White (Calico ) Salmon

[racfish]

We all have seen white kings before.Ive yet to see a white coho or sockeye or pink before. Has anyone seen any other salmon in a white meat? Other then Chum...I heard that the white meat happens because the fish do not make or use Beta Carrotene.

[spokey9]

I've seen some white meated fish, when watching others on various rivers clean their fish but those where boots. Never seen nothing like that in the salt though.

[natetreat]

I've seen a TON of white meated fish duuring humpy seasons! ;)

I dunno how I feel about a white meat king, I imagine it has to do with their diet, whether they fattened up on shrimps or something that ate shrimps or just ate fish that didn't eat shrimps. I've caught chromers that ranged from pale pink to blood red, and can't really say why. It doesn't have much to do with the specific run, but it seems that the jacks generally have more colorful meat than the bigger ones.

[Mike Carey]

I caught a white salmon (chinook) years ago trolling the south side of San Juan island. I don't remember the color of the meat so much as the coloring of the fish. It really was a white salmon, very beautiful. Never seen another one like it. Unfortunately it was pre-digital age. If I stumble across it I'll scan it sometime.

[MotoBoat]

Mike are you talking about a Albino king Salmon? Or white meat fish?

There is a yearly run of White Kings that return to the vedder (sp?) river, in Canada...A! Not idea if they are white meat or white skinned.

I think Danny fish's that river on a yearly basis. Perhaps he might chime in at some point. Make sense that Mike C intercepted one in the San Juan's. Since that is one major fish highway for spawning Canada bound Salmon.

From what I have read on other websites. Once the Canadian bound, White Kings enter the river. They are extremely smelly, and are handled with gloves if handled! Not considered edible.

Mike, how did the Salt water caught White King eat?

This subject came up last year. Even Bodo the once upon a time fish monger, was shocked to learn there was a stinky strain of White Salmon.

[gonnahookit]

My brother-in-law told me he and his father/brothers used to fish the Tolt for white Kings every year, right in Carnation where they have lived thier entire lives, until F&G killed off the run about 30-some years ago. Apparently they gill-netted the entire river for the entire run, thinking there was something "wrong" with the fish due to their flesh color . Subject came up about 10 years ago because I had mentioned the white chinook we were serving where I worked at the time.

Not sure about river-caught, but fresh from the salt they are fine eating; although not as strong flavored as your typical king, they still taste like salmon, and the meat doesn't flake as easily when cooked to a comparable temp as regular salmon. They smoke quite well also.

[Mike Carey]

Pale pink meat, tasted good. Albino- white background color with dark spotting. Beautiful fish!

[racfish]

White kings are common. Humpies and chum also. From what I understand is it is their diets. I caught White Kings in Oregon. Some in the Columbia. Ive caught them in the salt mainly. I was thinking more to the tune of Cohos and Sockeye.I heard its a beta carotene thing. White kings are delicious. Its really my favorite king to eat. Kippered salmon is made from white kings.

[jordanpaulmiller]

I don't know too much about fishing, however I do know a lot about anatomy. White flesh comes from an abundance of Fast Twitch muscle fibers where as darker colored meats come from slow twitch muscle fibers. The dark color comes from the higher concentration of hemoglobin which is the means to carry oxygen to those muscles during long endurance runs/swims etc. Hence, bottom feeding ambush fish have white flesh because they don't spend months or years making huge migrations but rather sit on the bottom until "WHAMM!" one fast, powerful strike. As for white fleshed salmon, I would wager a bet that it is a recessive genetic trait.

[goodtimesfishing]

Most of the Tulalip run kings are white meat. I have seen piles of carcass on the beach with at least 90% being of white meat. Not sure why, but that is what returns to their hatchery. Have not seen them this year but that was the case last year.