A question of color

[hookbait]

I'm fairly new to salmon fishing. Todate I've caught three. The nook in my avatar pic, which was obviously bright. Only to be expected since I picked her up offshore in Alaska while halibut fishing. An obviously dark left over summer run nook from the Wilson while trout fishing in early September. The last one was a coho hen I hooked yesterday on the Wilson. She was a native so I didn't even contemplate keeping her but I am curious if she would have been worth keeping had she been clipped.

She had abit of flash and definitely put up more of a fight than the left over nook. The closest I could call her coloring was a very pale rose along the sides. So the question, had she been clipped would she have been tasty? Also, for a nook how bright should they be? Since I'm a boatless bankie I know I can't expect super shiny and would appreciate any pointers on what's worth keeping.

If anyone has pics they could point me to, that would be awesome too. Get enough good info and maybe this thread could even make the vaunted sticky status!

 

[RunWithSasquatch]

My experience is with fall salmon is you never know until you get it home, even on some 'brighter' fish. Generally fall salmon are not the best meat because the fat reserves in there meat is not high because they are not designed to survive a long while in the river once they've entered. That being said, if I at all question the fish, it goes back.

Its truely hard to tell with your coho. Some fish can be starting to change but still cut well.

Here is a recent fish that didn't cut well. Meat was marbled,light orange getting near a very pale color, and a darker orange.


This little fish cut awesome, meat was red. Notice the fish was begining to change though. The "bright" sides are starting to become dull, and the belly is turning red.


I never got to see the meat of this hen, but he told me it cut very well. As you can see its a later staged fish.


This fish cut well aslo, but its a spring salmon, and with there high fat reserves, the meat in these fish travel better.


Heres Mr Darkie. This fish should have never came home. Its a bi-product of bobber fishing. And I was looking around, and when I looked back, my bobber was no where to be found, and he had taken the bait back to his gills. Came up bleeding.

But his meat was unedible. Pure waste. Complete white.

 

[hookbait]

You mentioned bellies. On the dark left over summer fish I caugh the belly was very, very dark. Almost black in some spots. Is the belly the first part that starts to turn or does a fish color from the top down so to speak.

Also, thanks for the great reply and pics that enlarge.

 

[hookbait]

Great reply ESF. I especially appreciate the tip on bucks/hens. I hadn't really thought to wonder if one would cut better than the other. Even though it seems obvious their might be a difference. It's exactly these types of tips I was hoping to get.