# catch and release for salmon



## UBDSLO1 (Feb 23, 2004)

I too release all river salmon that I land, save for a "few" females which are put to good use. After eating wild Alaskan salmon, ie: reds, silvers, and Kings, I can barely bring myself to eat a fresh water salmon anymore. I kept 4 fish this year, all caught in July, they are going to the smoker. The rest went to family and friends. My favorite is fresh wild Kenai King on the grill, better than a steak IMHO.


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## no lead (Jul 28, 2005)

river kings taste like metal, feet, and cardboard. unless you smoke them.

then they taste like railroad ties, cardboard, feet, and metal.:lol:


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## DrEw8716 (Jul 1, 2004)

LOL true that...



no lead said:


> river kings taste like metal, feet, and cardboard. unless you smoke them.
> 
> then they taste like railroad ties, cardboard, feet, and metal.:lol:


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

I practice catch and relieve. 

1) Catch a hen

2) Relieve her of that heavy burden of hauling all those eggs around. 


As for what the meat tastes like, who knows? I bring a cooler of filets into work and people seem to grab them up really quick. Myself, I'm good with just ordering a pizza after a day of fishing. :lol:


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## steelie (Sep 20, 2000)

Good Day,

That is why you marinate them in Tabasco and Luziana (powder) before smoking. Then it is hot and smokey not fishey... yuck. Once they start to color up, forget it...

I would much rather take home a fresh silver coho over a King. Or even a nice lake run brown, not too big mind you. 

But then again, these are an introduced species not native. So too with almost all other salmonids including the vaunted steelhead, brown trout, coho, Atlantic salmon and pinks. Essentailly the only original species to the Great Lakes Region were Brook Trout, Lake Trout and Grayling. (Yes and pike, muskie, blue gills, etc.) I really think the DNR needs to make another concerted effort to bring back Grayling despite their failure in the 80's if I remember correctly. Plant the fish above un-crossable dams or waterfalls. Goodness, we have soooooo many waterfalls in the U.P. that we could be successful. Even if we had to rotenone a few streams and make them brookie and grayling only, I would support that. Or take the White River above the dam in White Cloud for example. Get rid of the suckers that are negatively competing with the brookies (and get rid of the browns too, maybe) and plant regional grayling from Canada if needbe. I think this would be a boon to the State and bring even more fishermen to Michigan creating more jobs and income which we so are in need of during these times of tumolt.

Steelie


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## axisgear (Jan 24, 2007)

thousandcasts said:


> I practice catch and relieve.
> 
> 1) Catch a hen
> 
> ...


Wow! Pretty much summed up My king season!:lol: Good fight though,kinda like a carp with an added bonus.


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## Incognito (Apr 16, 2008)

thousandcasts said:


> I practice catch and relieve.
> 
> 1) Catch a hen
> 
> 2) Relieve her of that heavy burden of hauling all those eggs around.


Jeesh. When is it going to stop with the egg thing?


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## maak (Aug 15, 2006)

thousandcasts said:


> Probably because it's lazy and if one is a snagger then it means they don't know how to fish?


 I know how to fish, but when it comes to river salmon, snagging is still just plain fun(back when it was legal). I don't keep salmon, but snagging a fresh king by the tail, or ten of them, is almost like catching a saltwater fish. Unfortunately, legal snagging did attract alot of non-fishermen and created alot of ugly spectacles, as well as toxic and non-toxic pollution.Divers would routinely recover tons of lead to take in for scrap. Most salmon rivers in Michigan still have several tons of lead weights still in them.


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## Salmonous Maximus (Jan 28, 2004)

I like the mushy ones, squeeze 'em up over a blender and make a salmon smoothie.


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## oncorhynchus (Oct 1, 2001)

Salmonous Maximus said:


> I like the mushy ones, squeeze 'em up over a blender and make a salmon smoothie.


:lol::lol::lol:


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## DrEw8716 (Jul 1, 2004)

thousandcasts said:


> I practice catch and relieve.
> 
> 1) Catch a hen
> 
> ...


LOL yup that would be salmon fishing in a nut shell.


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## UBDSLO1 (Feb 23, 2004)

Incognito said:


> Jeesh. When is it going to stop with the egg thing?



"I love eggs,
from my head down to my legs,
skein or tied
with the family or the guys,
I love eggs."

Hutch will never stop on the egg quotes. I think he views them as "rows of orange gold."


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## Incognito (Apr 16, 2008)

> Hutch will never stop on the egg quotes. I think he views them as "rows of orange gold."


I think some of us get the point using fish roe as a productive way of catching fish. In reality, it is those little "subliminal message egg quotes" which is teaching readers on these forums the wrong way for harvesting bait. With a simple click of a button & the power search function, there are many threads on this website which contain these little subliminal messages "I only take the fish for egg quotes". 

I really hope one day this adolescence stage of promoting ways to harvesting bait comes to a end. Bait fisherman already have enough to deal with, regarding the recent bait restrictions. There is no need to gain even more attention regarding these subliminal bait messages, as I am pretty sure the fisherman are not the only ones reading these forums.


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## UltimateOutdoorsman (Sep 13, 2001)

Incognito said:


> "subliminal bait messages"


I send those out with each cast. "The bait is your friend. Smell those yummy eggs Mr. Steelie? Eat those tasty eggs. Mmmm eggs."


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

Huh...went and checked out Incognito's profile page and saw this message: 



> Incognito has not made any friends yet


Can't imagine why...


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## Carpmaster (Apr 1, 2004)

thousandcasts said:


> Huh...went and checked out Incognito's profile page and saw this message:
> 
> 
> 
> Can't imagine why...


:lol: You are a egg whore, even I have noticed that!:yikes:


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

Carpmaster said:


> :lol: You are a egg whore, even I have noticed that!:yikes:


Just don't look in my fridge or freezer. I think there's some food in there someplace. :lol:


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## Carpmaster (Apr 1, 2004)

thousandcasts said:


> Just don't look in my fridge or freezer. I think there's some food in there someplace. :lol:


Dont EVER mention that around my wife....between my spawn stock and my Antelope head she was less than thrilled when she was looking for something in there(she NEVER looks in there!)


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## Incognito (Apr 16, 2008)

thousandcasts said:


> Huh...went and checked out Incognito's profile page and saw this message:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This is all you can come up with Mr. Hutchins? Writer's cramp??? What does my little Michigan Sportsman friend box have to do with your adolescent "I only take fish, for the fish eggs" quotes? My actual real life friends have a hell of a lot more respect than that.


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## FISH (Jul 14, 2002)

if its in the back, throw it back....aww hell throwin it in the cooler. hahaha


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