A Fishy Story

**TBS** · 10-14-2022, 11:36 AM

Originally Posted by John_B

Summer steelhead enter freshwater in summer(hence the name), stay in the freshwater through the winter and spawn the following spring. While in the freshwater they rarely eat and survive off of their fat reserves.

This is all an indirect way of saying that fish quality depends on when & where it was caught. When caught relatively close to the ocean soon after they have enter the fresh water they are an incredibly fatty fish and delicious. As time goes on and the fat reserves are depleted the meat quality declines.

Also at grocery stories in the PNW it's possible to buy "Columbia River Steelhead" which are farmed trout raised in netpens. It's still quite good but a totally different thing and irks me because it gives the impression that Columbia steelhead populations are good enough that it's available at the store

Signed a PNW steelhead biologist who doesn't know dick about upstate steelhead

tldr: Steelhead is good. Mostly.

The winter run spawns much more quickly after hitting fresh water, so generally better - esp after standing knee deep in a river, in the rain for several hours at 36F.

**Hopeless Sinner** · 10-14-2022, 11:43 AM

Originally Posted by hatchgreenchile

Walleye fish fry is great, especially with a cold Upstate brew, but let's not get ridiculous

If you walk into Estiatorio Milos, there will not be whole walleye on ice. They are scary looking fish, it would spook most guests!

Walleye is pretty tame looking compared to a monkfish, which I'm sure EM sells in season.

After a quick ggl, fuck estiatorio milos. Crooks.

**DBdude** · 10-14-2022, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by PB

Kokanee are indeed fresh water salmon, but formerly sockeye so ...... icky poo cat food.

Sockeye is better tasting than king / chinook

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**I Skied Bandini Mountain** · 10-14-2022, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by DBdude

Sockeye is better tasting than king / chinook

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That's some fresh bait.

**I Skied Bandini Mountain** · 10-14-2022, 01:36 PM

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Just sayin'

**XXX-er** · 10-14-2022, 01:49 PM

People spend $$$$$ to come here from all over the world, I have run into American/ german/ spanish/ italian, on the Bulkley/ kispiox/ Babine, they catch a fish and let it go

with the $$ they gave me to drive their rental truck down river I go to safeway and buy fish

**Grizz** · 10-14-2022, 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by DBdude

Sockeye is better tasting than king / chinook
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Depends a ton on where and when you harvest the Chinook.

There's not a ton of variability in how sockeye tastes. A Bristol Bay, Kodiak, Kenai, and yes even Copper River reds all taste the same. Copper River sockeye is just a marketing gimmick. Different runs of Chinook on the other hand vary greatly in flavor.

People who claim walleye are delicious don't eat saltwater fish. Ono, mahi, halibut, lingcod,
would be my choice over walleye every time.

PB · 10-14-2022, 02:09 PM

Originally Posted by I Skied Bandini Mountain

That's some fresh bait.

RLY

Swims by without even glancing.

**muted reborn** · 10-14-2022, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by Grizz

Depends a ton on where and when you harvest the Chinook.

There's not a ton of variability in how sockeye tastes. A Bristol Bay, Kodiak, Kenai, and yes even Copper River reds all taste the same. Copper River sockeye is just a marketing gimmick. Different runs of Chinook on the other hand vary greatly in flavor.

People who claim walleye are delicious don't eat saltwater fish. Ono, mahi, halibut, lingcod,
would be my choice over walleye every time.

Who has that choice? Midwesterners don't access to fish Ono, mahi, halibut, lingcod so they fish for Walleye, deep fry it so it tastes good, and it's a great dinner. No one would choose Walleye over those other fish, well, I actually could see some Midwesterners doing exactly that honestly, ha.

**I Skied Bandini Mountain** · 10-14-2022, 02:15 PM

Originally Posted by Grizz

Depends a ton on where and when you harvest the Chinook.

There's not a ton of variability in how sockeye tastes. A Bristol Bay, Kodiak, Kenai, and yes even Copper River reds all taste the same. Copper River sockeye is just a marketing gimmick. Different runs of Chinook on the other hand vary greatly in flavor.

People who claim walleye are delicious don't eat saltwater fish. Ono, mahi, halibut, lingcod,
would be my choice over walleye every time.

Ono is soo Ono

**XXX-er** · 10-14-2022, 02:19 PM

locally there is a lot of rock fish by-catch at the store which is a pretty good tasting fish and its pretty cheap

If you buy enough to make it worth his while (order 75) an FN down river would deliver sockeye from down river for cheap but I stopped that when the stock went down

**chicken feathers** · 10-14-2022, 02:59 PM

I guess this is as good of time as any to mention this. I used to work for a park system in Ohio. We inherited some neglected state land and there was all sorts of weird stuff going on there the first year or so we managed it. I'd see the same guys fishing several days a week throughout the summer. They would keep tons of the tiny sunfish they were catching. A coworker told me he was pretty sure they would throw them in a blender and make patties out of them.

**seano732** · 10-14-2022, 02:59 PM

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**BCMtnHound** · 10-14-2022, 03:08 PM

I really enjoyed the Gerard fishery on Kootenay Lk in the 80’s through the early 00’s, but over about 15lbs and they lost their plate appeal (too fatty and the flesh wasn’t quite as firm and with more tough connective tissues). The big bull trout were better eating in their upper size range than the salmonids. Kokanee are best eaten fresh, or canned/smoked if not. Same for the 60 or so sockeye my mom would process from the First Nations on the lower Fraser back in the 70’s - best for canning/smoking. Once they hit fresh water, the flavour changes.

Now, we target the ocean springs and lings on our late spring/early summer west coast trip, but take all the coho and rockfish we are allowed to land. They are all superb in their own way.

Had some fresh caught deep fried freshwater ling (burbot) a couple weeks ago, and that was oh so good.

**I Skied Bandini Mountain** · 10-14-2022, 03:16 PM

Ling is the best for fish tacos. Better than lengua.

**NW_SKIER** · 10-14-2022, 05:48 PM

Originally Posted by I Skied Bandini Mountain

Ling is the best for fish tacos. Better than lengua.

Obviously. Lengua isn't a fish.

**I Skied Bandini Mountain** · 10-14-2022, 06:13 PM

Dude! Lengua = Halibut

**wendigo** · 10-14-2022, 06:18 PM

que?
lengua = tongue

also there is a fair bit of difference between a burbot and a ling cod

**BCMtnHound** · 10-14-2022, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by wendigo

que?
lengua = tongue

also there is a fair bit of difference between a burbot and a ling cod

Heh. Pacific lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus) is in the same Class as ling (Molva molva), pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), and freshwater burbot (Lota lota). But that’s it.

Ling & burbot are in the same Family (Lotidae), and both share the same Order as cod (Gadiformes)

**wendigo** · 10-14-2022, 07:10 PM

being a west coast fisheries biologist i'm not too familiar with the common ling, but quite familiar with the gadids and lota lota. there seems to be a reason the scientific community avoids common names

**BCMtnHound** · 10-14-2022, 08:36 PM

Yup. And even those names and classifications change from time to time. Fungi are the worst.

**BmillsSkier** · 10-14-2022, 08:53 PM

What’s the Latin name for cheating walleye anglers?

**wendigo** · 10-14-2022, 08:58 PM

Don’t I know it, Genus/species name change on my dissertation topic (gadid) halfway through. Fungi are amazing, I haven’t looked into what genetics is finding out, but I’m going to guess we’ve been wrong about a few.