How dark is to dark to keep?

[Northdogboy]

So I'm trying river fishing for the first time this year and I'm wondering. How dark is to dark to keep a Chinook salmon? They were dark but not really black yet on Sunday when I was fishing the big Q River. how fast do they turn and get soft?

 

[Ringo]

If the belly isn’t white and shiny, it’s already composted for me.

 

[Deepaaaar]

Males will last much longer than females, even if they look darker. Their energy is needed to fight other salmon for the chance to pair up and spawn, so the meat retains nutrients. Females, on the other hand, put all of their energy into their eggs, so the meat degrades much more quickly. Chinook last longer than chum and pinks, but not quite as long as coho - at least in my experience. If you catch a decent male that isn't black (and you have a smoker), I'd say go for it. The bonus is that removing a male from the population will have minimal impact on the future population as one male can fertilize many redds.

 

[Northdogboy]

Males will last much longer than females, even if they look darker. Their energy is needed to fight other salmon for the chance to pair up and spawn, so the meat retains nutrients. Females, on the other hand, put all of their energy into their eggs, so the meat degrades much more quickly. Chinook last longer than chum and pinks, but not quite as long as coho - at least in my experience. If you catch a decent male that isn't black (and you have a smoker), I'd say go for it. The bonus is that removing a male from the population will have minimal impact on the future population as one male can fertilize many redds.

Never thought about the male thing thanks. It probably makes a big difference on river size as well. One where they are only a day out of the salt compared to one where they are several days up river

 

[Dave]

So I'm trying river fishing for the first time this year and I'm wondering. How dark is to dark to keep a Chinook salmon? They were dark but not really black yet on Sunday when I was fishing the big Q River. how fast do they turn and get soft?

It depends a lot on the stock of the chinook you're fishing. An example is the summer run of red chinooks in the Chilliwack- Vedder. This hatchery stock is comprised of upper Fraser River genetics, and as such are adapted to use energy (fat) by migrating over 500 km before spawning. When these fish spawn or are spawned in the Chilliwack the flesh of these fish are still in great shape with lots of fat. Dark fish from this stock are still very good table fare.

 

[eroyd]

Not worth eating at all once they've entered island rivers. Maybe it's different on the big rivers where it may be weeks before they reach their spawning grounds. Kept a couple from the Nitinat gong show several years ago. Wish I hadn't. Better off to keep round chums in the estuary for the smoker.