King:

"BTW Dollies smoke up great if your brine is done right. "

I usually just rub the fish down well with brown sugar, lay in the bottom of an igloo cooler and cover with coarse salt, layer on top of layer. The salt/brown sugar draws everthing out of the fish...making their own brine. I rarely add any liquid to the mix.

Overnight in the Igloo, then rinse and let them dry for a bit..till they develop that shiny look. At that point they are sprinkled with garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and lemon salt (and maybe a bit of thyme.) Into the smoker they go, using apple chips.

Never tried a Dolly, and hope it comes out edible.

Mike

Dollies are supposed to be released in all waters unless otherwise stated in the special regulations. Check out page 20.

Not sure what river you're fishing, it might be open. Not accusing you of breaking the law. It looks like you won't be keeping anymore for tablefare!!

But I'd urge others to release all Dollies. They have a very depressed population.

Sinker: Min. size (to keep) in the Skagit is 20". The only two I've kept this year were 24" and 27".

They are beautiful fish...no doubt about it. Big time predators, too...eating whatever comes their way...sadly that includes some pretty rank decaying salmon.

But no, I won't be keeping any more. Why eat dirt when fish as tasty as Coho's are residing in the freezer?..

Mike

You cannot keep dollies off your line in some rivers in Alaska.

Mike B. Try a wet brine in a cooler filled with ice water. Double the lemon juice. All the salt does is cure and firm up the flesh. You need to
get something into the fat layer to neutralize the strong fishy taste that comes from the fat. You can even soak the fish in Milk for 5 or 6 hours. Oil pack works well once they are smoked for storage.