Upper Columbia chinooks

[hhack]

Fish drano every year Used to fish the klick every year guess I’m just a salmon snob now. How’d those fish cut.

[7mmfan]

Those lower river fish are an entirely different animal. I don't blame you for being snobbish, they are great fish down there. I used to be of the same opinion on those upper river fish, having grown up fishing the coastal rivers. If you caught one that looked like that it was on it's last leg. The Brewster fish that are dark and lanky still cut very well. Their journey is far from over at that point, so they still have a fair amount of fat, and the meat almost always cuts red.

[C-Money]

  Some may appear dark on the outside, but they are red and delicious on the inside! Love fishing upriver chinook!

[Stein]

It all depends on where the fish are going and how long they will be in the river.  The further they go or the earlier they come in, the better they hold up.  It's entirely possible to catch a nasty in a bay, some of the fish are leaking eggs practically as they touch fresh water.

If you look at the most prized and well known fish like Copper River or Columbia springers, they enter very early and thus have a ton of fat to last a long time in the river without eating which makes them incredible eating.

[Alchase]

It all depends on where the fish are going and how long they will be in the river.  The further they go or the earlier they come in, the better they hold up.  It's entirely possible to catch a nasty in a bay, some of the fish are leaking eggs practically as they touch fresh water.

If you look at the most prized and well known fish like Copper River or Columbia springers, they enter very early and thus have a ton of fat to last a long time in the river without eating which makes them incredible eating.

He said Copper river,