Dave you retired. Let it go.

The long distance Yukon chum can run as much as 19% fat - More than most kings elsewhere.

Nice story Sebastes, we always had 6 or 8 bags of ice fishing out of Neah Bay(Snow Creek) to ice the catch immediately and then used shaved ice to pack the fillets in that evening. A little bit of extra care makes a big difference in quality.

Here are some numbers I dug up a few years ago for percent fat content by species. Of course these can vary a lot by run location and individual fish.

Spring Chinook - 22%
Fall Chinook - 11.4%
Sockeye - 7.6%
Pink - 6.7%
Farmed Atlantic - 6.3%
Coho - 4.6%
Chum - 3.8%
Halibut - <1%

Sebastes,
It always kills me to see people @ snow creek or Neah bay with blood shot fillets of sea-bass/ling and some times butt while @ the cleaning station.I stayed next to a couple guy's @ snow creek one time that didn't bleed there sea-bass fillets #1 then proceeded to let the fillets soak in fresh water in the sink of there cabin for a couple hours before they vauum packed them.We were just laughing in side and saying I wonder how it's gonna taste in a month or so.Not bashing east siders but they were from the east side of the state.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

Pink Snapper ?

One of my favorite meals has to be "kokes" from a@d&r cooked in a cast iron skillet over the open flames.

+2 on the skok coho. If I could only get away from the crowds they would taste even better

Never had a Columbia Springer yet so no comparison there, I ave enjoyed a copper river
salmon or two and it was Dhamnn tasty.

Vedder gave me half of CR Springer a few years ago, first he had caught.

He barbecued the half he kept that night and the next morning I got a call from him telling me that that was the last CR Springer I or anyone else would ever see from him.

It was the best Chinook he had ever had.

Considering that he isn't all that fond of fish, that was quite a statement.

We truly enjoyed the half he sent my way. it was the fattest Chinook I've ever barbecued and I done more than a few.

Maybe he will post something about the blind tasting test he did one time with a red and a white Chinook?

And I might do the same on smoked Rockfish, Pacific Cod and Dogfish, which I color coded with toothpicks and took to a party.

Columbia river 1237 miles long, copper river 300 miles long.

Never heard about yukon salmon for there table fair. Must be in the mid to high 20 percentile if they are that good. Just like columbia Springers. I bet they are similar in comparison.

White Kings from the Skeena are very oily and have less fishy taste than red meated salmon.

Frasier white Kings Awesome smoked!

Dave,

A self-admitted fish snob reporting here . . .

It seems that the keys to really high quality salmon are a combination of adult freshwater migration distance, which scores a lot of points for Yukon kings (and chums too, not that I've ever had them), and the time span between freshwater entrance and spawning date. It makes general sense that the fish that migrates a long ways and has a long freshwater residence prior to spawning will have the highest lipid content. Of course, fat content varies from fish to fish as well as between populations, but these two variables generally seem to set fish apart.

I used to think that Copper River or similar early run Alaska kings were the undisputed super-stars of edible fish. And that was not meant to disparage early spring and summer chinook running to the Fraser and Skagit. Those were before I tried my first Columbia River springer. They are why I have springer fever along with so many salmon afficianados. Other candidates as excellent table fare are the Columbia summer chinook and the upriver brights. These are kings that have fairly long migrations and time between freshwater entrance and spawning.

I'm also partial to sockeye, but they are not all the same. Some are almost mediocre, while others make a "to die for" meal. Seldom available, but the very best are the Early Stuart run in the Fraser - 800 mile migration and over 3 months in freshwater. I've had some Alaska sockeye, including Copper River one year, that was truly ordinary. Must have been poor ocean feeding conditions, as the fish were small that year as well. The Baker/Lk WA sockeye are pretty good eating. Their migration isn't very long, but their freshwater residence time is long, entering freshwater in late June, early July, and spawning from late September to late December.

Sebastes post about fish handling is another key. Even the best salmon can be ruined by poor handling. I'll add that fresh, not frozen, salmon is always the best. However I'll admit that I've twice had early AK kings that were flash frozen and vacuum packed that I couldn't tell from fresh, altho I tried my darnest to discern at least some subjective difference. So I've come to believe that salmon processed that way can be as good as and indistinguishable from fresh.

A further comment about quality salmon. It doesn't need and IMO shouldn't be abused with a bunch of seasonings, marinades, or the like. Those have no purpose beyond masking the true flavor of the fish. I season salmon with salt. Human taste buds are very sensitive to salt, and salt makes food sweeter and brings out more of the fish's flavor than cooking without it. The alder smoke from my BBQ fire is the only flavor additive I use on salmon.

Being the fish snob that I am, I'm in an ongoing, unresolved, contest with a woman from Vashon Island regarding which of us prepares the best BBQ salmon in the world - claims we made in front of a large group. If I can get a springer this week or next I hope to settle this issue once and for all (like there's no subjectivity involved in this dispute at all, ha ha!)

Oh, and the other fish. Yes, they can be good too, but there's a lot of variability. Like Parker mentioned, and early summer steelhead is darn good, but it tastes like a trout, not a salmon, not to hold that against it. I've had coho at times that was so good I thought I was eating chinook. Oddly, some of those were Bouy 10 coho (70 degree water), so go figure. But bled coming over the rail and onto ice, they were superb fresh on the BBQ.

Oh, did I mention that I'm a little bit of a fish snob? And that I have no opinions on fish, only objective facts? (t.i.c.)

Sg

1) Columbia springer

2) April-early June summer-runs (almost #1)

Febuary caught CR/Willy springer is the best I've ever had.

My favorite salmon to eat is cold smoked wild atlantic from new brunswick canada and our smoke house up there. by far the best fish i have ever had.

i havent eaten C.R. springers nor yukon springers, but some of my favorite salmon have been ocean cohos from Neah Bay cooked fresh and Winter blackmouth from MA 10. for the most part, As long as it is fresh I like it.

My favorite, probably based on circumstances at the time, is chrome-brite nushagak chum. I think any fresh, chrome alaskan chum would do but there is something about fresh, fried chum that is incredibly succulent.

First of all, I am not a fish snob. If it swims, and legal to keep, or right to keep, I'll eat it. And I'll like it or love it. But, Chelan Kokes are the best, springers from anywhere, when caught in spring, are frickin' excellent. Then Blackmouth, after that, who cares, they are all pretty good. Well as long they are from the salt. But not as excellent as the first ones stated.

I have to say, really, the fish that is the freshest, and you haven't had in awhile is what is the best.

CR Springer

I totally agree. I haven't had Lake Stevens Kokes in a long time. But something cool that highly arouses the taste buds when slapping a fresh coho on the grill, while still out on the salt.

Rico: Your taste is all in your mouth!