I catch white kings out of Seiku all the time. They are mainly headed to the Frazier or the Skagit.

First and most importantly-store bought fish will never be as good as freshly caught. It is not comparable. There is a difference in Copper River Salmon and other store bought fish. Copper River Salmon is cleaned and packed on ice within 5-6 hours of catching. Other store bought fish lay in the bellies of boats for days before being dealt with. Sometimes 5-6 days before bled or processed. Blecht!!!!! That is the only difference along with a little PR.

Wernergonefishin:

There are huge runs of white kings in both the Vedder and the Harrison. IThe Vedder Riover whites are not good eating. I havn't tried the Harrison whites.

I do know that in a blindfolded taste test at a big party no one could tell white king from red. I caught both fish in the Qheen Charlottes on the same day. They were cooked iwthout any seasoning and about 25 people tried to tell the diffrence. no one could.

Most people in the U.S. (not alaska, washington or oregon) dont know the difference between a humpy and a king. I went to Cleveland and asked about the "fresh salmon" on the menu, and no one in the restaraunt including the chef could tell me what kind of salmon it was. People in the rest of the country don't really like salmon because they usually end up with a canned pink or a farm raised atlantic. Copper River King or Sockeye is a Brand Name. People pay big bucks for it because they know its good. But really very few people could tell the difference between a Copper River King and a Cowlitz River King. I see Farm raised atlantic being sold as fresh King all the time. Even some high end seafood resaraunts on the Seattle waterfront have generic "Salmon" on the menu. Mostly it is farm raised atlantic that has been over-cooked, has a lot of dill and sticks to your teeth. But if you order the Copper River you usually get a quality meal. We should all feel lucky that we have the opportunity to enjoy and understand this resource. Please release the unmarked fish! IMHO

Freshly caught spring chinook in the Northwest is the best tasting salmon in the world! Don't fall for the PR. End of discussion.

The Copper River Salmon hype was dreamed up some years back by the marketing director for the Alaska commercial fishermans association. I may not have the name of the group quite right. Basically, the Copper River salmon hype was designed to increase the price paid to the fisherman, by increasing demand. It worked. The Copper River run was targeted because it's one of the larger and earlier runs, so if the price is raised, the price would hopefully stay higher, for more fishermen, for longer.

It's BS. It's salmon. Good salmon, but just salmon. I think Columbia River springers are better.

I think Copper River salmon is an great marketing plan. With that said, the Copper River sockeye I've had has been the best salmon I've ever eaten. Columbia River springers are a close second.

However, IMHO not all salmon are created equal as table fare so a comparison between sockeye and chinook is inappropriate. My order of preference is; Sockeye, Silver, King, Pink, Chum. Also keep in mind fish that are well take care of and fresh from the salt will taste better too.

Larry,

Sometimes, no, and yes.

I am a salmon snob. I like my salmon perfect, or even better. I can taste the difference in salmon that has been frozen 2 weeks, and I don't keep frozen fish more than 2 months, max - UNLESS it was flash frozen and vacuum packed. Actually, I try not to eat much frozen fish.

Copper River is both a high quality product and some marketing hype. The label usually applies to the Cook Inlet catch, where the Copper River is the major tributary, I'm told. Kings caught around Sitka in the early season, wherever they're bound for, are of equivalent quality in my opinion. The consistency of quality is impressive to me. I would think that any early season king bound for a major Alaskan River system would be of comparable quality, but I cannot say so from experience.

Those who think all kings are the same are certainly entitled to their opinions, but it seems likely to me that they're treating all their salmon uniformly badly or haven't developed their sense of taste very much. Poor treatment and cooking can turn the best piece of salmon into junk. And the best care cannot make a lot of fall tule salmon worth eating. I try to avoid them because the quality is so inconsistent. Some are excellent, but most are not. Yet, they are mixed in with the up river brights, which from my limited experience are consistently good. Consequently, I try to avoid the coastal troll chinook catch because of the high chance of getting a tule that is lacking in flavor. They are not all the same.

Copper River sockeye are of high quality, but so are those from Bristol Bay, the Kenai, the Fraser, Lake Washington, and Quinault. I haven't been able to detect any difference among these stocks of sockeye - altho there may be a slight difference between the early and late Fraser runs, due to variation in lipid (fat) content.

