I'm partial to sockeye also with coho a close 2nd. All my kings go in the smoker.

That's right, it was gone before I could put the beer down and quit BS'ing with everyone

Nope he aint cool yet!

I love sockeye and think they are the most consistently good tasting fish.

That said, certain kings are damn good and outshine others that you might have caught the same day at the same place. The right summer San Juan king can be hard to beat, especially if you match it with a good beer, a sunset, and some good friends.

For pure fat content... nothing beats those triploid rainbows caught in Rufus Woods lake. You cut them open and the fat pours out almost like jelly. For me, they rank right up there with Alaskan reds or Columbia river springers. Ya gotta catch 'em in the Winter though.

Hey Fishhead... are you sure that's fat bubblin' outta them Skok kings and not puss from all of their snag wounds?

Early springers are the bomb! I've bbq'd several jacks over the years while on anchor at Skamakowa. Truly some of the best eats out there! Springers are really the only salmon I actually BBQ (little garlic salt and lemon pepper..nothing else), as the rest get smoked or smoke/canned. I don't blackmouth fish though (yet).

June summer runs in the PS rivers, or August summer runs on the Snake (or the Upper Columbia back when we could keep them that early). Not a big fan of Reds. Do love the triploids also (I seem to catch a few of those LOL)!

It’s always fun to see how many folks have such different opinions on fish. And I always marvel at how many folks can’t tell the difference between opinion and fact.i.e. fresh XXX are the best tasting.

I have had all the fish mentioned above. In a few cases I am simply amazed that someone thought their favorite was the best but there’s no accounting for taste.

I do agree that any salmonids entering the rivers about now are tops.

I agree with Snake on Chelan Kokanee. Not so much Sky Guy on Lake Washington sockeye, unless caught the day they enter the lake.

My favorite to date would be Columbia springers, but I sure would like to taste a Yukon chinook that is just beginning a 1200 mile journey. I think, as someone pointed out, the Yukopn fish may not be true springers, but they do makes the longest journey of any chinook.

Columbia river springers are the best tasting salmon out there.IMHO.Sockeye and summer run steelies play a close second.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

For me the best salmon is what I swap for halibut and ling. When I do eat salmon its from salt water, and preferably caught as far away from the spawning river as possible, and bled, gutted, gilled and iced ASAP.

Frazer sockeye or any sockeye that is still fresh, definitely! Frazier River white kings get the major thumbs down. Don't even attempt it! Just me though.

I think fresh vs not is an important distinction though. The majority of people don't like fish because they ate it less than fresh. They say it tasted fishy, slimey, gross, yucky or mucky. It drives me nuts to hear people say that Salmon is gross. Chances are they have never had salmon like I have!
Most people just are not blessed with the opportunity to eat as much fresh seafood as we do

That right there makes a huge difference in table quality. Assuming that's done in all cases the best tasting fish I've had is Springers and sockeye.

the noodle inside any salmon's spine

some of the best smoked fish i've ever had was holdover rainbow trout from a local lake.

i do love the springers, but i like cowlitz coho almost as much. tender and oily.

It truly is amzing how much fat renders off the Rufus triploids on the BBQ. I always BBQ fish on a layer of foil,you can put a Rufus fillet on the BBQ dry and when its done cooking there is 1/4" of oil left on the foil.

I can't stand to eat trout,but those Rufus triploids are good stuff.

As far as salmon,a saltwater Coho is my favorite.

No matter what kind of fish is kept for the table there are a few guidelines that can make a tremendous difference in the eating quality.

This is a long post since it is an article I did for Fish Alaska a few years back, but one I hope will encourage people to make the utmost care in handling fish bound for the table.

Sebastes

The photos show a pink being bled, a pair of Coho on ice and the difference in fillet quality from a bled and an unbled rockfish.


