i recently caught a hatchery king that had been in the river system for a while. is there any danger in eating a salmon that is near the end of its life cycle. I planned to smoke it. thanks....

If it was at least still alive it won't make you sick if thats what you mean. However the quality of the meat should be at a level that makes you want to release the next one that has "been in the river awile". Also smoking fish is something like a computer.... Garbge in, garbage out. On the lighter side many/most of us have kept a boot at least once in our life.

thanks for the info. I was so damn excited to catch a fish I didnt think whether it was too old. just so i dont look too stupid, it was still alive when i caught it. I appreciate your reply