How to Get Salmon Roe in Skyrim

Salmon roe is a valuable alchemy ingredient in Skyrim that can be used to create potions with powerful effects. It can be tricky to obtain at first, but there are a few reliable methods for collecting salmon roe.

What is Salmon Roe?

Salmon roe comes from salmon that are jumping up waterfalls and rapids to spawn. It can’t be collected from salmon swimming in open water or already dead salmon. When harvested each salmon will provide one salmon meat and one roe.

Salmon roe has very strong alchemical properties making it one of the most valuable ingredients in Skyrim

• Restore Stamina
• Fortify Waterbreathing for 60 seconds
• Fortify Magicka for 5 seconds
• Regenerate Magicka

Due to the powerful waterbreathing effect, potions made with salmon roe are extremely valuable and can fetch high prices from vendors.

Where to Find Leaping Salmon

Salmon roe can only be collected from leaping salmon found at certain waterfall and rapid locations:

• Along the river running north from Riverwood towards Whiterun
• In the stream running through Ivarstead
• Between Talking Stone Camp and Orotheim
• At the fish hatchery in Windstad Manor
• In Dayspring Canyon in the Dawnguard DLC

The best spots will have groups of 4-5 salmon constantly jumping up the waterfalls.

Some additional places to check are waterfalls and rapids along rivers and streams in the Rift, Eastmarch, and Haafingar. Salmon tend to spawn in higher numbers in snowy and mountainous areas.

How to Catch Leaping Salmon

There are a few methods to catch jumping salmon:

• Ice Storm – This spell has a wide area of effect and is very effective at killing all the salmon at once Cast it at the bottom of waterfalls.

• Shouts – Use Unrelenting Force, Cyclone, or Animal Allegiance shouts to kill salmon. Make sure to aim at the salmon.

• Bows – Shoot salmon with bows or crossbows as they jump. Any arrow type will work.

• Destruction Magic – Frost spells like Frostbite work well. Cast them at the salmon as they jump.

• Melee Weapons – Salmon in very shallow water can be killed with melee weapons.

After catching the salmon, loot them for salmon meat and roe. The roe will make a watery sound when picked up.

Aim to catch leaping salmon in groups for maximum efficiency. Utilize locations with many spawning salmon.

Farming Salmon Roe at Windstad Manor

Once the fish hatchery has been built in Windstad Manor, it provides a reliable way to farm salmon roe:

• Build the fish hatchery and add salmon roe to the hatchery inventory to breed salmon.

• Salmon spawned in the hatchery can be killed by shouts, spells, weapons etc. They will float to the surface when dead.

• Loot the dead salmon in the hatchery for guaranteed roe each time.

• Add more roe to the hatchery to repeat the process.

The hatchery salmon respawn quickly, allowing you to easily harvest multiple roe in a short time.

Salmon Roe Recipes

Salmon roe is used in many high value potions:

• Salmon Roe + Garlic + Nordic Barnacle – Most expensive potion in the game

• Salmon Roe + Histcarp + Jazbay Grapes – Extremely valuable, ingredients are common

• Salmon Roe + Chicken’s Egg + Nightshade – grants long Waterbreathing

Look for recipes that combine salmon roe with other abundant ingredients like garlic, nordic barnacles, and jazbay grapes to produce potions worth 500-1000 gold each.

Tips for Collecting Salmon Roe

• Use Ahzidal’s Boots of Waterwalking to easily walk on water while catching salmon.

• Check waterfalls at different times of day as salmon may spawn in cycles.

• Bring followers to help catch more salmon at once.

• Use Frost and Waterbreathing enchantments to aid catching salmon underwater.

• Salmon roe will respawn over time at set locations.

With a bit of effort, salmon roe can be a nice recurring source of income and alchemy experience in Skyrim. Look for leaping salmon near waterfalls and rapids and utilize efficient catching methods to build up a good stockpile.