Results of smoking a tule

[biederboat]

This is as a follow up to "Should I keep tules?". Okay, the results are in. Now, given the extreme amount of variables in the smoking/curing process (as-caught quality of the fish, how it was cleaned, recipe used, how long it's brined, pre-drying, how long smoked, type of wood, outside temperature/wind, blah blah blah....at least 50 vaiables), the tule I smoked tasted JUST FINE (excellent as a matter of fact). Now, I will be the first to say that I might do another one and it might come out bad. This one had some off-color meat in the tail that I didn't smoke. Overall, no regrets and I'm quite satisfied.

So, you guys can decide what you want or keep doing what you have been but from now on I'll probably decide on whether to keep a tule or not on a case-by-case basis (how it looks, how good the fishing is, how desperate I am) but what I would like to know are some facts on this particular species. My understanding is that these are primiarly hatchery bound fish that are raised for Canadian commercial fishing so I'm not hurting anything by keeping them, is that correct? If there is a strong need for these things to return than I'll be just as happy to let 'em go.

Thanks,
Mark

[FishinMission]

Wow...Oh well...We'll still be throwing back the "skanks" we hook.

Man...You must be desperate...like you said.

Mark

[ 08-27-2002, 03:38 PM: Message edited by: FishinMission ]

[Salmonator]

How nice. A couple of guys have a few good days on the URB's all of a sudden they are ifish's skanker police.

More than a few, always. Go fishing Salmonator. And yes, if you knock your fish off anywhere, it still happended :grin: :grin:

[ 08-27-2002, 03:52 PM: Message edited by: ****** ]

[King Fisher]

Bravo!,Bravo! We just smoked some to and it was great. :tongue: I will keep as much as I need to smoke. Maybe those razzers haven't actually tried smoked tule. :tongue: . Hmmm, I wonder :grin: .

[Salmonator]

Originally posted by ******:
More than a few, always. Go fishing Salmonator. And yes, if you knock your fish off anywhere, it still happended :grin: :grin:

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">Happended??? :whazzup: Don't tell me the photo above really is a photo of you? :shocked: :grin:

And trust me ******, if nobody saw it happen, nobody's gonna find out about it either! :tongue:

[ 08-27-2002, 03:56 PM: Message edited by: Salmonator ]

[img]graemlins/hearton.gif[/img] No offense, keep, smoke, grill, bake, however and eat what you like.



[ 08-27-2002, 04:13 PM: Message edited by: ****** ]

[Chris Nordling]

Originally posted by Salmonator:
How nice. A couple of guys have a few good days on the URB's all of a sudden they are ifish's skanker police.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">

Ask a question of a thousand people, and maybe 5 will like that Tule !

If you want ***** meat in December Salmonator, I know a few coho spots you can fish. :grin:

Glad to hear your meat turned out good Biederboat.

I'm with Mission and ****** here, I'll be filling my tag with fish I won't have to question the quality of.

Chris

[ 08-27-2002, 05:28 PM: Message edited by: FWF1 ]

[Salmonator]

[Chris Nordling]

Originally posted by Salmonator:

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">Waiting for that trophy Tule?? :tongue:

Good fishing,

Chris

[FishinMission]

Hey...Smoke anything you want. I'd just like it to be known that nobody I know keeps them things.

Sheesh...Smoke some road kill while you're at it. It might be good too.

Salmonater...Smoke all the tules you want. In fact...Fish downriver from me...So you reduce the number of Tule's WE hook!!. How about posting YOUR favorite Tule pic??

Mark

[ 08-27-2002, 05:40 PM: Message edited by: FishinMission ]

[Salmonator]

Originally posted by FishinMission:
Hey...Smoke anything you want. I'd just like it to be known that nobody I know keeps them things.
Mark

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">Sorry Mark, can't post a pic as I've never caught one, but have caught some dark salmon that have come out pretty good. I don't however feel the need to inflate my ego by making it known that I wouldn't keep a tule and that anyone who does might as well be smoking roadkill.

I still think the cutie above is your girlfriend Salmonator. :tongue: We have so named her
Tule Samonator. :grin:

Nah, glad the Salmon came out good too.




[ 08-27-2002, 06:27 PM: Message edited by: ****** ]

[Salmonator]

Originally posted by ******:
[img]graemlins/hearton.gif[/img] No offense, keep, smoke, grill, bake, however and eat what you like.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">That pretty much sums it up :smile:

No ****** this is my "girlfriend" of over 15 years, and I'll have to ask her if she'd mind the name change :grin:



[ 08-27-2002, 06:34 PM: Message edited by: Salmonator ]

[Fishen Fool]

Jeez, I hate to admit it but I agree with Salmonater on this one. Man that hurt.

