The Chinook (aka King) salmon is a better fish for eating (or in the local fishing parlance it "cuts well"). Higher fat content and firm flesh makes them great for sushi/sashimi/poke which is my preferred way to eat them.
Pinks are more delicate and a bit bland (kind of like a trout) and must be bonked, bled, gutted and put on ice ASAP (same goes for any fish you are going to eat really) and they do not store well. They really should be eaten (or smoked or canned or whatever) the same day they are caught. If you filet, vacuum pack and freeze them and then thaw later their flesh is mushy and mealy. But if you treat them right and consume/smoke them quickly they are tasty, and a more sustainable fishery with huge runs coming into Puget Sound every odd-numbered year.
Here is what became of the chinook in my third pic:
Filets, getting ready to pull the pin bones (quarter for scale)
After salting for 1 hour (to draw off moisture) and a 20 minute soak in a rice vinegar bath I skin each filet and section into "blocks" for sushi
Prepared block with quarter for scale. After this I vacuum seal each piece, then freeze with dry ice (-100f) for 24 hours to kill of any parasites. Then, feast time.
