The Kenai river red thread brings up something I have been thinking about for awhile. Which do you prefer between these two 1)caught at the mouth of the river Kenai red or 2)Chitina red. In my eye there are few if any prettier fish than a fresh out of the salt Kenai red but I seem to get more 'yummy' comments on the Chitina reds when both are treated, processed and cooked the same.

I've caught, cooked and smoked both and I honestly cannot tell the difference between the 2.

With that being said, the last few years i've been getting my reds from the Copper because the Kenai is such a clusterphuck full of tourists and know-it-alls.

Pete,

The last time I dipped reds in the Chitna was the year of the landslides, where I missed getting stuck by the slide by just a few days. After that I switched to the Kenai and haven't gone back. So I've never been able to compare them side by side the same year and it's been over a dozen years since I've had a Chitna red. I do think the Chitna reds have a bit more oil content and perhaps are a tad bit tastier. That said, we've consumed 100's of Kenai/Russian reds over the past decade and I can't say a single one of them had anything other than a wonderful sockeye flavor.

For catching, I'd rather be on my boat in Resserction bay with 2 or 3 coho's heading in different directions and trying to net them before the lines tangle. No complaints with grilled or smoked coho either.

I caught both this past year and my wife and I both prefer the Kenai reds, a noticeable difference between the two, the Chitna reds are slightly more oily. For our taste we prefer the less oily Kenai for all but smoking, I prefer the Chitna reds for smoking.

I run my boat to get the reds in chitna ...you do it by boat, and that combat cliff diving crap comes to a end ....2 years ago we seen a 4wheeler do one bounce {landed on all 4 tires in alders an rock ) then it flew thru the air in slow motion -clearing the cliff face by 50' .....the scream of the still hot an running atv ...splash!!! in a big steam cloud....gone!

Chitna sockeyes are much better.

So much so that it would be a waste of time and money for anyone to go after Kenai reds.

I think humpys are even better - especially those from the Kenai

Like totally!!!!!!!!!!

You guys really need some lessons in promoting tourism!

Copper river reds are the only one AK Air flies to seattle in May. Because they are the bet....evah!

Hell, I'd trade KR reds for CR reds. They're THAT good.

Copper reds for me. Nothing like it.

By the way, regardless of where you catch them, bleed them right after landing it. You can use a knife across the gills, or with your fingers in the same area. This improves the taste greatly.

CR reds have the benefit of being the first major red fishery each year and they have done an outstanding job of advertising them as the best.

I would be willing to bet that anyone claiming to tell the difference between them would fail a true double blind taste test.

That would mean using fish at the same point in the run, treated as equally as possible, and cooked simply...

CR reds for the win!

Art, I would more likely agree with you when comparing a Chitina red(which has been in the river about 2 weeks) and a KR red caught at the mouth. I think a difference would show with a CR red caught on the flats. It is hard to compare fresh to fresh due to the difference in timing. Both are excellent, of course.
You are spot on with the first of the season caught and marketing.
Ray, standard treatment for me is bled, gutted and iced. I dotake the trouble to bring ice.
Paul, fresh sea caught coho are top of the line, too.

I can certainly tell a difference between the Area M Reds down here on the Pacific side of the AKPEN vs those caught in Bristol Bay and the river system up that way. Much higher oil/fat content in BB and Dillingham fish than the local caught ones out here.

I suspect the Chitina and Kenai fish have similar distances to run, therefore you may not find any differences between the two.

Either taste great!