[smoky]

Got home and realized we forgot to gut, gill and rip anus on 1 fish.

Fish has been on ice since boated.

Is fish still good?

Just gut and rip?

 

[adrenaline]

As long as you bled it out, & was on Ice, it should be ok, let us know how it turns out.

 

[Chromaflage]

Yup. Just gut, gill, slice and dice. We didn't gut/gill any of our on Saturday. Carked on Sunday - still great quality.

 

[fishbait]

It will be just fine

 

[smoky]

Thanks. Dogs.

Absolute carnage out of Garabaldi on Sunday.

Good crew working together, but missed that one fish.

 

[Something Good]

It will be fine for cooking but the heart of the loin used for sashimi will probably be a little too mushy to eat raw.

 

[ChrisCurtis]

:agree:
We somehow missed bleeding one fish Saturday but with good chill/ice techniques the meat seemed fine carked that afternoon. I wouldn't suggest it, but it turned out fine.

 

[Nalu]

Bleeding, gutting, gilling, brain spiking, slushing, then icing is all excellent.

Without offending the way others do it, I stopped gutting and gilling my tuna and have seen no difference in the quality of the meat......including firm loins suitable for sashimi.

I do bleed, then slush, then chill. I have a large slush box, and large fish boxes suitable for properly icing. I also end up carking 90% of the fish that are brought aboard my boat. This year that number has been significant. I have found the biggest detriment to the meat quality is fully getting the fish surrounded by ice after they come out of the slush and are packed.

Again, will all due respect to others, this is just the way I do it. I want the highest quality loins I can get because I prefer to eat most seared and raw in the middle.

 

[Hookset]

Bleeding, gutting, gilling, brain spiking, slushing, then icing is all excellent.

Without offending the way others do it, I stopped gutting and gilling my tuna and have seen no difference in the quality of the meat......including firm loins suitable for sashimi.

I do bleed, then slush, then chill. I have a large slush box, and large fish boxes suitable for properly icing. I also end up carking 90% of the fish that are brought aboard my boat. This year that number has been significant. I have found the biggest detriment to the meat quality is fully getting the fish surrounded by ice after they come out of the slush and are packed.

Again, will all due respect to others, this is just the way I do it. I want the highest quality loins I can get because I prefer to eat most seared and raw in the middle.

That's interesting and good to know.

Does it matter if the fish is going ballistic in the bleed bucket or are you brain spiking or bonking the head before bleeding?

I figured the brain spike or knock on the head was to quiet the tuna from shaking violently before bleeding to keep the temperature under control. Is this correct or does it really matter?

I'm still learning the ropes, thanks for the help,

Gregg

 

[tracker]

So smoky, and crew, there were more than one that was missed! assout: But catching as many as we did I am not complaining! They cooked up very well and I did not hear any complaints from the eaters, so have at it! Good having you guys on the boat this weekend!

 

[ChrisCurtis]

That's interesting and good to know.

Does it matter if the fish is going ballistic in the bleed bucket or are you brain spiking or bonking the head before bleeding?

I figured the brain spike or knock on the head was to quiet the tuna from shaking violently before bleeding to keep the temperature under control. Is this correct or does it really matter?

I'm still learning the ropes, thanks for the help,

Gregg

We've taken Nalu's suggestion (and others) and exclusively net our fish, brain spike, bleed, slush chill, and pack in ice. They're not net shy, and by netting instead of gaffing the fish are surprisingly calm once in the boat and it keeps the boat (and crew) a lot cleaner too. On occasion one will freak out, but since there's no open wound it's much less messy. No need to bonk, just spike, bleed, chill, and ice.

 

[Half fast Toyn]

Some old timers look at me like im crazy when I tell them we gut and gill our tuna on the water. I guess some just throw them in the hole and mess with em when they come in...NO ICE even!! I ate some and it tasted the same as the stuff I bloodied the bottom of the boat with. Perhaps we/I are over prepping the fish?

 

[Nalu]

Some old timers look at me like im crazy when I tell them we gut and gill our tuna on the water. I guess some just throw them in the hole and mess with em when they come in...NO ICE even!! I ate some and it tasted the same as the stuff I bloodied the bottom of the boat with. Perhaps we/I are over prepping the fish?

Many charter boats do not ice their fish. I've seen the results, and they are not pretty.

As far as "over prepping", I don't think that's the case at all. Everything that is done to cool tuna as fast and as thoroughly as possible is a good thing.

My point is simply that in the time frame that I fish, gutting and gilling hasn't proven to provide better carked tuna FOR ME. The extra steps of gutting and gilling do nothing to hinder the chilling process and can only help it. If you wish to do that, then by all means do so. I used to gut and gill and I do not now. For ME, I cannot see an appreciable difference.

 

[tracker]

I would not mind using a net but the first try this year at bringing one on the boat went something like this- DJ hands net to me and it gets snagged on a cleat, once off the cleat it was snagged on the end of a rod, once off that the anntenna that was still down became the nets next victim, and after that the net went back in DJ's truck. Appearently it did no further harm there. I just hate nets! Did I mention that? But because of the pressure created here I gave it a try and almost did not survive!:grin:

 

[Chromaflage]

I've decided that I like to have the fish gilled and gutted at sea - with the gut cavity open, I tend to think that the fish cool faster in the slush - then stuff the cavity with ice. The trade-off is the mess. It's either mess on the boat, mess at the cleaning station or mess at home. :shrug:

 

[adrenaline]

I Gut, & Gill over the side...only takes a minute, it Helps with the cooling process, getting the warm Gut's/Gill's out while opening a cavity for Ice, but than I don't use a Slush/Cooling tank....straight into the Cooler for me. Like everything else, It's all personnel preference.

 

[fishboys]

I got to think of the gills and the guts as the "engine" of the fish. If you take that out and just coast from there its going to cool faster. If you keep up with your slush tank, fresh ice, fresh water, fresh salt i think it wouldnt matter as much. But in the heat of the battle sometimes it leaves a little to be desired. I say this with all due respect. I still think no matter what it is better to get the gills and guts out of each and every fish. But I will say in the spirit of ifish as long as they all get eaten I could care less how you care for your fish. :cheers:

I might of never yet caught a TUNA iF IT WERE NOT FOR THIS SITE. :cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:

I have met some people here that even if I never get out on big blue again, I will never forget. I think that says a lot.

 

[backlash442]

Nobody I know guts and gills the fish while out on the water. We just put the fish in a brine mix of rock salt, ice and sea water. Of course fish are bled. I don't see any reason to have a mess when it comes time to filleting the fish. It's not like you are cutting into the stomach cavity. Unless you are going to keep the belly's. So on second thought maybe not a bad idea.

 

[fishbait]

For those that do gill & gut

How many do so without cutting the gills, just grab, twist and rip?

 

[adrenaline]

For those that do gill & gut

How many do so without cutting the gills, just grab, twist and rip?

I do, I slice from the waste hole all the way thru so the bellie is open, than over the side, holding the Tuna by the Tail, grab, twist, & rip...it only takes a minute, can be done without gloves, better with gloves tho, not only for a better tail grip, but also so your gutting hand dosn't get tore up.