Wah. :tongue:

Beautiful catch Salmonator.

[ 08-27-2002, 06:41 PM: Message edited by: ****** ]

[Chris Nordling]

Salmonator-

Nice catch dude :grin:

That for sure is not a Tule.

BTW, if you have never caught or cleaned a Tule, how do you know that Mark isn't on the $$$$$$ ?

I'm not saying that a tule can't be a good eater, I just choose to toss 'em back cuz the bright ones are biting just as well,and eat that much better.

IMHO.

Chris

Zachery! :smile:

[fishbait]

Whats that Joni Mitchell song........ And the world kepps going round and round..........

OK all you High LIiers, cut these guys some slack. I agree with you on keeping a tule, but if it's you 3rd or 5th or maybe even your 10th chinook of the year, and it looks pretty good, not chrome, but nice, it's a buck, 28 to 34 pounds, only fish you got so far today and you haven't had any fresh smoked fish for say...5 weeks or so....... in those conditions you might just keep it too........ :smile:
This is a matter of personal preferance........
Mark (FM) and ******, you two especially, be nice......... I happen to know that both of you catch more fish than 98% of the fisherman in the Northwest. Heck, you guys release more fish in a year than most people catch in their lifetime........ Remember when you made 6 trips in 3 weeks and came home empty handed every time [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img] Or are you both old farts like me and cant remember back that far [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img] Bottom line, Tule's are just like any other fish, if you get them early enough in their spawing cycle (especially the bucks) they are ok to good fish, the key is knowing when to kick them back, and thats where the personal preferance comes in............ Kinda like sand shrimp.... some just last longer than others........ I'm done on this post................ FB

[Salmonator]

'ol mark might be right on the money but that's not what it's all about and I have nothing more to say about it. Maybe I can remember a few "not so bright fish" in the past that I was pretty proud of at the time. :blush:

[Trick]

OK......I'll come clean. After several hours of fishing last week at 10 I nailed about a 25lb (no I'm not over-estimating it ) what appeared to be a Tule buck. It's belly was still white, but it was bronze up the side. I was caught in the moment and kept it. I've had a stellar year (for me) on spring and summer salmon and I didn't need the fish. I wasn't sure it was a Tule at first (I grew up near Big creek, so don't ask me if I know what a Tule looks like) because it was pretty bright and covered with lice.

When we got back to the launch it had darkened and the Tule smell was apparent. It cut red all the way through to the tail and I'm smoking half a springer and half a Tule in the morning. I've never kept or smoked a Tule before and this will be a first time trial. I'll post the results tommorow night.

Wow...Oh well...We'll still be throwing back the "skanks" we hook.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">Painting with a broad brush aren't you FM. I'm sure you have a few skeletons in your closet.

[fishbait]

Ok, absolutely my last cats in this hole............ Salmonator...... WOW. She is definately an URB, but just one question :grin:
Where is her seeing eye dog and her white cane? :shocked: :shocked:

Sorry, I just couldn't resist......Your the one who posted the picture of your beautiful girlfriend with the nice fish......... so don't blame me it's a guy thing :smile:

After all this talk about tules I went up to the lake and picked a few and tried to smoke them! :depressed:
Old boots and cow pies smoke better. :grin:

[Chris Nordling]

I too kept a Tule at the 10 this year. Cut steelhead red. Smoked great.Similar story to Trick's.

My references are to the ones being caught right now , upriver. Some are greener than the grass in my yard, but again it is personal taste.

Fishbait, yes that might be an ok scenario. What's a High LIier anyway?
I know you've still got your depth finder on this "hole".

Chris

[Salmonator]

Originally posted by fishbait:
Where is her seeing eye dog and her white cane? :shocked: :shocked:

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">I was going to play a MEAN joke on you after that last comment but won't do it I was a bright young ocean buck when I caught her. If she would have known that I would transform into a ****** ol' tule after only 15 years it might have been a different story :blush:

Ok Fishbait. You and me, Japanese Sumo to settle this issue once and for all! [img]graemlins/hearton.gif[/img]

[Hogmaster]

OK, OK, OK

What we need is a tagging program that identifies the stream each potential Tule came from.

