Taste of Kokanee

[KOKANEE]

Has anyone else noticed that the Kokes at the Berry start to take on a swampy taste this time of year? We caught some last year this time of year and I even smoked them on the smoker and we could still taste it. Is it my over reactive taste buds or have others noticed it as well?
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[wiperhunter2]

Can't say I've noticed it this early in the Summer but I have caught them when the green algae gets bad, that tasted swampy or mossy.
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[liketrolling]

do you put them on Ice just as soon as you catch them.
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[WET1]

I bleed them in the livewell as soon as we catch them and then put them in the cooler on ice right away and have yet to have a bad one. If you don't do that already you may want to give it a try and see if it makes any difference to your sophisticated pallet. It could just be that my pallet is just too redneck to notice any difference in time of year. As long as the fish are still bright they're awesome in my book. It's not until they start really changing color that I notice any difference in flavor or the firmness of the flesh.
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[fish_hntr]

[quote WET1] I bleed them in the livewell as soon as we catch them and then put them in the cooler on ice right away and have yet to have a bad one. If you don't do that already you may want to give it a try and see if it makes any difference to your sophisticated pallet. It could just be that my pallet is just too redneck to notice any difference in time of year. As long as the fish are still bright they're awesome in my book. It's not until they start really changing color that I notice any difference in flavor or the firmness of the flesh.[/quote]

I couldn't agree more, I will never understand why some people take a cold water fish and leave it in a 70-80 degree livewell to die and get mushy. Early season when surface temps are still in the 50's I will have kokes survive the day in the livewell, but once temps rise they go straight into an iced cooler and always taste great!
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[TopH2O]

Ditto on the last post. Proper immediate catch care will make any fish taste much better.

I remember contacting people at Lake Powell who had placed their stripers on a stringer all day when the surface temperatures were 80 degrees. Surprise, they told me their stripers always tasted bad when they cooked them.

Mike
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[fish_hntr]

[quote TopH2O]Ditto on the last post. Proper immediate catch care will make any fish taste much better.

I remember contacting people at Lake Powell who had placed their stripers on a stringer all day when the surface temperatures were 80 degrees. Surprise, they told me their stripers always tasted bad when they cooked them.

Mike[/quote]

Just that visual made me cringe, I wonder how many get sick from warm fish.
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[dubob]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Taste in fish AND game is all about proper care. We always cut the gills of all kept kokanee immediately upon going into the live well to bleed out. Within 5 minutes of doing that, they are removed from the livewell and put on ice. Works every time its tried and they NEVER taste bad when we do that. [][/#800000][/font]
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[KOKANEE]

I am bleeding them out and put them on ice. I notice it when the Algae is in bloom on the lake like wiper hunter said. So ya that makes sense. So far this year it all taste excellent had some wonderful days of big fish and limits in under 90 minutes.
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[CoyoteSpinner]

I'd be willing to volunteer to a donation of any kokanee you don't think will taste good. I'll make sure they get taken care of! Heheee


So for those w/o a livewell, how would ya'll recommend the bleeding out be done? I like to bring a cooler of ice, and really hate using a stringer from a boat.

[wyoguy]

put them in a bucket 'til they bleed out then transfer to cooler and ice.
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[wiperhunter2]

John, I think it is just a matter of preference because I never bleed my kokanee, just put them straight on ice, I've never had a problem doing this and they taste just fine, at least until the green algae starts getting bad at the Berry. That being said, don't let them sit in the water that melts, I always have ice on the bottom, then the kokes, then ice on top of the kokes.
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[WET1]

Or better yet, use frozen gel packs so there is no melted water to get on them.
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[wiperhunter2]

Great idea Todd.
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[WET1]

I have a friend who gets that Blue Apron food and sometimes will give me some of the gel packs. That and I use 2 gallon zip lock bags to put the fish in. You can fit 5 or 6 of those nicer fish in one. Helps keep the cooler clean and the fish in good condition if you're using regular ice that melts.
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[Paddler]

[quote WET1] Or better yet, use frozen gel packs so there is no melted water to get on them.[/quote]

The best way to cool fish is what we do with tuna. Flake ice and salt water slush. Ice alone isn't nearly as good.
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[WET1]

Yes, that is very effective especially for larger, warmer fish like tuna. Gel packs or regular ice seem to work pretty well for me on small fish like kokes and much more convenient.
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[WiperMac]

After you bleed your fish put them on ice and sprinkle with rock salt. Same concept used to make homemade icecream. You can chill your fish down to make kokanee ice cycles this way. This especially helps later in the season when the kokes fillets start to get soft. Makes pin bone removal much easier then their firm/semi frozen.[]
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