I had never had Columbia River springer until last year. I haven't sampled many yet, but it was every bit as good as any Copper River or other SE Alaska king. I had to tend the BBQ every second as the fat melted off the fillets onto the coals. The CR springers are a connesoir's fish. If the fishery was consistent, and the hatchery fish could be targeted without harming the ESA springers, and the commercial fleet cared for the catch (bleeding fish when landed, etc.), a marketing appelation could be created for CR springers, I believe.

Your question is primarily subjective, so this is intended only to help you gage my opinion. I do like coho salmon, but wouldn't freeze it for more than 2 or 3 weeks. I'll eat a fresh pink, and have BBQd a fresh salt-water caught chum once - it was good (not to be confused with excellent, perfect, or to-die-for). I only buy king and sockeye, eat silvers when I catch them, and try to eat steelhead as fast as I can, since I won't freeze it more than 2 months. Halibut freezes well, and I'll eat it fresh or frozen. Ling cod and rockfish don't freeze well enough even for short periods for me to ever try it again, altho they are excellent when fresh. Yeah, and I'm very picky about cooking fish. I'd rather under-cook by 2 minutes than to over-cook by 1 minute any time. I realize tastes and opinions vary, and I'm just trying to help you understand mine.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Copper River kings and Columbia River springers are the same basic animal: early-run chinook with with a high stored fat content. Both are superior eating. The difference is the Copper River kings have been hyped, the springers have not. White kings also are very fatty and great eating. If you catch a Columbia River springer - and the upriver fish are better than those from the lower river tribs -- bleed it immediately and clean it within an hour or two, you'll have the best eating fish on the planet. The earlier in the season you catch them the better, since they do use that fat once they enter freshwater and lose their quality over time.

A couple of years ago, I watched a show on Evening Magazine about the Copper River Salmon. If I recall right, It is a marketing thing that a couple of guy in Alaska came up with.
Their idea was how to get fresh Salmon down to the Seattle area within a few hours of harvest. I think they started out suppling one of the markets up on Queen Ann and it just spread from there.
I personally wouldn't waste my money on it.
Sol Duc Springers are number one in my book.
I love the salt smell of one that ya catch down low on the river. Gives me a chubby!!!
I can't believe some poeple think they stink!! What's up with that?
Craig

Charr

We should open a business and start our own marketing thing.

Get you fresh Pen Raised Salmon. These fish have been raised in cleaner water then those in the Ocean so they taste better. We also add coloring for an extra special sweetness.

Salmo G.

As a real salmon lover, I wondered what is your favorite part of a salmon. I love chinook bellies - full of fat and sooo tasty

surecatch,

I can't limit myself to chinook bellies - too too rich! I like a cross-section fillet, from belly to back, so I can savor the range in texture and flavor. I do prefer the middle section of an average size fish; with really big ones, even the tail section is very good. Fortunately, those omega-3 fatty acids are good for me.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Actually Salmo, the Copper feeds into Prince William Sound and not Cook Inlet

Basically, it's marketing. Really, there's not much difference between Copper kings and reds with the first-run kings that come back to a number of southcentral Alaska streams or reds that come back later in the summer to these other streams.

Why many regard them so highly is the fact that in most seasons, they are the first fresh salmon to hit the market ... and they are nice fish, so they get pretty hyped up.

Bob,

My bad! You'd think my geography would be better than that. I agree with you, tho. Most any early run king from that general area, plus the Bristol Bay region as well, should be very firm and fat, which seems to be key to their flavor.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Just had to grab hold of that rare opportunity to correct you Salmo ... we all knew you knew better

Aunty M

You tell'm girl............they eat those hatchery fish don't they.


Well they eat the damn gillnetted fish from Alaska as well. Sure would have thought there were more guys who wouldn't support gillnetted product on this board.

sorry, i cant tell you what copper river salmon or any other commercial caught salmon tastes like because i dont buy it, never have and never will.

I'm with boater. I've never bought fish and if I ever do, it will be pen raised.

i allways buy copper sockeye immediatly when available. this year could buy day before icycle river opend. bbq on the beach, late harvest wine is yrly thing. absolutly none better. bar none. did pay 29.99 lb ( bought 1-1/2 pound and would do again, difinate overpriced) cost more then lobster tail. picknic on the beach worth it everytime.