How do you store/freeze large salmon for smoking later on?

[chiroken]

Officially Christened my boat tonight by landing a double-header (they hit 10 seconds apart), on my own, 25lb and 23lb Chinooks. Very cool and crazy few minutes. Sad thing was I had my limit, had to pack up and go home when I wanted to keep fishing!!!

How do you freeze your filets for smoking at a later date? I ended up vacuum packing 2 filets together in large 11" wide bags (full filet length). They didn't really seal well as some air pockets were left (filets too big to be spaced side by side!). They will get smoked in the next month or two.

Do you cut the filets right away into smoking sized pieces?

[Slamdunk]

First, I would vac them. The trouble and expense is minimal.

You don't need to filet them into smoke sized pieces, they will be fine until you want to smoke them in a couple of months.

[icerat4]

This is all you will ever need...



http://www.westonsupply.com/Weston-Vacuum-Sealer-PRO-2300-Stainless-Steel-p/65-0201.htm?gclid=CPabrr7phKQCFZpN5QoduVOTLA

[Kummok]

Slamdunk is right on target.....vac sealing is the critical need. 95% of the time for me, all bones go away and the fillet is cut into 1 1/4 steaks before sealing/freezing but on those occasions when I get the big haul (a quad is my "personal best" hookup) it is just remove the skin, seal, freeze. 99% of my salmon is sealed/frozen prior to whacking into smoking size for the brine. My record length of time in freezer prior to smoking is three years, (found a stash of Copper River Red behind the moose/caribou in the freezer once), and they smoked up just fine.

[chiroken]

OK, thanks for the info. I think next time I'll bag the filets singularily in 8" bags, that'll give me a much better vacuum rather than trying to overlap2 in 1 wider bag. Would be nice to have a sealer like theone  on the link, looks like a horse! My $99 on sale special will have to do.

Hope the fish don't all fly up the river with today's rain. Might be able to get back out on into the bay tomorrow a.m.

A quad would be quite the hook up! We can have quite a seal problem here so the idea is get the fish to the boat before the $&*@ seal grabs it. The second rod popped and I just kept watching it peel line as I'm palming the 1st fish. Main concern was that the rod wouldn't pop out of the rod holder if the angle of pull went the wrong way. Once I netted the 1st it was in and out to get the net ready for # 2 so fast it was a blur. Got the 2nd into the boat and had to sit down and take it all in....breathing heavily of course ;)

[TestRocket]

Congrats on the double hookup! Your recount sounds exciting!

[Kummok]

...A quad would be quite the hook up! ...

It's happened a few times up here....four on the boat and one of them is an excellent driver for that kind of pickup! VERY glad you beat the seals to the fish...I'd be pretty upset to lose a King to one to those critters. Have had it happen with salmon shark up here and it sux to bring in part of a King...

[chiroken]

Seals can be a MAJOR problem here in Comox Bay. They'll swim behind the boat waiting for a rod to pop at times. Used to be major problems with them up river  coralling whole schools and going in one after another, sucking the bellys and leaving the meat until they'd go through the whole school. (Some culling helped that problem) At one time the count was 700 seals in the bay and guys will tell you they'd lose 10 straight fish to 'em!!! Can you feel I not a big seal fan??!!

Are salmon sharks the same as mud sharks/dog fish that we have? Don't get too big here, 3-4' is what I typically see. Lost a pink a few weeks back to one when I wasn't paying attention. I actually took my girls (7 & 10) out a couple of weeks back to fish for them (1st time doing that). They LOVED it. probably hooked 10 of them in 40 min., a few double headers. They didn't want to quit and go for salmon, catching "sharks" was way cooler!

[Kummok]

Not the same....both are a challenge at certain times/locations but the spiny dogfish are more common pains in the tailfin. See Salmon sharks at http://www.fishalaskamagazine.com/fish/salmon_shark.htm  The Fish Alaska magazine had a great article on fishing for the salmon sharks from kayaks a while back....very impressive fishermen! http://www.fishalaskamagazine.com/archives/2008/408_TOC.htm

For a very humorous look at the Selachimorpha species, read Nick's article at: http://homernews.com/stories/071410/outdoors_lsr.shtml  I should warn you that following his articles can lead to tired stomach muscles....the guy's hilarious!

[tsquared]

No quad hookups for me, as I only fish 3 rods at a time. Lots of triples on the sockeye this year tho--that's always fun--everybody stumbling over nets, rods, and flopping fish! :D
T2
Gimme the gaff!