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[Silver]

I am wondering about when it is appropriate to eat fish that are in the spawning cycle. The sockeye I have caught were at best silvery grey to slightly pink. I have heard that you are not to eat spawned salmon... but at what point do the fish start to become less viable? The pinkish males starting to get a hump with a hook nose seem a little borderline to me. Am I being too picky, I certainly would not want the fully red fish.
I ask because an outdoorsman at work told me that a soon as the fish hit the river they are starting to decompose, and the humps are partly parasitic in nature...is this true?

I can post the pictures if someone can advise how...

[Rodney]

http://www.fishingwithrod.com/articles/fishery_issues/when_should_you_not_keep_a_salmon_in_rivers.html

[Fish Assassin]

You could eat spawned salmon if you want to but the question is do you really want to ? There is nothing to say you can't but it certainly won't be the most tastiest.

[Chehalis_Steel]

IME Pinks and Chum have to be pretty close to chrome to taste good. Usually its pretty obvious it their not but it you're unsure a good way to tell is to look at their stomach area. If its still white then usually the fish is still in good condition but if its grey or darker then that's a sign you don't want to eat it. Coho is the exception since even fish that are starting to color up can still taste ok, so long as they don't have fungal infections yet.

[Silver]

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These are the slightly pink examples that I mentioned...They taste very good fresh cooked and smoked...and there was absolutely no smell in the flesh.
Would these be the most ripe you would want to go...or am I being too picky?

[Silver]

[Silver]

As opposed to these I caught the very next day in the same location.

[Knnn]

Caught a couple exactly like that today and just had one baked in the oven with a touch of salt, nothing else.  Absolutely delicious it was to.

[Animal Chin]

IMO, those fish look good. Coho are usually good, but I caught some pretty silver ones last year that weren't great for some reason. I find the males of whatever species are relatively no problem.

I usually smoke my chum and pinks. While I'm pretty picky with chum, I've taken some with bars just showing, but I've learnt that pinks are only good if absolutely chrome. Even for smoking. It might've been the hotter weather but next time around I'm going to take extra care putting pinks on ice when caught.

I smoked one pink that I thought was in good condition from Squamish and had to throw it out, it was so bad. It absorbed the salt in a weird way.

BTW, I believe the humps are just cartilage. A little weird when filleting but not sure how it could be "parasitic".

[redtide]

In salmon the humps are only in the males during their return to rivers. Its basically fatty cartilage and is meant as a show to deter other males during mating. Pinks are most pronounced and cutting off the humps from the meat is recommended. Look for fin rot and and belly discoloration as indicators the fish is nearing its end.  Those sockeye look fine to me.

[Zackattack]

Are you storing your fish in the bathtub? Haha they'll last longer in a cooler

[Silver]

Are you storing your fish in the bathtub? Haha they'll last longer in a cooler

It did feel a bit strange putting them in there, but I wanted to remove the slime and scales for smoking with the skin on...too messy for the kitchen.

I watched a VHS on how to smoke salmon in the late 90's, and it said that the fishy taste of salmon comes from the slime coat...ever wonder why the gray fatty area beneath the skin on the sides of the fish tastes so 'fishy' sometimes? It's from the slime and fatty tissue absorbs it more than the regular flesh. Smoking can accentuate this flavor that I don't like too much.

Actually, certain populations prefer this and boiling fish whole, or just the parts most people don't want will concentrate the fishy taste...which they prefer. I remember catching a rare huge rockfish in Fiji many years ago, and when the local guide asked if he could keep the head and carcass...his friends were all smiling...like they knew something. Later, I was told that they think foreigners are stupid to only take the flavourless fillets.

[Silver]

Another good tip from this VHS,

You can fully descale a salmon with a jet of water from a hose. It must be very focused and strong...like a pencil stream from an old fashioned brass mini firemans nozzle (modern spray handles won't work).  If you spray at a 45' angle from the tail toward the head all the scales spray off. It's messy, but if you have a yard it's no big deal. I didn't want to attract bears to my neighbourhood, so I didn't use this method this time.

BTW, if anyone remembers this video???I would like to see it again, but I can't find it. I believe it was simply called 'How to smoke salmon' and It was from the public library.