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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate NEWS NOW Haggen adds Ashland store to list of closures ... Attacker's no-show at sentencing leaves victim without closure ... Monical sentenced to 32 years in federal bank robbery case ... Haggen adds Ashland store to list of closures ... Attacker's no-show at sentencing leaves victim without closure ... Monical sentenced to 32 years in federal bank robbery case ... SINCE YOU ASKED Since You Asked: 'Recycled' spring chinook make for good eatin' Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Jun. 25, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Jun. 25, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News My son likes to fish on the upper Rogue River for salmon and he brought one home yesterday, which is unusual because he doesn't often catch salmon. But even more unusual was that this particular salmon had a small, perfectly round hole cut into the side of his head near the gills. He didn't notice it until he brought it home. Is this unusual? I assume it's safe to eat, right? — Mike, Medford What your son has there, Mike, is a freshly caught Rogue River hatchery spring chinook salmon that is more than plenty good to eat. In fact, we at Since You Asked Central say it's the finest eating salmon in all of Oregon, even though those are fightin' words when pointed toward our friends along the Columbia River. That hole in the fish's gill plate, however, isn't some natural occurrence or some bizarre phenomenon like crop circles or Sasquatch videos. It's a punch put into the gillplate at Cole Rivers Hatchery before it was trucked 36 miles back down the Rogue to Gold Hill and released. It is one of more than 4,000 excess spring chinook captured at the hatchery then returned to the Rogue to give anglers another shot at catching and keeping it. This popular recycling program is a solution to having excess fish captured in the hatchery and sold. They're raised to be caught and kept by anglers like your son, so more power to you. Hatchery Manager David Pease says they have a target of releasing 4,000 excess spring chinook each season before July 1, the cut-off date developed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to ensure these released salmon don't stick around in the Rogue and spawn with wild fish later this summer. With 670 excess spring chinook getting trucked to Gold Hill on June 17, that put this year's releases at 4,012, Pease says. As of June 17, this year's collection at the hatchery was 4,981 spring chinook (with recycled fish counted just once). That's just about on par for the past three years and strongly ahead of the running 10-year average of 3,147 spring chinook captured there by mid-June, hatchery records show. If you're still leery about eating that gill-punched spring chinook, just swing by the Mail Tribune and the Since You Asked Central crew will gladly take it off your hands. Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected]. To see a collection of columns, go to mailtribune.com/youasked . We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Jun. 25, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501