Keeping Them Fresh

By

Doug Wilson



There is nothing that will go to mush much faster than a pink salmon tossed on deck or in a fish box without ice.
Proper care of any fish will make all the difference in its quality as table fare.
The get-little-respect pink can be a fine dinner if it is properly taken care of the minute it comes off your hook. Treat is otherwise and it will be a mushy, tasteless mess.
I’ve picked this very abundant salmon as an example to start learning about proper fish care. It is probably the most fragile flesh of any fish you’ll take from Alaskan waters.
Use a few extra minutes to care for your fish in the field and you’ll have a much better product for the dinner table.
This applies to any fish you may catch for the table, be it salmon, pike, halibut, trout, char, rockfish, ling cod or others.
Here are some methods and tools than will make your catch more tasty while providing longer shelf live in the refrigerator or freezer.
W.B.I.----Whack, bleed and ice are steps that may sound unpleasant to some. But they are crucial steps to preserving quality of fish taken for the table.,
The first step to quality table fare is a good fish club.
A sharp whack on the head will stun the fish. This quickly puts the fish out of any perceived misery it may be suffering. After a fish is decommissioned by stunning with a fish cub, the heart muscle will continue to beat. This is important as removing as much blood from the fish as soon as possible will make a major improvement in flavor and shelf life.
Blood is the first thing that bacteria breaks down in a dead fish.
Bleed a fish immediately by cutting a single gill arch . Reach inside the gill plate at the back of the fish’s head to cut a single gill arch.
Cutting a gill results in most of the of this blood being pumped out of the flesh.
Use a sharp knife or a pair of kitchen shears.
A word of caution here, some anglers will break a gill arch with their finger. It works OK on some fish, but others like ling cod or pike have sharp gill rakers that will result in a nasty cut on your index finger. This can ruin a day’s fishing, so use the proper tools.
Bled fish will last under refrigeration for about five days. If they are to be kept longer it should be frozen as soon a possible.
Keeping your catch cold is the next and a most necessary step. Icing fish as soon as possible will keep your catch firm and fresh. The colder the better.
If you are planning a extended fishing trip and can pack an ice chest for the trip, shaved ice is the very best choice. It however is not always readily obtainable.
Cubed ice melts more quickly. Fish floating in melted ice water will go soft more quickly that that kept packed in ice in layers.
To keep fish in better condition on ice, it is a good idea to build a rack for the bottom of an ice chest for the water to drain. Other methods include layering the bottom of the ice chest with frozen one-quart milk bottles or using block ice. Either method will take up more space than a draining rack.
A sheet of plywood with drain holes drilled through it set on a couple of two by two slats works well for keeping fish from soaking in melted ice water. Layer the rack with ice before fishing so your catch will be kept cold on both sides. As you catch additional fish, add a layer of ice between each layer of fish.
If you can’t ice your fish immediately, then evaporation is you next best cooling technique. Long used by commercial trollers, fish stored in an open fish box can be kept cooler by placing a wet burlap bag over the catch.
On most charter boat operations your catch will be tossed in a hold or fish box, most likely without refrigeration. Some skippers and deck hands will bleed a fish, others won’t. If you are concerned about the quality of your catch by the time it reaches the table, you might consider asking if they will bleed your fish for you once it is in the fish box. Understand that when fish are coming over the rail in rapid succession that this may not be one of their priorities.
Once your is cut in the round, or filleted, keep it well packed in ice while transporting it home.
When freezing,, spread packages of fish out on the freezer shelf so that it will freeze quickly. Don’t make the mistake of piling package after package on top of each other, as some packages fill not freeze properly. The quicker a fish is frozen the quicker it is preserved.

I once spent a few days on a troller out of Sitka that flash froze their salmon at sea, At 45 degrees below zero, the fish was frozen solid within two hours. Basically is was two hours old and when slowly thawed months later, was as fresh as it had been the day it was caught and frozen. This treatment of commercial troll caught fish brought the best prices from the high end restaurant and fish markets the fisherman sold to in the Seattle area.
Fresh fish smells fresh. If your fish smells fishy, it will be poor table fare. Oftentimes people say they do not like fish. I have had more than one quest change their mind after having well prepared, carefully handled fish that is fresh or was frozen properly.
All the sauces, lemons, and seasoning you can use to disguise the flavor of poorly handled fish will never take the place of fresh or fresh frozen fish that has been taken care of from the moment it is taken from the water.
If you are going to freeze fish for prolonged storage, vacuum packing is far superior to just freezing in a plastic bag. If you cannot vacuum pack. freezing the fish in water so it is encased in ice is the next best, if not somewhat space demanding method.
Some fish keep better and longer than others. On some white meated fish you will notice a reddish layer of flesh along the middle of the fillet on the skin side. The flesh tends to have the strongest flavor and in some fishes is best removed from the fillet, particularly if the fish is to be frozen more than a couple of months. Salmon have this same strip of flesh, but it is usually a brownish color.
The best way to have the finest table fare is to fish often, keep only what you will eat in a reasonable amount of time and be sure to follow the simple rules of WBI, whack, bleed, and ice.
Your dinner guests will appreciate the effort without ever knowing how this particular fish dinner came to be so tasty.

#########

Columbia Springers, The most fat content of any salmon anywhere, including Alaskas Copper River.

Do you know the fat content of a Columbia springer vs an early Yukon chinook?

This is from a fish vendors advertizment. I don't know if true or not.



The oil content of Yukon River King Salmon – a whopping 25-35 percent – is unequalled by any other wild Salmon. In fact, Yukon River King boasts up to twice the fat content of better-known Copper River King! Why is this?

The Yukon River runs for 2,300 miles, making its length unsurpassed in the US. Yukon King Salmon must travel this huge distance to spawn, and cannot eat during this arduous migration.

They devour a rich diet at sea to accumulate the uniquely high body fat levels needed to sustain them on their epic journey.

Once you try our super-rich, succulent salmon, steeped in smoky sweetness, you'll be hooked!

Agreed. I usually get a ration of [censored] for referring to the Skok, but Skok silvers are the same way.

Pen-raised Atlantic salmon have an awful lot of fat too.