynchus genus includes 7 Pacific salmon, 2 of which are in Asia called the Masu and Amago salmon. Atlantic salmon can be found in Norway and Sweden as well as the Great Lakes and eastern seaboard of North America. Alantic salmon are similar to Pacific salmon in that they are both andromous and also can live primarily in freshwater. Andromous simply means that fish spend most of their life in salt water but go to freshwater to spawn.

One of the most popular places to fish in Sweden is Lake Vänern. Lake Vänern is one of Europe’s largest lakes and includes thousands of islands. It is 130 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide and many species of fish live in this very large lake. The most popular method of fishing in this lake is trolling plugs on downriggers. Norway is also known for salmon fishing, but mostly in rivers. Salmon fishing in Europe is monitored very closely and each salmon is documented when caught.

While all Pacific salmon die after spawning, not all Atlantic salmon do. Alantic salmon will attempt return to the ocean or large lake after spawning, but it is thought that only about 10% of atlantic salmon actually make it back after the obstacles faces when going to spawn.