Post Catch Action

[joel_95]

Hey guys,

Just a newbie back to the forum to ask for everyones expertise. Forgive me if it might sound like a pleb question 😅, just tryna figure out my way around things. Was wondering what was the best plan of action after catching a legal sized fish for keeps.

I've been trying to do as much research as i can on the web but theres just so many different methods so I thought I'd ask everyone here what they would do!

So say I caught a fish by one of the piers along port hacking, I want to keep it, but I still want to continue catching fish for a couple more hours and have to drive home after. 

Do you recommend:

a) introduce the fish into an ice slurry / ice in esky straight away 

b) just pop the fish into an empty esky and hope it lasts till i get home to fillet it

c) blunt force / stab brain to kill and store

d) option c + bleed it out right there and then (if so, where do you normally bleed it into along a riverbed/pier)

e) options c & d followed by filleting on the spot

 

Would a fish hold up for a couple of hours without removing its innards till i get home to fillet it?

 

Soz that was abit of word vomit but my brain has literally been going everywhere to figure this out! Hoping to get some great advice from all of you legends who have been doing this a long time. 

 

[dirvin21]

Take an esky or a cooler, I just use a couple of icebricks to keep it cool

Kill the fish humanely either by bleeding or brainspike

 

[JAKSShark]

Hello joel, depending on what it is that you catch some species like tailor salmon trevally kingie bonito etc you need to bleed and let blood leave the fish for a few minutes then chuck on ice until the end of the day/night then fillet and de gut then back on ice and take home...thats just what i do....or flattys bream etc that dont need bleeding just chuck straight on ice or into bucket of water then fillet and de gut scale etc when i get home or after the fishings over.

And yes the fish would hold up in if its on ice or just in a bucket of sea water especially in winter...

I would normally bleed a fish by cutting in behind its gills into the brain then hold its tail and jiggle it around in the water for a minute or two then into a bucket of water or on ice then degut scale fillet later

When i catch a fish i like to quickly do what i gotta do with it then keep fishing and fillet scale degut etc at the end of the trip at the wharf or at home

What dirvin said is true as well

Hope that helps

Edited July 14, 2020 by JAKSShark

[Berleyguts]

1. Iki jime - spike into the brain Google it); then

2. Bleed; then

3. Into a saltwater ice slurry (for saltwater fish).

I don’t usually bleed snapper, flathead etc. but always bleed luderick, tailor, salmon, bonito, tuna etc.

Thats just my preference. 🤷‍♂️

[big Neil]

Definitely NOT option e. If inspectors want to check size / bag limits the fish must be intact although it can be gutted. Don't remove the head or fillet it...for obvious reasons. Cheers, bn

[joel_95]

Cheers for the prompt replies everyone! Much appreciated:)

 

2 hours ago, JAKSShark said:

Hello joel, depending on what it is that you catch some species like tailor salmon trevally kingie bonito etc you need to bleed and let blood leave the fish for a few minutes then chuck on ice until the end of the day/night then fillet and de gut then back on ice and take home...thats just what i do....or flattys bream etc that dont need bleeding just chuck straight on ice or into bucket of water then fillet and de gut scale etc when i get home or after the fishings over.

And yes the fish would hold up in if its on ice or just in a bucket of sea water especially in winter...

I would normally bleed a fish by cutting in behind its gills into the brain then hold its tail and jiggle it around in the water for a minute or two then into a bucket of water or on ice then degut scale fillet later

When i catch a fish i like to quickly do what i gotta do with it then keep fishing and fillet scale degut etc at the end of the trip at the wharf or at home

What dirvin said is true as well

Hope that helps

also special shoutout to you JAKSShark. You've been an absolute angel always taking time to type out these long detailed posts for all of my questions in the forum thus far. Absolute legend. Drinks on me if we ever cross paths by the water

Edited July 14, 2020 by joel_95

[JAKSShark]

Mate no worries happy to help out😁thats just how we are as raiders👍plus i like helping people get into something im passionatte about because i had people instructing me on things i wondered about as well so i know how much i gained from it🤙

Also any questions regarding locations etc pm me and i can give you info on locations or some other spots etc

[wazatherfisherman]

Hi Joel 95 just buy a keeper net and leave your fish in it in the water until you are going to leave. If you catch more/other fish you can release the ones you don't want and they will have had time to recover from capture.

