Fish was important for various reasons. Not only did the people eat it but the also fed it to their dogs. On the Yukon River king salmon, silver salmon and pink salmon were plentiful. Pink salmon is also know as "dog salmon." That was the kind the natives tended to give to the dogs. The lower Koyukuk River wasn't much different than the Yukon. The upper Koyukuk River, on the other hand, didn't generally get fish worth eating so the would feed it to the dogs if it wasn't too bad off. If the people of the upper Koyukuk wanted fish to feed them through the winter they would have to go down river to places where there was good fish.
People would have fish camps during the summer. They would set up fish traps and nets in the same general area as their fish came every year. They would live there so they could take care of the fish right away so it wouldn't spoil. They would cut it up and dry it. The people loved their fish camps, even though it was hard work. The younger children ran around and played while the older children and adults took care of the fish.
