bleeding fish

[sweept]

Do any of you bleed your fish? If so how do you do it and does it improve the quality and flavor of your catch?

[Wishin2BFishin]

Not sure about freshwater fish but I catch Bluefish here in Cape Cad Bay and they taste much better if I bleed them. All it takes is a small cut from under the fish to the gills to start them bleeding. Seems kind of a cruel thing to do but fishing is kind of a cruel thing anyway.

Best of luck...

[Maashkinoozhe]

Never heard of anyone bleeding a freshwater fish. I think tunas are bled during processing due to some rather large lateral veins they have (plus unlike other fish, they are "warm"-blooded).

Dave D.

[Quickstrike]

I do this when shorefishing for loopers, I have not noticed a difference in taste but it sure makes it a lot less messy while fileting. I have heard a fish will stay fresh longer after being bled out and it is a common practice on the north shore for shore fishermen.

[wplatehunter]

I don't do it but my father in-law does and he says it keeps the blood off the meat. No matter how you clean a fish you still should wash off the meat to clean it blood or no blood.

[FullTilt]

I try to always bleed walleyes and northerns before I head for the boat landing or camp site. A quick slice on their "throat" between the gills is all it takes. I let them bleed out in the live well with the fresh water switch on. This is mostly personal preference. I do think it makes the meat more white with less blood, but more importantly for me, I'd much rather fillet a dead fish than one that's flopping around or twitching. In my opinion it's more humane to bleed the fish before cleaning, just personal preference. However, with northerns and how fiesty they can be, it's more of a necessity to have them dead when cleaning than to influence the meat quality.

[BobT]

I've never tried it but being they are a cold-blooded animal the amount of blood they have is minimal at best. Until I try it, I have a hard time believing it makes much if any difference in the quality of the fillets. I would think the way the fish were handled from the time they are hooked until they are prepared for the meal would play a much more significant role. Such as:

1. How hard did it fight its way to the boat?

2. How long did the battle last?

3. How was it kept until filleting? I believe it's best to fillet as soon as possible after death.

4. Care taken while filleting. Proper cleaning of the fillets, keeping the fillets from contacting outer skin oils and slime, etc.

5. If the fillets will be frozen do so ASAP.

6. If frozen how is it kept? Vacuum packed, frozen in water, whatever.

5. How it is prepared.

All these can have an effect on quality and flavor.

Bob

[ChuckN]

I always bleed out walleyes, and the meat is white...no blood in the fillets. And, IMO it does taste better! Try it.

[sweept]

Thanks for the info. guys next time I get some walleyes I am going to give it a try.

[Luck e 1]

Can someone better describe how this is done? I am going to canada where we will probably/hopefully be cleaning a lot of eyes and I am all for less mess/better tasting fish. I guess it may even be worth it just to not deal with flopping fish.

Does it even work better than putting the fish on ice and letting them just die? Or is it better than putting them on a stringer and letting them die?

[Fishook]

I have never bled out a fish. I learned from In-Fisherman many years ago the best way to keep your catch until you can do the filleting. Simply 'club' your fish in the head 2 or 3 times and put them on ice. Carry an old cooler with a couple frozen gallon milk jugs of water just for fish in the boat. Any fish caught and put in a live well or on a stringer starts to die immediately. This is when enzymes start breaking down resulting in bad or fishy tasting fish. A good friend made all his fishing buddies an lead weighted club out of walnut and this is what I keep in the boat - crosses their eyes if you want to keep them.

[backlash 1]

A few years back on Minataki we had a guide who was a retired game warden. He told us you have to kill every fish you plan to keep on that lake. So what he would do is grab the fish and push up on the lower jaw and snap its neck, then put it in the cooler on ice. Worked out great and the fish bled out at the same time.

One heck of a guide also. The wife and I caught aprox 100 walleyes in 3 hours on crankbaits! (In one area)!

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I believe that fish taste better if kept alive right up until you clean them. That way they are as fresh as possible, with no chance to start the decomposition

process,which starts as soon as they are dead.

Cliff

[blakjack23]

I go with the "clubbing" method. It kills them immediately and I believe this is the more humane way to do it.

[ozzie]

In Canada when you decide to keep a fish you have to kill it immediatly. We use the snapping of the neck process kills them quick if you do it correctly.....Thumb on the top middle of the neck and fingers under the jaw and snap done...good to go. If I have kept fish alive in a livewell in Minnesota right before I clean them I do this and then I don't have to deal with a flopping fish.....

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Im a club and ice guy, too.

[MSchmillen]

I third the neck snapping, really helps.