To Bleed or Not to Bleed

[adanac]

IMO if you want to go with the no-rinse method, which I do btw, you need to be extra careful when filleting to keep your knife clean and slime off the meat. I do a thorough de-slime and dry prior to filleting. wipe the knife anytime it comes in contact with skin, scales, or blood. use paper towel to blot any blood on the meat. careful not to let the fillet flip over meat side down onto the cutting surface or touch any skin. if the meat is cut from the bones with a clean knife and never touches anything, there's no reason you should need to wash it.

took the words right out of my mouth, extra few mins it takes on a fish is worth it imo

 

[wolf]

YES if you take that care but I see many that dont give a crap, ALWAYS love the guy who have a fish in a baby bath skin is like leather from baking in the sun they try and filet it ......the meat is separating from the bone and mush.
ON My boat i have a huge cooler hanging out the back of my boat on a external bracket. I toss fish in cooler CUT its gills it then turn on the pump thats plumbed into the cooler with salt water , turn off and I repeat about every 20 mins flushing alot , as im a foodie and retired chef and I want the best possible product, in a perfect world you can do the above methods but realistically cant be done when Im sending clients home with a bag full of filets... at least this way fish is cleaned and fileted professionally and COLD...

 

[gone fishin]

Have a small boat so when I catch a nice Spring in the summer and plan to fish a few more hours in the hot sun, I bleed the fish and cover it with the first piece of floating kelp I can find. Fish bucket is stored out of the sun, but the kelp helps both while fishing and on the way home. Take ice when I fish more than an hour or so from home.

 

[Breakin"even]

ALWAYS love the guy who have a fish in a baby bath skin is like leather from baking in the sun they try and filet it

I've allways use a cooler and ice, But at the dock, I'm the only one. Baby baths and now 5 gal. pales
are the new rage it seems.

 

[wolf]

Have a small boat so when I catch a nice Spring in the summer and plan to fish a few more hours in the hot sun

I have seen many tie a rope thru it and drag it along side of boat while still fishing (just remember to bring it in when you go LOL)
our water is always around 44 to 48

 

[gone fishin]

I have seen many tie a rope thru it and drag it along side of boat while still fishing (just remember to bring it in when you go LOL)
our water is always around 44 to 48

lol
Did that once and a Sea Lion grabbed my catch! Almost sanked the boat.

 

[dance a jig]

when used to fish from a smaller boat where there was not a fish hold or room for a fish cooler, I carried a burlap bag which we would soak with water and cover the catch, and periodically resoak. Worked great.

Always bleed your catch. I just cut the gills a few times and orient catch with head down in fishbox, but some pressure bleed like

which i suspect does a much better job.

As to slime and fresh water rinse, a fish processor taught me before filleting, to drop gutted catch in ice chest of fresh water with a bunch of rock salt to remove slime, and that works for me well if i have more than one fish.

good luck. DAJ