Comparing different fish is like comparing an apple and an orange. I like them all....

Last night, Nina and I made this fantastic dinner with the red spring jack that we were given. I'll be posting the recipe soon...

We are still working on the only red spring that we took home this year. Fantastic steaks indeed.

Never really had sockeye. Already have enough fish to eat usually, so I've never bothered to actually go and buy socks.

In September and October I eat coho three or four times per week, beautiful fish either pan fried or grilled.

Last year I had a chance to use Steelhead King's smoker and smoked up some chum salmon, really good! Normally I would be deep frying chum salmon. The roe, good eating, and also good bait.

Pink salmon, I only eat the ones I get around Richmond. Still ocean fresh, beautiful on the grill.

Salmon head, never wasted. They are made into miso soup normally.

It's a good thing this thread only discusses salmon ranking. None of it can compare for excellence to rainbow. Sorry about that.

sox,coho,red/white spring,chum and then pinks(only does - i don't like the humpies at all).  

i think texture of meat has a lot to do with taste preference (some flakes and are moist, but others are more chewy and dry) - all depends on how it's cooked.

my father made fish n chips with the whites last year and it was very tasty.  at first, i thought it was some kind of cod until he told me it was a white spring. i was quite impressed and satisfied with the meal.  

my wife caught a fraser chum last year and was it ever clean (almost thought it was a white spring - could faintly see the purple bars on its sides).  That was the only time i kept a chum and it was very tasteful.  The ones on the vedder i usually release, so i don't know the comparison of tastes.  would it taste the same?

My ratings would be:
Sockeye (something about the neon red/orange meat that looks great)
Coho
Spring
Pink
Chum
Atlantic Salmon (farmed)

I like both Chum and Humpies smoked and tried them grilled.  Chum may have a bad rep because in salmon-rich Alaska, they feed chums to the dogs as dog food.  That's why they are nicknamed Dog salmon, along with their teeth they develop.  Humpie meat is known to go bad quickly and does not freeze well.  Their meat goes soft and mushy faster than other species, even in the freezer.

Salmon head, never wasted. They are made into miso soup normally.

My wife makes this often, uses the bones too for flavor.  Says its a Hokkaido recipe where salmon is still plentiful there.  Adds potato to this too.

The fat content in a fish depends on the how far inland the fish has to travel to it's natal stream.  I find that a Cap coho taste very different than to one caught in the Vedder.

As well, how you care for your catch makes a big difference.  I see some club their socks with huge rocks which would bruise the upper portion of flesh.  I normally bleed all my catch first before dispatching it.  Sounds cruel but the fish will tend to be in better condition and makes for a better meal.

My fav is
- Fraser Red Spring
- Sockeye
- Coho

I'd have to rank Sockeye and Coho tied for first followed by red spring, chum and then pink. Chum is a great tasting fish baked or BBQ. Pinks I find are to soft and mushy and are only good if eaten the day they are caught. If you try smoking a frozen pink you'll end up with a pile of mush, or near to it.

Sockeye
Red Spring
Coho
Chum
Pink
White Spring

Chum in good condition are a fine fish. Bleed them like a Spring when catch them and the table quality is suprising.