Rhythmically turned by the water's current as baskets splash in and scoop migrating salmon out, the fish wheel drives throughout the day and into the night. Integrating Native basket weaving techniques for the webbing and knowledge of where to dip net for salmon, fish wheels popped up in Alaskan waters in the late 1890s with the spur of the Gold Rush.

Early Alaskans used fish wheels to assure there would be enough salmon to last through the winter, feeding both the communities and their dog teams. With a rate of three to five revolutions per minute and such effective catches, some northwest states banned these giant fishing machines. With a permit, Alaskan subsistence fishers still run fish wheels, visiting them daily to take out the salmon to clean and dry them as a winter staple.

Mounted on floats and anchored to the river bottom, fish wheels turn by the force of the current. Fences or walls of rock built up under the water funnel salmon into the revolving baskets. Radiating off of the axle, baskets on the end of each paddle-like spoke rotate through the water and churn up salmon, dumping them into tanks or baskets.

While the original purpose of these wheels was catching salmon, some new wheels have been designed to drop salmon into live boxes to be weighed and studied. Fish wheels have become a way to monitor salmon populations as well as to hold salmon long enough to collect eggs and milt.