Remind me to never take you fishing.......

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)
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1628276739.jpg

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
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1628276739.jpg

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.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1628276739.jpg

I’m getting better. Way more comfy on my kayak.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1628277866.jpg

When I fish for salmon, I prefer Chinook....

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1628277920.jpg

…..and my new biggest fish.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1628278146.jpg

I'm fixin' to put somebody on my ignore list :D!

Oh boy that looks delish.

On Mondays, it is slow at the club, so the bartender brings her fishing pole and drops a line in the river. This was last Monday. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1628287778.jpg
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Im a fisherman. Always have been, since the 1970s. I have struggled with the issue you point out below since the late 1990s. I grew up on, as in directly on, Lake Ontario. I fished it daily because it was my backyard, along with its many tributaries.

I also keep fish as pets (9 tanks) and I struggle and go to great lengths to keep them healthy and when they get sick, i treat them or euthanize as required....it is not enjoyable to see them injured or suffering from disease (usually because of me). I have learned more about fish by keeping them as pets than I could any other way....and it has really cooled me off the sport of fishing

I have found myself at a cross roads about whether or not to keep on fishing. I only catch and release. I do what I can to raise the chances of their survival by removing barbs, not touching slime coat, not using live bait, not fighting longer than necessary, doing my best to avoid fragile fish like Northern Pike etc...I still find it a struggle to justify what I do....

It is quite frankly, the most selfish indulgence i have ever been involved in. I love it but, yea...your right

Sorry to derail the thread

^^^ You guys are a buzz kill.

But yes, the way we look at catch and release is changing.

The coho salmon have started showing up in my area of Puget Sound, here are two nice hatchery bucks I found this AM. The bigger one is already starting to form a "kype", the hooked jaw look that salmon get when spawning. Smaller one 6.27lb, larger one 8.96lb

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1630728353.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1630728353.jpg

In my best Crocodile Dundee voice " that's not a fish , this is a fish " 😁 . Check out this recent catch .

https://www.google.com/amp/s/ftw.usatoday.com/2021/08/former-nhl-star-catches-sturgeon-world-record/amp

You sure do get your share of Salmon! What's your go to preparation for eating? I knew a guy who talked about wrapping in foil and using the "pot scrubber" setting on the dishwasher.

Nice catch BTW Grant!

For King (aka Chinook) or Coho a decent amount of what I catch is consumed raw, either as sashimi/sushi or (my personal fave) poke. To properly prepare it this way you take entire filets and rub them with kosher salt and allow the salt to draw out excess liquid for 1+ hours (a surprising amount of liquid will come out), then you put the filets into a bath of rice vinegar for 20 minutes before patting dry and skinning/slicing into nice sashimi blocks. The last step is vacuum sealing and putting into a cooler with a generous amount of dry ice for 24 hours of extreme cold to kill parasites etc and make it safe to eat raw.

For actual "cooking" preparations I have three that are "go to":

1) Rub a generous amount of either pesto or "rub with love" salmon rub onto the flesh and bake at 450 (either in my oven or on my traeger smoker) until the flesh is just flaking, 7-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. The rub with love stuff is dynamite.
2) Poach in olive oil. This takes an extravagant amount of olive oil (you need the filet completely submerged in oil) but the result is silky and moist. I usually use the Costco brand oil for this. Get the oil (optionally doctored up with some fresh herbs) to 180, drop the entire filet in there, maintain 180 for 15 minutes, pull the fish out and pat dry to remove most oil, then serve.
3) Slice into candy bar sized portions and then cure it and smoke it. I typically "cure" for 24-48 hours in a combo of brown sugar, salt, black pepper, maple syrup and gin. Then I let it dry on racks in the fridge until it forms a "pellicle" which is basically a skin of dryness on the outside of the meat, then smoke as low as I dare. The result is what locals call "salmon candy" which is a bit sweet and kind of jerky-ish, a favorite snack to eat when I am out trying to catch more salmon.

Thanks Grant! I've had the "Salmon Candy" when I was in Long Beach, Wa. and it was tasty. I'll try the other 2 cooked versions.

I've done sashimi and ceviche' with Dorado and Tuna, I'll have to try the Salmon.

Got this guy today, missed one of his buddies, as well as mullet, a couple of ladyfish, a skate, and two of the biggest grunts I've caught (10" or so). Cast net got me some shrimp, finger mullet, a mullet about 12" long, and a pinfish.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1630960373.jpg

Any recommendations from this group for fishing charters in Seattle? We are going to be in town sat-wed next week and I’d like to take the kids out salmon fishing if possible. I see a bunch of different charter companies, just curious if there are any I should avoid?

