Blooding Fish

[Flano]

After some advice.

I have mostly caught bream, whiting and flatties as a very recreational person. I have never bled fish when caught. The question is around blooding fish.

I have read that trevally are better bled, but is that the same for most fish ? Is there a best time (or bad time) to blead fish ? What is the right way to blead them and storage after prior to taking home ? Is it OK to keep them alive until the end of the day then do it ?

Hopefully not too basic questions for the forum.

Ta - Flano

[framedtrash]

i bleed all my fish strait away them they go strait into ice

for better quality meat its best to dispatch them strait away and to cause them minimal stress

i no some ppl like to keep them alive till the end of the day i prefer just to put them out of there misery

make sure they go on ice tho dont just leave them sitting in a bucket nothing worse then killing a fish then letting it spoil sitting in the hot sun

[Moro Mou]

I find that ALL fish eat better if bled on capture. Better still bled on capture and iced down. If you do a search on fishraider i am sure you will find a number of ways to do this but the best for me and probably for the fish is with a sharp knife cut the piece of flesh at the bottom of the head near the gills and snap head back. Some fish you can do this without the knife.

Another metthod is the IKI JIMI or brain spike with kills the fish and then it cut be bled by cutting the throat as above. This method is popular with larger fish.

I beleive that it doesn't matter what species of fish you choose to eat the preparation between time of capture and the moment you cook it are the most critical to its eating quality. If you look after your catch, even fish that are regarded as having negligible eating qualities, prior to cooking the enjoyment on the plate will be so much greater.

Hope this helps.

Cheers Moro Mou

[Mik]

I know that tuna can be bled effectivly by piercing a knife into them behind the pectoral fin & up a little.

Here's the way commercial guys dispatch & bleed tuna.

Bleeding

I don't think most rec fishos would go this far. The one tuna I've been witness to catching was about 35kg & we spiked his brain & bled him at the prctoral area, he pumped blood well & then we chilled him. It was bloody beautiful.

Edited January 12, 2010 by Boofhead

[jewgaffer]

Hi Flano..Me and my friends usually give our take home fish a good hit on the head as soon as they hit the deck or brain spike them out of habit so as to shut off the panic glands which definately can exaggerate the not so good flavours in some species ie can cause more of a sea weed taste in fish shop fish that are described as deep sea bream and that taste can actually make you sick thinking the fish is not so fresh, not to mention the musky taste in jewfish that can be off putting with the increased after taste you get if jewfish are not bled. Salmon are another example of having more of that rich after taste and often needs a glass full of beer or a fizzy drink to hold it down before a healthy person who a strong stomach can even attempt to digest it.. By the same token there is nothing worse than sicking up a headless Salmon disguised as fish neapolitano or something into your mate's wife's handbag in a crowded restaurant.

We bleed fish head down into a bucket but only after taking the gills out.. We leave the guts in and the scales on and keep each fish out of direct contact with ice or slurry by having each fish in a separate, tightly folded garbage bag and keeping them in the ice box until we get home..

Cheers

jewgaffer

[framedtrash]

Hi Flano..Me and my friends usually give our take home fish a good hit on the head as soon as they hit the deck or brain spike them out of habit so as to shut off the panic glands which definately can exaggerate the not so good flavours in some species ie can cause more of a sea weed taste in fish shop fish that are described as deep sea bream and that taste can actually make you sick thinking the fish is not so fresh, not to mention the musky taste in jewfish that can be off putting with the increased after taste you get if jewfish are not bled. Salmon are another example of having more of that rich after taste and often needs a glass full of beer or a fizzy drink to hold it down before a healthy person who a strong stomach can even attempt to digest it.. By the same token there is nothing worse than sicking up a headless Salmon disguised as fish neapolitano or something into your mate's wife's handbag in a crowded restaurant.

We bleed fish head down into a bucket but only after taking the gills out.. We leave the guts in and the scales on and keep each fish out of direct contact with ice or slurry by having each fish in a separate, tightly folded garbage bag and keeping them in the ice box until we get home..

Cheers

jewgaffer

top info as usual mate

why do keep the fish away from the ice slurry ?

and why do u keep the guts in is it so you can use it as burley when u get home ?

Edited January 12, 2010 by Framedtrash

[Flano]

Thanks all. I now have another reason to go fishing this weekend - to try something new The only thing now is, I've got to catch a few.

Flano

[jewgaffer]

top info as usual mate

why do keep the fish away from the ice slurry ?

and why do u keep the guts in is it so you can use it as burley when u get home ?

Hi FramedTrash I usually prepare burley on the water these days and add pieces of left overs, bread cumbs and poultry pellets to mainly to attract attention of baitfish and use bottom burley to hold other fish after adding some of the ingredients of the baits I am fishing, but I do tghis only at certain times and I always try to avoid attracting bait fish to where we finally settle in to fish for jewfish...When there is a lot of baitfish holding in shallow water I believe that jewfish can't get to them on a particular day whereas by the same token when they go into the estuaries I believe that kingfish can tolerate the shallows much better than jewfish..

What you are suggesting is a helluva good idea really, particularly freezing the guts of baitfish and similiar bait type fish and having a ready made supply of the ingredients to hand..I wouldn't do that with jewfish guts though as other jewfish might think there's is a threat waiting for them where your baits are... You could add flathead guts to the burley as flathead are cannibals and flathead fillets are known make a top bait for flathead and if you are position to cut a fillet of one it would be an alternate bait well worth having on a jew rod I would say...

On the other question- you take the gills out because it can leave a bitterness in the flesh around and beyond the neck area is the nice softer meat around the throat going into the front and back of the head..You leave the guts in to keep the inside flesh sealed to prevent rigor mortis from setting in too quickly which does have an affect on the overall texture of the flesh...Doing these few small things is what makes freshly caught fish much better to eat than netted or trapped fish..

Cheers

jewgaffer

[framedtrash]

ahhh good thinking

yeh i like to leave the guts in as i find it easyier to cut fillets with the guts in

might give the flathead a go as bait next time maybe even put a little legal one down as live bait

was using live and dead tailor last weekend off flint but got no hits

thanks again for the tips

[gar]

Hi all,

As a rock fisherman I have limited resorces to process my fish. I carry a small, soft cooler bag of the two wine bottle style. This is chilled with a reusable ice block.

My fish are bled, scaled and gutted immediatly if I don't have a good pool to keeper net into. I wrap my fish in a well wrung out seawater dampened cotton bag and then into the cooler bag.

I avoid contacting the fish with fresh water, ice or plastic bags, thinking the fresh creates an osmotic effect which may break down the flavor and that the plastic bag just marinates the fish in it's wastes. I scale my fish because they will be filleted which I prefer to do at home on a stable surface in comfort. The fillets get a brief rinse under the tap and are then wrapped in a cotton tea towel to dry them.

I guess part of this approach is to show the fish some respect, sure I killed it but I want to treat it right. I don't want to kill something and then waste it by being careless.

Are there any improvements or better products you can suggest?

tight lines

Gar