An Other White Meat!

I fished Redondo from about 6:30 to 11 am.
I started out with the Purple Haze trolling about 2 mph...
Not much happenin on the water. It was a nice calm day as far as wind & rain and chop. I was enjoying the day, more relaxed than I normally am. Wanted to catch fish but, after the last couple of skunks, I decided to just enjoy myself.
Low tide would be around 7:45 And that would suit me just fine. Got a strike at about 7;30, right on time... it was a small 18-20 inch Blackmouth, well it was a start. I noticed some bait on top of the water and steered towards it. I was thinking how I never seem to get a bite when trolling thru bait, must be a myth... when my down rigger pops off, I chuckled to myself... the fish was a there and gone, see ya later fish... a temptress, a tease... that was about 8:15... These two strikes were at 45 feet on the Purple Haze.
I didn't see many nets but people claimed to be catching fish...

I switched to the tri colored blue/green/yellow hootchie but had no success.
I figured since I had the two earlier strikes on the Purple Haze... so I put it back on...

I planned on getting out of the water at 9 am but then moved my out time to 10 am. I was making my last run of the day towards the dock, I had to troll thru a bunch of seaweed and dropped to a depth of 70 feet, I didn't bother cleaning the weeds off my line as it began to build, figuring it was my last run, all of a sudden I noticed a bump, bump bump on my rod tip and then it popped off, line began to peel from the reel and I got excited!
It ran a few short bursts and finally just allowed itself to be reeled to the boat, then it got belligerent, and just kept circling as it got nearer the net and the boat. Finally I landed him, a nice 7 lb. Buck... later when I got home and filleted him, I noticed it was a white meated salmon. I have caught these before, not often, I hear they are somewhat rare and supposedly a treat for the taste buds... we'll see!


THIS FROM THE WEB:


Some Salmon meat is referred to as "white" Salmon. This designation refers to a Salmon that has had been born with a genetic difference resulting in a deficiency of their pink pigmentation resulting in a meat that is all white or a combination of white and pink. When the meat of the Salmon is both white and pink in color, the fish may be referred to as marbled or creamsicle meat. Although there is no nutritional difference, the more white meat existing on the fillet or steak, the milder the flavor.


Another view:

The rich, red meat of a wild Alaska king salmon is a vivid sight. Translucent and buttery, the deep red color comes from pigments in crustaceans in the salmons’ diet. Some king salmon – about one in 20 – have white meat due to an inability to process these pigments in their food. Although these white kings have long been coveted by many Alaskans, the pale meat typically fetched a lower price from fish buyers and was considered commercially less desirable. But now white kings are making a splash in the commercial market.

In past years white king sold for about sixty cents less per pound than the more familiar red-fleshed king, and some fish buyers enjoyed this rarer king salmon for a bargain. Nowadays many believe white king’s flavor is more delectable than their more common cousin. The marketing tide has turned and now the fairer fish, marketed as “ivory king,” brings a higher price.
Sherry Tuttle of Rose Fisheries in Sitka said her East Coast customers covet the white king, and they’re willing to pay more for it.

King (also called Chinook) salmon with white or red meat are the same species, Onchorhynchus tshawytscha. From a nutritional standpoint, research has shown the white kings and the red-fleshed kings are identical in composition of lipids, moisture, protein and omega -3 fatty acids, the “good” fats that can protect one from heart disease. But white kings are preferred by many fans of king salmon.

“White king is the best, a true melt in your mouth delicacy,” said Linda Belarde of Juneau.

“It is much oilier and hence, tastier,” said Donald Gregory, an Alaska Native of the Tlingit people. “When home-canned you can really see the difference in the amount of oil produced.”

Some sport anglers believe that white kings fight differently once hooked. “When you’re sport fishing and you get a king on, sometimes you can tell if it’s a white because they tend to take off swimming straight down, a red would swim out away from the boat,” said Gregory.

Regardless of how that king fights once on the hook, red and white king salmon look the same when hauled out of the water. It isn’t until the fish is sliced open that the lucky angler learns the color of the flesh. In the past it was believed that white and red king salmon consumed notably different diets, leading to their flesh color distinction. Scientists now believe that variation in flesh color is controlled by genetics.
The meat of a typical king salmon may range from reddish-orange to pinkish-red.