Salmon - swim upstream to die?

In the past couple weeks, while driving downtown GR over the Grand River, I noticed a bunch of guys out there fishing. It is that time of year when the salmon are swimming upstream in an effort to lay their eggs (and I guess die?).

Anyway, I talked to one of the fishermen at the office to find out what time of day would be best to catch them fishing downtown. I was told that daybreak was the best time of day. So, this morning, I was up at 6 so I could get downtown by sunrise. Much to my surprise, there were already about 30 guys with their poles in the water hoping to reel in a big one. It was a beautiful fall morning and perfect for checking out the fishermen. There were a few guys reeling them in and a bunch of other guys hooking them, but losing them to the fast current.

I think the coolest thing for me was to see the fish flying out of the water in an effort to get over the wall and into the next level of the river. Unfortunately, I was unable to capture any of those shots. : (

However, I did get a few other shots that you may enjoy.

My question is this: If the fish are going upstream to lay eggs and die, is the meat bad or old? Not as flavorful? Why are so many guys in the river trying to reel them in if it is not edible? Who knows, perhaps it is just for the sport of it. It was a good way to start my day.
Check out a couple of the photos at Flickr