The first chum I caught, 2 years ago, was a chrome bright 12lber in the Nisqually. It was so bright that a couple of "experts" across the river from me were convinced it was an early steelie. When I held it just right in the light you could barely see the purple lines. I too often thought, how bad can it be...this fish looks perfect so I took it home.
One half of the fish went on my bbq with my best marinade, the other half went in the little chief with my best brine. The color of the meat was good, not cherry red, but a nice pink. The half on the bbq turned out so-so. Even with my favorite marinade it was bland at best. The half in smoker was just as good as anything else ever smoked. Since then the only chum Ive ever taken home was the first one my son caught...and that was mostly for bragging rights to mom. It was slightly colored but smoked fine.
If you got em in the freezer already ( and most folks do by this time of the year) probably best to let em swim.
Tight lines
RL