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[Gooey]

Well, I have always thougth that chum turn color much quicker than a coho but its less of a benchmark in terms of flesh quality.  I am quite positive of that now.

As reported, Bug Pumper and I both bonked a female chum mainly for the roe.  They both had purple bars, white tipped fins, no fungus...fairly colored fish tho.  We couldnt just chuck the carcass so I took em home to smoke.  When filleted, the flesh was glossy and firm, the muscle layers didnt separate, etc so the flesh quality was  good.

Just finished smoking them and coworkers fully enjoyed the end product. 

If your interested the brine was:
2c Orange juice
2 tbl sp crushed garlic
2 slices of ginger minced
3/4 cup of seasalt
1kg dark brown sugar
top up bucket with water to cover fish, then soaked in brine for 3 days.  Remove and air dry til tacky, cold smoked for 12 hours.

[Nostro]

Yeah Gooey.
IMO, chum makes the finest smoked fish. I always shake  ???my head in disgust when I see people kick chum back into the river, or leave the slit open fish on the beach for the seagulls, after having taken the roe. There are also some excellent recipies on FWR for chum. Hooking. fighting and landing a chum is one of the best fishing thrills anyone could hope for. Anjoy this species for what it offers.

[aquaboy24]

Thats because they haven't had my "First nations" candied Chum.
I rules all.

[canoe man]

same here yummy chummy
this year im going to try and seperate the does from the bucks and see if there is any quality difference in the flesh
cnm

[Hiker]

I do not know why people think so bad about chum taste. If the only way you know to cook your fish is to put butter on it and through it on bbq, chum can not compare with CO, sockeye, ... any other salmon, but if you use a bit of imagination, few spices, or even make fish and chips, chums are as good as any.

For bbq with basic spices (butter, salt and pepper) you need a very tasty flesh, but every other way of cooking fish will be OK for chum. I love bbq, but love to experiment as well, and I think that anybody who doesn't try something else is missing out.

just my 2c

[Gooey]

Any fish that has turned color has been in the fresh water for some time and the body chemistry will be changing too as they wind down towards spawning and death. 

We see these colored fish and think, thats a boot and throw it back...Look at what fulcrum said: "Chum is a very lean fish, so I would imagine that as soon as those bars are present, the kitosis starts up pretty quick and the fish's meat quality deminishes every minute". 

I made this post because that is not my experience for chum.  They color much quicker than coho, probably more along the same time line as white spring.  But unlike whites, whose flesh starts to rot on the bone as soon as they smell fresh water, Chum flesh seems to degrade at a much slower rate.  As is stated, the 2 fish PB and I bonked were very colored but had great flesh quality and smoked up nicely.

[Gooey]

Like Nostro pointed out...its disgusting to see people bonk fish just for the roe.  If these chum still make nice smokers then there is no reason to waste one just for bait....assuming you have a smoker!

[fishersak]

Actually I have caught Chum in the chuck with the purple bars already showing....they color early but the flesh remains palatable for some time.

[newsman]

I have found the baring on Chum is of no consequence. Smoked lots of them. It's the belly you want to look at; white is right, gray to black throw it back. I have seen people take some real gross Chum claiming that they will smoke up okay. Wrong! Smoke one of those old boys and you will taste it right away. Once their bellies start to turn grey they have a liver like after taste, the darker the belly the worse it gets. Now if you like liver "fill your boots."

[Gooey]

Hey fulc, I spent 10 or so years in Cobble Hill, I wonder if we crossed paths on the cowichan!?!

[Fish Assassin]

White belly and white chin