Caught a new door mat this weekend, has a built in door bell even :)

~40" wing tip to wing tip, maybe 48" nose to end not counting tail.

Took about 30 minutes to bring it in

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1632856220.jpg

I'd try a local fishing forum or Facebook .

Day before yesterday caught 2 nice spot tails at the same time. Mr Gator came out of the grass but I prevailed!


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It is the very tail end of Coho season, there are still many around but it is getting harder to make them bite... the rains have started so they are going into spawning mode.

These four charters all have excellent reputations in Puget Sound:
https://allriversguideservice.com/
https://seattlefishingcharter.com/
https://allstarfishing.com/
Messin Around Fishing Charters

Perfect thanks! I’ll check into those!

Bait was thin on the ground but did get a dozen good size mud minnows in my cast net...

26" red. Slot max is 27" :)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1635021424.JPG

Nice fall smallie.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1635193908.jpg

Nice spot tail and nice drum today in the creek in the salt marsh next to my buddy’s house.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1635193865.jpg


Now my first attempt at filleting with my new filet knife.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1635193865.jpg

Attempt failed. ☹️ Made a mess out of it. I watched a couple of “how to” you tubes but obviously need some hands on in person instruction.

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Don't think it really counts but there is no random landed razor clam thread so...

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^^^^Love razor clams!!!!!!
Used to go fishing every day after work. Haven't been fishing in over 30 years. Maybe now that I'm retired and the wife is still working I'll head back out. Plus, fishing license is free due to being a senior! Stay tuned! Or not.

Caught my first African pompano, also a nice size shark. I don’t know my sharks, and we didn’t actually land it, I had my buddy cut the line for me. Many sharks we aren’t allowed to keep, and I don’t want them flopping around the boat anyway. The pompano was 25” and the shark was 5’-6’.

I caught the pompano and some amberjack on a slow pitch rod that had 30# line and a very light setup. I assume a shark or something big, took a fish I was reeling in and thankfully it broke the line. I switched over to a heavier setup and caught the shark on it.
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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1677224692.jpg

Going back out tommorow, suppose to be 2’ or less waves and 87 degrees. The wife has some friends down on vacation and Of coarse they want me to take the guys out. We sure seem to be popular down here January thru March.

Nice!
How is the new(ish) boat working out?

Pretty good. I’ve had it 2 1/2 years now and put 200 hrs on the engines. I’ve already put 30 hours on this year. I updated the electronics last year, new Chartploter, auto pilot, and radar.

So far no biggies. I replaced the battery charger and trim tab pump, but those were $250 items. I’ve done most of the 100 hour service myself, but paid to have the lower units done. Kind of hard to do those on a lift.

The electronics were expensive, but I really didn’t have to do them, just wanted to.

a neighbors kid in my backyard last year.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1677249434.jpg

Not as big a shark, but good eating!
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1677249928.jpg

The weather has been crazy this year, yesterday was the first time I’ve been able to go offshore since the end of November. And I’ll go in 2’ waves and 2’ swells if it’s not to windy, or cold, but 3’-5’ stuff is just to rough for me.

Anyway I caught this 31” grouper along with a few other things, so it was a good day.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1707003232.jpg

Hit Cedar Key to fish some of the outgoing tide and a few hours of incoming (I usually time getting there right at low tide)

Only caught one fish, but it was a 40"+ drum so I'm happy

Another guy down the pier had a slightly bigger one on a few minutes before I hooked up, but he got visited by the tax man - a 6-7' bull shark.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1716092637.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1716092637.jpg

Lake Chelan Trout
 

We caught these last June from the shore of Lake Chelan. We were staying at the Stehekin Lodge. They hit small Mepps spinners pretty hard almost every cast, fished early morning. DP

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1716119280.JPG

My life has been fun. Kayak-lifehttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1716132173.jpg
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Looks like the last time I posted in this thread was in 2021, when I was plying the waters of Puget Sound in a 17 foot Whaler. In Spring 2022 with the blessing/prodding of my wife I upgraded to a bigger and nicer boat with more family friendly features like a bathroom and shade and have spent a lot of quality time since then taking friends and family out. Needless to say we have been landing a lot good stuff so I am dropping several pics of our fishing escapades over the last 2 years. I have altered any faces which are not my own.

Sometimes we target Dungeness crabs...

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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1716182433.jpg

Sometimes we target bottom fish like sand dabs, rock sole and halibut...


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