The Outdoor Line Forum

I have no idea what a "White King" is so I gotta ask. I caught a blackmouth the other day and the meat was the most pale pinkish/white ive ever seen. Ive seen people on other messages boards mention white king before but have no idea what they are or where they come from or how to identify one. Are they in both summer and winter fish? Thanks Brandon

A white or "ivory" king's meat is definately white, with no pink color in the flesh. There is debate as to whether these fish are that way simply because of their diet, genetic phenomenon or an entirely different species all together. Salmon develope pink flesh from eating krill and other shrimp. Salmon such as Sockeye have a diet almost entirely of Krill, hence their super red flesh. Some say white kings are that way because they only feed on baitfish and no shrimp. Whites are rare, only one in several hundred kings are white and you should feel super lucky if you catch one. The Fraser River in B.C. has a run of white kings and can be caught as early as May all the way through September, I'm sure some get intercepted in Washington Waters. Many people consider the White King a delecacy because it is oilier and richer in Omega 3's, at least restaurants market it that way. Others dispise the taste while some say there is absolutely no difference in flavor, its up to the individual I guess. Not to sure if we see any whites in WA rivers, maybe the Skagit? I'm sure guys like Robbo would know about that. You can't really tell a white from a red on the outside either, the only way I know of is taking a look inside the gill plate of a fish. I got one on the Fraser a couple of years ago and my family gobbled it up!

I caught a white king out at possession a few years back and I've also had the opportunity to eat it a few other times as well. I don't care for it as much. I hear people talk about how good it is but to me it's flavorless.

Here's Slice'n Dice filleting a white king on our dock last summer. The meat has little to no color at all. It's my understanding that white kings lack the genetics to retain the pink color in their flesh and other than that they are identical to salmon that do retain color. I've never noticed noticed any difference in flavor.

The Harrison River in BC gets a lot of white kings and it's no surprise that the White Salmon also gets a bunch of them. There's also a high percentage of white kings in the northern BC rivers and the Stikine River near Wrangell. We received a letter from a biologist in SE Alaska describing the percentage of white kings that enter those rivers up there, but I'll be darned if I can find it.

The only thing I can't figure out is why we seldom catch small white kings...they always seem to be tubs.

Don't tell your buddies about the gill plate trick just yet. Good way to score some free beer

Wow thats a crazy pic! The fish I caught was was more of a pale/pink color. Anyways thanks for the help fellas that cleared some things up. Every now and then ill get a fish that just seems really pale to me and I always wondered how to know what I was lookin at.

Brandon

Brandon,
How did that fish eat?

Can't speak for Brandon but I'll take a shot here.
From what I understand they swim along and find little fishes, then swim faster and grab the lil ones with there mouths and start chewin then swallow. But I'm no expert!

Pretty bland with not much flavor. Kinda mushy too. In my experience the brighter the meat is the better its tasted. Red/Orange, Orange/Red. Im sure its different for everyone.

Brandon

In fairness Brandon, the fish you caught was a blackmouth that had a little pink in it and is known as a "blush". If that same fish had the opportunity to have another summer of feeding on crustaceans (shrimp & krill) his flesh could have possible turned a deeper pink or red up and definitely would have tasted better.

True white kings lack the ability to retain carotenoid pigments, namely astaxanthin which provide most salmon their characteristic flesh coloration.
Salmonids cannot synthesize astaxanthin; therefore it must be present in their diet. As previously stated in this thread, crustaceans have a high concentration of the pigment astaxanthin and the more shrimp and krill a salmonid eats, the redder his flesh will become... unless he is a "white". Think of them as salmon "albinos" and you're on the right track.

Oh, and as for the Tuna Tyrant not liking white kings??? I'll take yours Tobeck... They are nothing short of spectacular coming our of the smoker!!!

So on the Fraser I have caught and seen many "marbled" salmon. That is to say red and white kind of marbled together. I was told that a white king mated with a red king. Is that correct? Also, I have barbequed many white kings and can't say I can taste a difference, although visually it just doesn't seem right.