3 years in washington and still no salmon under my belt, could any one tell me where and how to fish for salmon from the shore near bremerton wa.?

dont all reply at once now. LOL

Lol Several eastsiders here but I am sure someone from that side will show up soon. Until then try posting the question at www.ifish.net/board/index.php

Westley, "where and how to fish for salmon from the shore" is way too complicated a question to answer in a post. If you don't know how to fish for salmon from the shore and want to look for help in the literature you would do better with books and magazine articles. Salmon Trout Steelheader sometimes has good articles.

As to where.... you need to talk to people in sporting goods stores, Google the subject in reference to rivers near where you live, get out and drive around and look for crowds of fishermen, etc.. This time of year there should be Chum runs into Hood Canal and south sound rivers.

I've never fished it, but I believe there is a big run of hatchery Fall Chinook into the Skokomish. Combat fishing. It is probably over now but you might want to check into it for the future.

Good luck.

well i caught my limit in chum, i cant even begin to tell you how satisfying it felt to land my very first salmon, i literaly got misty eyed. the scenery, the amount of fish in the water, nature taking its due course, seeing them fight up a small waterfall so determined. it was almost a religious experiance. and with the help of a few freindly anglers, i was fishing like i knew how to do it. lol next i am going to take a fly rod out there and give fly fishing another try. watching all those people fly fishing was like watching poetry in motion. it was a truly inspiring day to say the least.
now i just need to find some spots for other spiecies of salmon.

oh and is removing the slime coat completly and or scaling them necessary for cooking or smoking?

Great, Westley! You got into them quick!

In order of eatability, many would rank salmon:

Chinook
Sockeye
Coho
Chum
humpies

Chum have a low fat meat, even when they aren't ripe. So they aren't as suitable for baking and broiling as fat fleshed varieties. But good condition chum do make a decent stew. Maybe not as tasty as Chinook or Steelhead stew, but decent. I've smoked a few to give away to people who don't know any better.

Do scrape them well. Don't know that de-sliming completely is feasible but give them a good scraping.

In making a chum stew I usually simmer the carcass and one filet for the broth (Don't use skin, tail, or head. Go light on the water and get a rich broth. Strain and make sure there are no bones in the finished broth), and de-bone and chunk the other filet to use in the stew. Add chum chunks when other ingredients are done. Simmer till chum chunks are done. Break open a few chunks and make sure. But don't overcook.

Quick recipe:

To start: First make the fish broth. Then saute chopped onions, garlic, celery, and a carrot in olive oil till onions are soft and translucent.

Version 1. Add several sliced tomatoes and a glass of white wine. Simmer for awhile. (I like to add sliced Okra when the tomatoes are soft.)

Add the fish broth you made earlier. Add salt and pepper (and dried herbs and/or cayenne if you wish). Add several boiling type potatoes (Reds, Yukon Gold, Whites, etc.) cut into chunks of the size that suit you. Adjust seasoning when potatoes are done and add Chum Chunks last. Finely cut parsley too if you got it.

Version 2. Makes a chowder style stew. Add fish broth, season, bring to light boil, add potatoes. When potatoes are done, add milk and/or cream, bring to a simmer and add chum chunks.

One will often catch a lot of chum that are too ripe for good eating. If that's the case you can C&R until you find a good one.

Chum eggs make excellent caviar.