I think it's a matter of taste. You can be extremely picky like Slabquest. I've yet to find a plate of my smoke chum that hasn't disappeared extremely quick. But it's all in selection of the fish.

But I will dispell a myth. Chum can not be judged by color alone. I've caught well barred chum with sealice on them. I've caught chrome chums that were mush. They're a very hard fish to judge unless you've held alot. You can tell by firmness usually. I have a picture of a 24# chum that was well barred but firm as firm can get. Meat was a very dark pink. If it's mushy, goes back to the river immediately, and if belly is dark, of course it goes back.

First off, I never cared for them bbq'd. I'm not sure about the "not fatty" part of chums. Most chums I've smoked take hours upon hours more then silvers/kings, and have to scrape off layers of fat every couple hours. I've found, that I either eat chums two ways. I either smoke them or cook them one other way. I deep fry them!!!!!!! I fillet them out, debone/deskin them. Then dip in eggs, roll in seasoned flour, and deepfry the babies. Add some tarter sauce and away you go. Pretty damned good that way. I've served that a few times to guests and they had NO idea it was chum. It went quicker then the smoked stuff did at a previous party. But it's all in picking your keepers well.

And I COMPLETELY agree with DanS. They are pound for pound the workhorses of the salmon. I love to target them. Even if others complain because they're "dogs".

Good post Steelheader69. I agree with you. My first chum was a 17lb buck out of the Nisqually. At the time it was the scariest fish I'd ever seen. Huge teeth, tiger stripes, and fighting like mad. I was going to throw it back, but my buddy told me that it was a good fish for the smoker.
Maybe it was luck or maybe I can smoke fish pretty good, but this fish was excellent! Everyone that had some gobbled it right up. As for on the BBQ, I have only done that once with a store bought fish. Turned out pretty good. That was before I learned to fish and tried Kings and Silvers on the BBQ.

Bottom line- Stick 'em in the smoker or put 'em back in the water.

I have to pretty much agree with Steelheader69, be selective with regards to firmness not color. Smoking tends to be better than bar-b-que. Although, throw enough spices at it and anything is o.k. on the bar-b-que.

BTW - I find this a great fish to give to those friends that are always hounding you about getting them salmon. It is also a great fishery for young kids. Kind of like when you fished for crappie or perch with em but a lot bigger! Makes them smile all winter.

So based on what Steelheader69 says...catch a Chum and "Squeeze the Charmin" to see if its a keeper!

This is a classic case of some folks confusing their opinions with fact.

Fact - some folks don't care for chums - some do.

Opinion - Chums are no good.

Fact- If you get firm fleshed chums that a have good pink/orange color the taste is very acceptable to many folks.

I know a lodge owner in B.C. who obviously can have any salmon he wants. His favorite is chums. I find that in some river systems the chums come in dark and mushy. In others they come in bright and firm. I have enjoyed many shore lunches on the Alagnak River where fresh chum was the main course.

Fact: Almost every chum I ever saw caught at Hoodsport was black, slimy and soft. I shudder to think about the black, slimy,hens with eggs dripping out of them hauled off to sit in a car trunk all day, so the proud fishermen could take them home to smoke. If they aren't prime fish somking them wont help much. Thats my opinion!

This is a classic case of some folks confusing their opinions with facts.

Fact - some folks don't care for chums - some do.

Opinion - Chums are no good.

Fact- If you get firm fleshed chums that a have good pink/orange color the taste is very acceptable to many folks.

I know a lodge owner in B.C., who obviously can have any salmon he wants. His favorite is chums. I find that in some river systems the chums come in dark and mushy. In others they come in bright and firm. I have enjoyed many shore lunches on the Alagnak River where fresh chum was the main course.

Fact: Almost every chum I ever saw caught at Hoodsport was black, slimy and soft. I shudder to think about the black, slimy,hens with eggs dripping out of them, hauled off to sit in a car trunk all day, so the proud fishermen could take them home to smoke. If they aren't prime fish smoking them wont help much. Thats my opinion!

Arghhhhhhhhh, Hoodsport. What was worse was fishing Minter. I've delivered out there for years, and finally got a chance to fish it for salmon. I kept quite a few off the Creek. But MAN. Some guys were keeping ones that were super dark and fins turning WHITE!!! I mean, these fish were just blobs of mushy meat. It was gross. I released a few, and the guys were saying "You should keep em' for the smoker". These things fealt like slimy sponges. I kept firm ones, some with war stripes, some chrome bright. But I won't keep ones that are ready to go to the river in the sky.

After eating Fraser River Sockeye, everything else is...ok?

Chums are very high in oil. That's why some like to smoke them, I do, It's hard to over smoke them.

If brined right and the fish still has some good shine to it, they will smoke just fine with Alder chips.

The "BEST" way to tell if it's too old? Shake it, If the meat falls off, it's too old

chum are great smoked, one of my favorites

they're not bad bbq'ed if they're bright and have red meat though

Smoked

A few years back an arcticle showed up in the bremerton sun that attempted to rate salmon as table fare.Itwas written back east some where and it rated chum as the best eating fish.second was the king salmon.Both got to top the list because of there high oil content.

I strongly disagreed but i think it gives us an idea what the rest of the nation thinks about salmon??

I kept a dog the other day because it swallowed my bait and was bleeding out the gills.It was not an hour from the beach to brine.After brining my pyrex dishes were full of slime.Surprisingly it smoked up in a short time and was as bland as I remember.I rememberd why I do not keep dogs anymore.

I think again that it is a personal thing.I have smoked up many and had the plate empty in no time.

Hey all,
A bit of history for ya'll. Chum salmon was the preferred fish for pre-contact Coast Salish Indians(the ones from here). Other salmon were eaten fresh or perserved for special occasians(Potlatches,Winter Ceramonies). Chum meat dried readily and lasted longer through the winter. The oils from Smelt were mixed,as well as dried berries(Pemmican) to prevent them from gagging on the dry meat as well as prevent from plugging up thier poopers.
Statistically, this "smelt oil" was the most important of thier food resources, not salmon.
Larry

Over the Years I landed hundreds of Chums,they are pound for pound one of the hardest fighters.
For the smoker they are tops IMHO...........Os