urbanhillbilly
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Agreed!!
Good choice for unguided fishing?
- Thread starter dugly47
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bottom_dweller
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Yeah as long as it’s catch and release. A dark “dog” is dog food IMO. Cohos are much better table fare.
Larry Bartlett
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agreed. loves me some sore-lipped chum on a fly rod...for about an hour then I wish my dog had thumbs so she could take those nasties off the hook for me!
urbanhillbilly
Active member
I keep a couple of ocean fresh chums each year for smoking and salmon patties. I use sausage seasoning and they seriously taste like pork sausage but without the grease. Great burgers
Doug in Alaska
Active member
I agree, years ago I took my wife's boss in my boat up the Talkeetna. Wrong time of year but lots of chum and pinks. He insisted on keeping every chum and pink he caught. I filleted the nasty things and sent him home with them. A couple weeks later he had the employees over for a bbq, thank god I was out fishing. My wife told me that was the most nasty bbq she'd ever been to.
bottom_dweller
Active member
I don’t mind a bright chum. Once they get in the river, nope. I will admit though that being a troller, I am a salmon snob. I only have king in my freezer. 😋
Another option if you're not locked down to the Anchorage area, try SE Alaska and rent a forest service cabin on a river or creek. You'd have to get a water taxi or float plane ride to the cabin but it'd be a real alaska experience. Karta river on POW island comes to mind.
Larry Bartlett
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don't get me wrong...chrome bright with sea lice and we're talkin a different species altogether!
4merguide
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Chums make excellent dip as well.
bottom_dweller
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Chums make excellent bait as well. 😝
Larry Bartlett
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great omega-3s too. My ol' pal Virgil U. with Santa's Smokehouse still smokes that chum thin and tasty and sells the piss out of it, but dangit i likes me some kings and sockeye...this thread inspired my hunger so i grabbed a can of 2021 smoked sockeye bellies after lunch. Whoa it reminded me why I live here bros. All hail the salmonid!
bottom_dweller
Active member
In all seriousness, Alaskan Salmon is way too broad of a term. It gives salmon a bad rap.
With all of the hype around the health benefits of the fish, Betty Boop goes to the grocery store shopping and sees it in the frozen or fresh fish case. It’s labeled “Wild Alaskan Salmon”. It’s not King or Coho or Sockeye but Chum or Pink. She doesn’t know that there is a huge difference. It’s fairly cheap and she takes it home to cook for her family. Her family says don’t cook that again and she doesn’t. She tells her friends how bad it was and they don’t buy it either. I really wish they would not sell pink or chum that way. Smoked yes, fresh or fresh frozen, NO! Can you see my point?
With all of the hype around the health benefits of the fish, Betty Boop goes to the grocery store shopping and sees it in the frozen or fresh fish case. It’s labeled “Wild Alaskan Salmon”. It’s not King or Coho or Sockeye but Chum or Pink. She doesn’t know that there is a huge difference. It’s fairly cheap and she takes it home to cook for her family. Her family says don’t cook that again and she doesn’t. She tells her friends how bad it was and they don’t buy it either. I really wish they would not sell pink or chum that way. Smoked yes, fresh or fresh frozen, NO! Can you see my point?
4merguide
Well-known member
Yep, fresh king is the favorite at our table.
Doug in Alaska
Active member
Take some of that canned king or sockeye, discard the skin and fat then mix and roll it into a ball with a package of cream cheese. Roll the ball in crushed walnuts. Best thing in the world to eat on Ritz crackers. My wife makes it frequently and we love it for lunch or snacking. JMHO
kenaibow fan
Well-known member
I spend about a 3rd of the year out of state and you would not believe the salmon people eat in Texas. Canned pink and farm fresh Atlantic salmon, I hate salmon unless it’s smoked and won’t touch it other wise. People down here look at me funny when I tell them I’m from Alaska and hate salmon, then they really get mad when I tell them the salmon they’re eating is garbage and over priced halibut bait! Lol
Great to see an active thread for DIY visitors to Alaska, among which I have long been included. The original poster probably has all the information he needs, but my $.02 always would be to save up at least enough cash to get flown off the road system with a raft or inflatable kayak, and float a river. The typical late season floats I've done cover trout, char, grayling, silvers, pike, and sheefish. You can't beat it with a stick.
I'm hoping to hitch a ride on this thread with my own question for folks: is DIY a practicality for Southeast streams like the Tsiu or Kikluhk rivers? From what I can tell, camping is permitted in the state refuge there, and if I could get far enough away from the beats frequented by lodge customers and have solitude for at least part of the day, I'd be happy. I usually travel with either an IK for moving water or a Feathercraft kayak for flatwater; given the size of the lagoons in this area, I wonder if the latter one is a better choice for getting around on the water (it's way way better in windy conditions). I picture myself flying into a base (tent) camp a reasonable walk or paddle from some of the reportedly awesome silver fishing in those streams for 4-5 days.
I'd be grateful for any information or tips anyone might have. Sometime soon I'll start calling air services in Cordova to see if I can get my program flown out there in September, but I'd love to have at least a half-baked plan before talking to them.
I'm hoping to hitch a ride on this thread with my own question for folks: is DIY a practicality for Southeast streams like the Tsiu or Kikluhk rivers? From what I can tell, camping is permitted in the state refuge there, and if I could get far enough away from the beats frequented by lodge customers and have solitude for at least part of the day, I'd be happy. I usually travel with either an IK for moving water or a Feathercraft kayak for flatwater; given the size of the lagoons in this area, I wonder if the latter one is a better choice for getting around on the water (it's way way better in windy conditions). I picture myself flying into a base (tent) camp a reasonable walk or paddle from some of the reportedly awesome silver fishing in those streams for 4-5 days.
I'd be grateful for any information or tips anyone might have. Sometime soon I'll start calling air services in Cordova to see if I can get my program flown out there in September, but I'd love to have at least a half-baked plan before talking to them.