To ensure they can move freely in the keeper net, stretch it out around something like a bucket turned sideways for a couple of days before you go so there's a bigger cavity in it for them to move around in.

They used to be available in a "light-bulb" shape from better tackle shops, but I haven't seen those for a fair while.

[kingie chaser]

Im an advicate for instant kil rather than keeping alive, the idea is to stop the build up of lactic acid in the fish by reducing stress.

 

Agree with Baz, on his process & which species to bleed.

Ike jime fish & get into an ice slurry.

 

To further, I was only listeneing to the fishing show early Sunday morning on 2SM & dont know who it was but it made sence, stating any warmish blooded fish(pelagics) should Ike' jimed, bled, gilled, gutted & put into ice slurry to obtain the optimum fish/eating quality.

If you watch any of the professionals & Tuna fishing shows you will see then scouping ic into the cavity, if you leave the gut in they say the fish will essentually cook from the inside, bit of an over exagerration but get it chilled asap. 

I have been told to do this with gummy shark as well which having read further fit into the same sort of catigory(sharks in general).

 

Only stipulation is not to alter the fishes length in any way while out-

Nsw dpi-

Retained fish: All retained fish should be dispatched swiftly and humanely.
Note: You must not alter the length of a fish with a legal size limit by filleting or removing the head or tail until well away from
the water or at a fish cleaning facility. You may only gill, gut and scale fish. Undersize fish cannot be used as bait, they must be
returned to the water immediately, even if they are injured or dead.

 

So follow this precess when out on a boat & dont see why it should be an different shore based!

Edited July 15, 2020 by kingie chaser

[noelm]

Around Sydney during winter, some ice in an esky will be fine (do not just put fish in a bucket of water, summer or winter) during summer, a few bags of ice in a decent esky will keep most "eating fish" fresh, some species it's worth bleeding, but, I personally don't, NEVER fillet anything on board or where the rules restrict such practice, an ice slurry made with salt water works well to cool fish extra quick, but, be careful with Squid and so on, it makes a huge mess, with ink mixed in with the slurry.

[James Clain]

Japanese Ikejime. Brain Spike then bleeding. And if you are super nuts you can thread a piece of wire or line down the spinal cord from the brain spike to stop if from seizing up. Then straight into ice slurry or anything cold like and esky. Tackle shops sell long cooler bags that are great for larger fish when on the move.

[joel_95]

Cheers raiders! This is definitely more replies than I could ask for!

Thanks for setting me up to this point:)

[anthman]

Spike, bleed, into esky which has iceblocks. Easier to manage, clean and carry.

[kingie chaser]

2 hours ago, anthman said:

into esky which has iceblocks. Easier to manage, clean and carry.

Sure, but they dont chill anywhere near as efficienty & quickly as ice!

[Triple G]

After Spike, bleeding, ice, cleaning etc, If you can best to rinse fish fillets with seawater!

Not easy and always possible, but if land based and depending where you are much easier as you can access the shore or water.

Quality and taste will speak for itself!

I have started to keep my clean bait tank water and drain it into a bucket once home for final rinse of fillets. 

Worth the extra effort.

[Rey05]

ikijime, bleed it, and out it in ice slurry.

 

I would avoid rinsing any fillets in any water, but if you must, then do it in salt water.

 

usually a wipe is sufficient. 

[anthman]

On 7/15/2020 at 6:41 PM, kingie chaser said:

Sure, but they dont chill anywhere near as efficienty & quickly as ice!

You're right  depends on how many fish you plan to catch as well - my method doesn't do well when the fish are stacked, a problem I dont often have 😪

[dirvin21]

On 7/15/2020 at 10:37 AM, kingie chaser said:

 

 

To further, I was only listeneing to the fishing show early Sunday morning on 2SM & dont know who it was but it made sence, stating any warmish blooded fish(pelagics) should Ike' jimed, bled, gilled, gutted & put into ice slurry to obtain the optimum fish/eating quality.

