[Pecos]

What's the consensus on bleeding out your salmon, in a fish box or on a rope over the side, will it make a big difference in the quality of the meat??

Also, I got a 14 pound keeper with the Hawthorne fleet on Sunday afternoon, on a plug cut herring.

 

[fish assassin]

Congrats on the fish!!

Bleeding only seems to help if you do it before you bonk your fish. The
heart needs to be beating for the bleeding to work correctly. Commercial
fishermen do NOT bleed salmon as a rule, but clean them within 30-45 minutes
after landing them (tollers, not gill-netters). If you are not going to clean
your fish soon after catching it (like wait a couple of hours), you'll find that
bleeding a salmon gives you better "shelf life".

Bleeding is VERY important on bottom fish. You get a *much* nicer fillet
(white instead of bloody) and the parasites are less likely to move from the
gut to the meat. I'm talking sea bass and ling cod here.

Bleeding tuna is also a "must do" as they are warm blooded and the blood-
letting cools the fish faster (using less ice for cooling and getting the
core temperature down faster). You also get the advantages of nicer looking
fillets and longer shelf-life.

Bleeding a fish is NEVER a bad option (IMHO).

-assAssin-

 

[Fishslayer]

I think it would depend on where your fishing. I wouldn't bleed a fish in a hogline. I wouldn't want the scent trail or the seals to get ahold of it. Out in the open blue, I will hange them over for a few. Just my .2

 

[KingFisher85]

Its good to bleed your fish if you are gonna use the eggs to.

 

[Silver Hilton]

I always bleed the fish. You can do it after you bonk the fish. Gory fact, the heart keeps beating for about 15 minutes after bonkage, which you will see when you clean the fish, if you do so fairly quickly. I also clean the fish pretty quickly.

I haven't had any seals appear to follow the blood trail. I have bled enough fish, in the presence of seals, that if they were gonna follow the blood trail, they would have. So I don't think they do it. I am not so confident of my opinion that I leave the fish in the water, however. I use a fish cleaning tray to hold the fish while it bleeds out. It only takes about a minute.

 

[ZaQ]

My friend was bleeding a fish over the side of his drift boat in Wheeler two years ago and a seal came up and took the fish. It was tied to his oar lock and he says the seal was pulling so hard, that he was afraid the boat was going to flip. I have not bled a salmon over the side since. That kinda scares me, let alone the possibility of loosing a fish that way. I don't have a fish box, but have been bleeding them out in the boat and than washing it down to the bilge. That is the way I do them in my drift boat too.

 

[timinthegorge]

SH..... do you have one of those Big Water Company fish cleaning gadgets? If so, how do you like it? I'm thinkin' one might be in my future, but I haven't heard any reports about it.... Thanks, Tim :smile:

 

[h20dog]

its not like its been a big problem for me, having only caught and bled 1 springer. i plan on changing that on friday! the point i wanted to make is, i think i read that its illegal to bleed your catch in the river. being the law abiding citizen that i am, i just let the fish bleed in the boat, wipe it up with a towel, then rinse the towell in the river. so technically im bleeding my towell in the river.

 

[Firedog]

I always bleed my fish. Improves the quality of the meat. If I am going to do it over the side of the boat in an area that seals or sea lions might be around I tie a rope through the gills and just wash it over the side wash it back and forth to keep the blood from coagulating. Keeping a close eye out for mister sea lion. I don't tie it off and leave it. I hold the rope in my hand and if I was to miss the seal/sea lion coming the rope would just come out of my hand if he were to grab it. otherwise I rip the gills out and throw it in the fish box, more mess but just as effective. Cut/tear the gills as soon as you bonk it, the heart continues to beat for a bit and will pump out the majority of the blood.

 

[fishing is life]

hey that sounds like a new sport. trolling for seals. does anybody know if they like shad? that would be a hoot, especially when the fishing is slow.

 

[Silver Hilton]

Originally posted by timinthegorge:
SH..... do you have one of those Big Water Company fish cleaning gadgets? If so, how do you like it? I'm thinkin' one might be in my future, but I haven't heard any reports about it.... Thanks, Tim :smile:

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">Tim, I have a tray, I'm not sure what the brand is, that hooks to the rails and hangs over the side. Made of blue plastic, works great, but is a bit small for a 30lber. Hope I have that problem soon. :wink:

 

[Guest]

Always blead your fish! Rip their gills out and put them head down in a 5 ga bucket of water.

[ 04-08-2003, 03:37 PM: Message edited by: Keta ]

 

[fishineer]

Last year I was fishing in the estuary in August for the Buoy 10 run. I hooked a very nice coho, netted it and had it on the floor of my boat. I then bonked it about 3 times til I was sure it was "knocked out". I then slit both gills so it would start bleeding. Next, I put a rope through the mouth and gills and lifted the fish over the side to bleed it.

As I was moving the fish back and forth to disperse the blood, all of a sudden the fish became alive! It quickly swam out of my hand grip. I was then holding on to the rope as it was torpedoing away. Just as the end of the rope was about to slip out of my hand, I clinched down hard and the rope held in my hands and then became limp. I pulled the rope in and there was no fish.

I felt absolutely sick and guilty. Not so much that I had lost the fish, but that the fish was bound to die a slow death from it all. I hope it was a quick death though.

So, anyway, from now on, I always put the fish in the net before I bleed it over the edge; it works a whole lot better.

 

[Holehog]

I vote bleed the seals no bonking nessary.

 

[Bob Barthlow]

Remember my story last spring...Don't bleed your fish on a rope below Bonnie.
We were in a hogline @ Rainier and had a Sealion come and rip a 20# springer off the bleedin rope like it was nothing.
Now I only bleed them in the fishbox. :wink:

 

[drhall99]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I used to be a deckhand on a commercial fishing boat in Alaska and we bled every fish to hit the deck. I also think that it's better to bleed before you bonk, but tough to do when you have a K15 Kwikfish flopping around waiting to snag a victim.
D.

 

[Guest]

Bonk first to avoid bruising when the fish is thrashing in the fish box. I have gutted fish that had been bonked and bled and their heart s was still beating

http://www.salmonuniversity.com/ol_caring_for_fish.html

 

[greenbuttskunk]

I like to bleed the fish for a bit while the heart still beats of possible, does improve the meat. Probably does attract seals though, so be careful.

 

[Green Machine]

Illegal to bleed a fish in the river??????? I don't buy that one.

Green Machine