I dont usually ask questions like this, but...

[MotoBoat]

Best King Salmon you've ever ate. They’re genetically indistinguishable from its red brothers. Many think it has to do with diet. They don't seem to have much market value, I'm guessing because of the color but trust me when I say tasty.

PS they smell like any other king salmon, no way to tell until you open them up.

Many on another site make a pilgrimage up to the vedder, every year. All are welcome to attend. These fishermen are claiming to handle them with gloves. And that the kings get smelling really bad soon after removing from the water. Most are tossed back, only caught for the battle on hook and line.

[Bodofish]

Well I say they're feeding you a line of bull. I've caught and processed thousands of them. They run on the Skagit too. Nothing smelly about them. You my friend have been had, hook line and sinker.

[MotoBoat]

Well I say they're feeding you a line of bull. I've caught and processed thousands of them. They run on the Skagit too. Nothing smelly about them. You my friend have been had, hook line and sinker.

Good to know. But if people are encouraged to attend the annual event. Why discourage with false information?
Thanks Bodo. I had thought I read somewhere that white kings had a milder flavor.


You my friend have been had, hook line and sinker. Don't you mean: hook, line and Vedder? lol!

[Bodofish]

Well even on the Vedder your chances of catching a White King are slim. Down south here even slimmer, Whites only comprise about 5% of the total run. I'll also say that to look at them from the outside, there is no way to tell if you have a Red or a white. The only way to tell is split them open. Some people say you can tell by looking under the gill plate, I say BS. Flavor, a blind fold test would be in order to see for sure but I think they tase the same.

[wolverine]

The Vedder only has a small run of red kings. It has a HUGE run of hatchery produced white kings that are derived from Harrison river stock. The problem with them is that their run timing is such that they can't get into the Vedder when they're still in good condition. They lay for a long period of time in the Fraser waiting for rain so they can get into the Vedder/Chilliwack/Harrison. They can be chrome bright when first landed but in a couple hours time look like boots (and are slimy and stink). As table fare they are marginal at best. Caught in saltwater they are superb eats but their food quality really falls once they hit the Fraser/Vedder/Harrison. The fish are aggressive biters (particularly the jacks fishing eggs under a float), but are often flossed accidentally or intentionally as they often stack like cordwood in the deep heavy water holes. The Canadians don't really care for them as they prefer the more edible coho. Americans however, love to play catch & release with the big whities. When the first real rains hit in mid September (usually) the motels in Chilliwack fill up with Americans on weekends chasing the whities. Where else can bankies catch multiple LARGE kings in a days fishing? No where else. From Mukilteo I can be fishing the Vedder in 2 hours. The Cowlitz is 2-1/2 hours away for me. Most first timers will keep their first big whitey that they catch. After they try to eat it they don't ever keep another but continue to return year after year just for the battles with the big white springs.

[Bodofish]

Well there ya have it! Sounds like a little too far up the river for me. I'll stick to the Skagit kings when they open it up.

[RiverChromeGS]

Wolverine, you are correct. They are great to eat fresh in the salt, amazing fat content. But they seem to turn real nasty real quick, and are not great to eat when a little colored, where a bronzed up red chinook is usually fine. They turn quickly, and then begin to smell and are smily and taste pretty bland... Not many chromers in the vedder, but if you get the super nice ones they taste ok.

[MotoBoat]

Well, looks like wolverine, and fishenfreak have straightened out the white king conundrum. I was scratching my head reading what you were saying about white kings and the vedder Bodofish!. You had me believing your contradiction to what I had read elsewhere. Now........nottttt soooo muuuuuuch.

Interesting fishery up North.

[Bodofish]

Well all I have to say is that's a goofy fishery. I've bought plenty of kings from the Skagit and every one was good, great taste and no stink.

[MotoBoat]

It had occurred to me that though my discussion was Vedder specific. Bodo, was perhaps replying based on a familiar White King fisheries "other" than the Vedder and was applying that experience/knowledge to the Vedder.

Who would have "guessed" the fisheries could have been so different. What a surprise to the novice, that visits the Vedder for the first time. Catches a fish of a lifetime! Only to have it rot on the stringer or in the cooler shortly after the catch and likely before catching another. If that were me. I likely, would be standing there looking for the "You've been Punked camera's" and thinking.......... WTF!! What could I have done different to properly process this fish !!.

For those headed for the Vedder to fill the freezer with VEDDER White Kings...........be forwarned. They are not good food fare!!

[Bodofish]

Catch 'em down on the Fraser before they get icky!!! I had a reciprocal fresh fish agreement with a company in Surrey for a few years and got quiet a few Kings of both color that were mighty fine. It must take them a while to get to the Vedder or that's right where the hatchery is. I have a feeling they go south pretty quickly once they reach home.

[3footvis]

Most White kings in the Vedder are garbage fish compared to what we have here in WA. If you took a red and white king side by side with the same amount of chrome on them, the red would far surpass the white king as far as the meat is concerned.

[FishBaitThe2nd]

You guys are debating on how the fish taste. I dont care how they taste, I just like to catch 'em. Theres not ONE type of seafood that I like to eat, I keep my salmon because my grandparents like to eat it. I think salmon is NASTY!
Along with every other fish.