If you watch any of the professionals & Tuna fishing shows you will see then scouping ic into the cavity, if you leave the gut in they say the fish will essentually cook from the inside, bit of an over exagerration but get it chilled asap. 

 

Fish from that family scrombridae which includes most of our pelagic fish like tunas and mackeral can cause scrombroid poisoning if they're not chilled after they're dispatched leaving the guts in can apparently also speed up the process, there is no detectable way to know the flesh is spoiled... it can occur in any fish but is much more likely in tyat particular family

It's amazing what you can learn working in healthcare from unlucky people 

[kingie chaser]

1 hour ago, dirvin21 said:

Fish from that family scrombroidae which includes most of our pelagic fish like tunas and mackeral can cause scrombroid poisoning if they're not chilled after they're dispatched leaving the guts in can apparently also speed up the process, there is no detectable way to know the flesh is spoiled... it can occur in any fish but is much more likely in tyat particular family

It's amazing what you can learn working in healthcare from unlucky people 

Totalty agree, as fisho's we all need to know how to best look after our catch.

 

The problem about food safety is mostly from the commercial side imo.

Not just seafood but in every form of protien from any provider.

 

Even as a chef I am super cautious when sellecting anything I eat & really its about getting to know a providore or fish monger if you have to go outside of your own catch.

 

In this case we are just talking about looking after our own catch but in real world thats probably realisiticaly only 10% of our protien consumption.  

I could talk about general food safety all day but really in this post its pretty simple, look after your catch, carry ice, bring the fish temp down as quick as possible, dont leave it at ambient temperature any longer than necessary.  

 

The underlying message is to look after anything that's going in your gut 👍

Edited July 17, 2020 by kingie chaser

[James Clain]

53 minutes ago, dirvin21 said:

Fish from that family scrombridae which includes most of our pelagic fish like tunas and mackeral can cause scrombroid poisoning if they're not chilled after they're dispatched leaving the guts in can apparently also speed up the process, there is no detectable way to know the flesh is spoiled... it can occur in any fish but is much more likely in tyat particular family

It's amazing what you can learn working in healthcare from unlucky people 

There is also the ciguatera to watch out for, that sounds scary  

[kingie chaser]

18 minutes ago, James Clain said:

There is also the ciguatera to watch out for, that sounds scary  

Sure is, but it's not caused by how you treat the fish more about where the fish come from & what they are eating, usually reef species.

https://www.iamat.org/country/australia/risk/ciguatera-fish-poisoning

[dirvin21]

54 minutes ago, James Clain said:

There is also the ciguatera to watch out for, that sounds scary  

Seen that one first hand with a work mate who had a dinner party with a 30kg spanish caught off Scotts Head, made famous by the Hamish and Andy show

[James Clain]

11 minutes ago, dirvin21 said:

Seen that one first hand with a work mate who had a dinner party with a 30kg spanish caught off Scotts Head, made famous by the Hamish and Andy show

coincidence but it was the news article about that, that educated me about the problem

[James Clain]

43 minutes ago, kingie chaser said:

Sure is, but it's not caused by how you treat the fish more about where the fish come from & what they are eating, usually reef species.

https://www.iamat.org/country/australia/risk/ciguatera-fish-poisoning

I am aware that it is caused by bioaccumulation of toxins from coral dinoflagellates, sorry I should have made that more specific in my original quote it's more the fact that you cannot test for it at home similarly to scrombroid poison. Although I think the Fijians used to test reef fish for ciguatera by placing a small piece of meat next to an ants nest. If the ants eat it, the meat is safe.

[GoingFishing]

15 hours ago, James Clain said:

I am aware that it is caused by bioaccumulation of toxins from coral dinoflagellates, sorry I should have made that more specific in my original quote it's more the fact that you cannot test for it at home similarly to scrombroid poison. Although I think the Fijians used to test reef fish for ciguatera by placing a small piece of meat next to an ants nest. If the ants eat it, the meat is safe.

When common sense and logic trumps technology 👌