Is it worth eating river pinks?

Josh

Josh

Dead in the water
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My teen kid has been strangely interested in catching/cooking a fish. Not that there's anything strange on the surface about that, but he's more of a casual fisherman who just joins me as a thing to do with dad sometimes. That said, given he's interested in any sort of fishing with me, I'm inclined to see if we can make it happen.

As it's an odd year, pinks would seem like an easy way to let him feel the tug of a decent sized fish that's edible. But... how edible? I know some of you catch them from the salt and feel like bleed/gut/ice and grill as quick as possible makes decent eating out of pinks. But is it possible to find them in moving water that are worth doing that?

I've caught plenty of river pinks in the past. But mostly just enjoying catching them and tossing back. I've never really paid attention to if they were still fresh enough to bother eating.
 
Pinks are good eating fish. The only way you’ll find out is to get out there and give them a try.
 
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troutstalker said:
Pinks are good eating fish. The only way you’ll find out is to get out there and give them a try.
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I know, I know. But part of the glory of this silly community we have is that I can get some info beforehand. I am SURE that any number of you have tried and been successful or tried and failed at any fishing question I can ever come up with.
 
I have caught river pinks just above tide water around Mt. Vernon on the Skagit. They were moving, migrating fish that were still Skagit Bay bright. Bled them and put them on ice immediately after boating, and they cooked up very well. I wouldn't eat a frozen or canned pink salmon; the flesh just doesn't hold up well to processing. If the pink is even beginning to turn color, release it. If it ain't chrome, it don't go home!

I should add that I'm a bit of a salmon snob, so there's that.
 
If they are chrome, fresh and bled/iced right away that aren’t too bad especially on the BBQ. Fish around Mount Vernon on the skagit and you’ll catch some fish worth eating. You may have to high grade your way into a limit of good keepers but that shouldn’t be a problem. I kept a couple last pink run because the kids insisted and they weren’t bad. Pink and white 3/8oz twitching jigs was all me and the kids needed to wail on them. Simple and easy for the inexperienced too.
 
Bleed them right away and get them on ice. Cook them the day you get them or the next day. And only when they're bright and/or from the salt! Not my favorite salmon, so I don't bother to keep them very often. I would rather buy something better, but I get the hunter / killer thang! Smoking them is a good way to preserve them too..
 
If you can access a place to catch them in the salt you will get a much better quality fish hands down. I smoke most of my pinks but they are not bad for fresh eating when chrome, bled and iced properly. In my experience they start to turn once they even get a sniff of fresh water. That being said, make some salmon candy with them and no one will notice the difference. Probably a good kid friendly preparation as well.
 
Salmon tacos...
River Pinks are sketchy at best outside of tidewater.
 
Late to the party, but I completely get his interest. During covid I started an experiment to see how much of our food I could source/harvest myself instead of at the grocery store. It’s been a lot of fun and aside from staples like rice or things that are unobtainable in our region, it’s been very successful and my kids love it too.

I, like many in our area, am somewhat of a salmon snob, but even when somewhat colored up they are totally edible. Smoking hides a lot of sins, and chowder or cioppino hides even more.

Having caught them in the Straight, PNP, deeper into the Sound, and up rivers, my thinking is that they start turning as soon as they hit the relatively brackish water of the Straight, and continue to do so until they spawn. If the hump isn’t too big, or they are still bright, I’m fine grilling one the day of and smoking the rest. If you get them on a river early in the Sound, or soon after they enter fresh water, you’re good to eat, with some variation because some turn earlier than others.

If they’ve got some color/bigger hump I will smoke and freeze them, usually as salmon candy.

In the past I’d still keep and smoke the fairly colorful ones, marked for cooking/blending into cream cheese or something.
 
J Watrous said:
Late to the party, but I completely get his interest. During covid I started an experiment to see how much of our food I could source/harvest myself instead of at the grocery store. It’s been a lot of fun and aside from staples like rice or things that are unobtainable in our region, it’s been very successful and my kids love it too.

I, like many in our area, am somewhat of a salmon snob, but even when somewhat colored up they are totally edible. Smoking hides a lot of sins, and chowder or cioppino hides even more.

Having caught them in the Straight, PNP, deeper into the Sound, and up rivers, my thinking is that they start turning as soon as they hit the relatively brackish water of the Straight, and continue to do so until they spawn. If the hump isn’t too big, or they are still bright, I’m fine grilling one the day of and smoking the rest. If you get them on a river early in the Sound, or soon after they enter fresh water, you’re good to eat, with some variation because some turn earlier than others.

If they’ve got some color/bigger hump I will smoke and freeze them, usually as salmon candy.

In the past I’d still keep and smoke the fairly colorful ones, marked for cooking/blending into cream cheese or something.
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If you're a salmon snob then why haven't you come for some Columbia River fish with me yet?
 
Yeah, where my salmon invite!?
 
w/ Pinks, just like anything, treat them good and they'll treat you good. I've caught a few in the sound, bled and on ice within minutes of landed. Everyone seemed to enjoy it (like, a lot) but I don't personally eat much fish (weird thing where I throw up within half an hour of eating most fish)...
 
If you have to eat a humpy, make sure it is a thick bright buck. I've only ever smoked them fresh from the salt. It tastes fine, not great. Other salmon species like chinook, sockeye, silvers have much better fat content in the fillets.
 
mcswny said:
Right there with you—uncool. I think it’s a self preservation thing. Always invite someone worse than you.
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Looks like he'll have a full boat for a while! LFG!
 
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