Let's see...
Youngs Bay - Skankfish in all cases above Buoy 10
Big/Knat Creek - Skankfish if caught above the Astoria bridge
Cowlitz/Lewis - Skankfish if caught at the mouth or later than 8/31
Washougal - Skankfish if caught above I-205 or later than 9/5
Tanner creek - Skankfish if caught above Dodson or later than 9/10

I'm running out of fins here! How about we go by - If it is dark it is a Skankfish. If it is bronze it may or may not be a Skankfish depending on the beholder. If it is bright eat it. If it is bronze and you keep it you should eat it or give it away and then decide if you would do it again.

If it is bronze do not take a picture of it unless it is REALLY big, at least for this site.

If you admit catching, keeping and eating a bronze or darker fish you will be unmercilessly chastized for it. I just read it in the acceptable use policy. :grin:

[dampainter]

well, after catching another fish ....about time ......it turned out to be a tule, now without question I know what one is and will never keep another.

I caught and kept a tarnished hen on the Wilson in front of the TV cameras from the Hot Tamale Show last fall. Good eggs but questionable meat. Won't do it again.

[ 08-27-2002, 08:37 PM: Message edited by: Shane S ]

[fishbait]

FWF1.......Where ya been all your life boy..... :grin: Actually "high Liner" is an old PC dory fleet description for someone that cosistantly catch lots of fish. Sorry, I guess I'm dating myself.............
And ******........... no way in He11 will I ever get into those sumo wrestler costumes with you, any pictures and the sales of dramimine would go throught the roof and chances are tha we both would be banned for indecent and old exposure.......... how about bobbers at 6 ft, above the 2 bit hole, 1.5 hrs into the flood, first one to 6 bobbers down or 4 landed wins......... :grin: wins what......... [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img] looser must post a 200 word post telling about the fishing prowis (sp) of the winner, and in case of a tie, we can both tell tales about FM2 and make up tales of how he farmed the 54 pounder with his bobber 4 feet under :grin: man it's gonna be a good year, we gotta fish together at least a couple days......... Keep nothing under 35, looser buyes dinner.............great fun :grin: :grin: :grin:

[Chris Nordling]

Fishbait.....Ok , that might qualify me as a High Liner. At 29, and originally from the midwest, I was a little lost :blush:

I think you meant loser ( as in the one that is defeated), not looser ( which would mean that it needed to be made tighter)

Unless that was a play on words :smile:

On another note Fishbait, lat time we were supposed to hook up for springers I became a little sidetracked with personal stuff. Much better situation now, and looking forward to Trask fishing again this fall. I'll let you know when, and we'll hook up.

Hogmaster... The person who started this thread is the same person who started the should I keep a Tule thread?? I think that says a lot for the chastising that has occured.

Tight lines,

Chris

[baitslinger]

Okay, everyone's got their own personal experiences with tules, a.k.a. skanks, so i guess I can share mine. I' ll admit that when I was younger, I regularly would bring home all the "skanks" I caught while "fishin". Like what people are saying here, some were pretty good, but others were just terrible, no matter what kind of brine ya used on 'her. But ultimately, i would say that it's probably best to release them so they can continue on to their journey to the spawning grounds, and hopefully they'll even bend a few more "rods" of some lucky guys along the way.

[King Fisher]

OK, the tule's are starting to thin out. I hear the URB's are coming in stronger #'s. So let's hope for more URB's. Then we won't have to argue about Tule's. [img]graemlins/icon_argue.gif[/img] Which I still cannot tell the difference when the meat cuts orange( when smoking). I still haven't barbeque'd one yet. :grin:

Quote by Fishbait:

Mark (FM) and ******, you two especially, be nice.

OK Fine.

[birdhunter]

Nice fish nanooker.

The nerve of some people. Keeping Tules.

Sinner.

[Trick]

Nice boots ******...and I'm not talking about your favorite waders. :shocked: So, that is what they call Tules??? Just kiddin'

Pulled half a springer and half a Tule from the smoker. Taste tested both and I cannot tell the differance. Just go's to prove that you can make even road kill taste good in the smoker.

One sidenote, this Tule was a saltwater fish and bright as far as they can be this time of year . The flesh was even more red than the springer and didn't have any white patches.

Had taco springer for dinner, smoked tule for desert and henry's to wash it down....mmmm-mmmm-good! :smile:

[Chris Nordling]

Bummer, too bad you ruined a good beer

Chris