Home Forums Fishing Freshwater Wicked Cool Looking Zombie Fish!!!

Catching these spawning kokanee is addictive. They look so wicked-cool and different from most anything else I catch in Utah. These fish likely don't even get a nod from the guys that live near the coast, but for us inland fishermen these things are very unique!

Good sized fish.

That is an interesting looking fish, no doubt. Are they edible?

There is a lake in far WNC near the TN border that is stocked with Kokanee. I've yet to fish it but feel if I do I may need to carry a gun! All kidding aside, that is an awesome catch.

They're creepy for sure, but are nothing but a spawned out kokanee (or sockeye). At that stage they're pretty much mush but before they get that red they're just fine to eat. Some may still be depending on how long he's been like that.

What do you mean by turning into mush? I know salmon die shortly after laying eggs but I don't know the effects on the meat(?) that has.

I'm not the least bit interested in eating them when they are spawning. Besides it's illegal to keep them in Utah during spawning season anyway. However in the summer, spring, and winter they make pretty decent table fare. However, I'm just a real big fan of most fresh water fish. I will say this though, the spawning Koke's are fun to catch and often provide a real decent fight if you catch them before they are too far gone spawning.

They're basically rotted but still "alive" for a short time period, the way I understand it.
I've smelled spawned out salmon when they're still alive and it isn't pretty. The OP seems to be able to hold that fish without puking, so it may still be a few days or a week from dying, and might still be OK to eat. I doubt it though. They're pretty bad when they get that red.

Thanks. So it really is a "Zombie" fish then

I raised sockeyes for 5 years. Soon after they enter the river they stop eating. Their body starts using itself to provide energy to reach the spawning grounds. The fish might not enter the river but the same thing happens to them. Happens to kings in lake ontario too. If they are blush sometimes they are still ok. The meat will start to pale on the tail end first.

I have seen Kokanee spawn in Colorado, no other salmon.

You see the shows where they diddle and die.
If only it were that nice.
Basically, they got to death.
You see them swimming with fins coming off,
strips of their skin streaming behind them until it tears free.

I was keyed up to snag some soon,,,but our idiot governor decided to shut down the state parks again to save us all from the COVID.

Salmon withdraw near every nutrient possible from their bodies committing them to their eggs and/or sperm and the energy needed for spawning efforts. Once depleted and near death, if one squeezes their flesh, it flows between ones fingers about like apple sauce. Even pre-spawn their flesh is not the most desirable.

When I used to fish the Oregon coast one would see folks retaining such with comments that they'd be good smokers. Garbage in = garbage out.

Hell that's a nice one Troy!

As a rule of thumb with salmon; if you press on their back, and they’re firm, they are edible. If you press and they are mushy, toss em back.

Beautiful fish, what a great catch and fantastic picture.

My rule with salmon: if it's a salmon, throw it back.

My rule with salmon: if it's a salmon, throw it back and head west another 40 miles to the tuna grounds!

I've seen Kokanee Salmon spawning runs in the Blue and Dolores Rivers in CO. The number of fish and the colors of the fish in confined water is amazing to me because it is so different than anything that I grew up with. Funny thing is that very few people seem to fish for Kokanees in the reservoirs on those two rivers that they live in when they aren't spawning.

I don't care for eating trout or salmon, too many small/fine bones for my taste, but they are all fun to catch and release.

If the salmon are large enough, their steaks are very easy to separate from the bones.

I've seen Kokanee spawning in smallish streams in Northern California (Shasta County Whiskeytown Reservoir and Juniper Lake in Mt.Lassen NP) that had turned the entire mouth of the stream where it entered the lake blood red! Literally "couldn't believe my eyes" until a local boy told me what they were.

They look dangerous but the real danger is all the bears that show up to fish for 'em!