I have been doing catch and release with my kids and haven't had any problems so far. I crimp down the barbs on my hooks to make sure we can get the hook out quickly and get the fish back in the water as soon as possible.
However, the other day I ran into my first snag. I caught a good sized perch, but I came to find out that he had swallowed my hook really deep. I got out my pliers but I just couldn't get far enough down to unhook him and I panicked a bit. I know I should have just cut the line and let him go with the hook still in there, but I guess I just felt bad for doing that and thought if I tried a bit harder I might be able to get it out. I did this all in my bucket of water and when I finally got the damn hook out, he went belly up in the bucket barely breathing. I brought him back to the water to try to revive him, but nothing was bringing the poor guy back. I killed him
I thought, you know what, people fish all the time and end up killing and eating their catch, so that's what we're gonna do. I told the kids we killed him, we're gonna have to eat him. No waste. My husband is from Newfoundland so he took care of filleting him, I fried him up, and he was delicious.
Now, my question is, if I have a hankering for perch again, how do I go about killing my fish quickly and easily? I have seen people on the pier with a bucket full of fish that they are taking home to eat, but they are all belly up, so I'm thinking these fish probably died of stress from being crowded in a small bucket. Surely there is an easier and quicker end for them?
Regardless of how often i accept that we have to do this, i still cringe a little when describing or thinking about it.
Two ways that i've seen people do this are the following:
- there's a fish bat you can buy, or make to hit the fish on the head which will pretty much end sufferring instantly. You're not smashing it like a baseball.. they're delicate creatures and just require enough force to knock them out. You're not taking heads off with it.
- I also saw a suggestion one time that if you had a thin, sharp knife, you can slide this into the center of the head and it'll instantly kill the fish as well.
I haven't tried either of those to be honest with you so i'll watch this thread to see how others handle these situations.
Not the nicest way but I just let it sit out of water and "suffocate"....
Fish bat is probably the easiest and quickest method.
If I don't have a fish bat, I just hold the fish over my head, and with force throw/slam the fish down on the ground HARD to knock them out. Sometimes it works on the first go, sometimes it takes a couple more tries.
When I'm icefishing, I just leave the fish on the ice. On cold days, they will be frozen within 30 seconds...although perch could be fairly resilient sometimes...and I'll just leave it at that...
Instant kills:
Gig (spike) them (sharp point inserted in top skull, between and just behind the eyes - destroys brain)
Sharp blow to the head area described above - by a bat or piece of pipe, etc.
Break their neck - fold head backwards towards tail till neck snaps. This requires some strength.
Very Quick kill:
Clip or slice a gill raker near attachment point to neck - fish will bleed out VERY quickly.
The bleed out method can actually improve the taste of many fish - particularly the oiler ones.
More here:
http://ontarioshorefishing.com/forum/Thr...ht=killing
Cheers,
OldTimer
I've used the bat in the past...probably the quickest, but a little sickening to hear/feel fish skulls caving in...
i have read about people cutting the gills and letting the fish bleed out....not sure how quick, etc it is....i have also read about (and seen) people filleting live fish!! pretty disgusting if you ask me.
(09-18-2013 03:31 PM)ST_ShoreFisher Wrote: [ -> ]..i have also read about (and seen) people filleting live fish!! pretty disgusting if you ask me.
No kidding. And not very cool at all. All creatures deserve more respect than that. If you've got a knife in your hand just gig them first.
OT
Whack them in the head, if you don't have a bat, a rock can also work along with many other things.
Clip the gills.
Stab them in the head, make sure that you get it in deep enough to get the brain.
Man I feel messed up providing killing methods, but hey, they're much better than suffocation.
The best way to preserve your meat if you intend to eat your catches.
Is to cut the head off.
As mentioned above pulling back on the head to break the neck is a great way to do this without a knife, I can do this on rainbows upto 5 pounds.
For preserving the meat for its bet taste you will want to stop the flow of blood to the heart as fast as possible.
when a fish becomes stressed it releases acids into it's body through the blood.
which can create the meat to have an off taste.
Whenever keeping Meat I always try to stop the heart and bleed the fish as soon as possible.
I keep fish on occasion, mostly when I go to the kawarthas. When I'm on a boat I keep the fish alive in a metal fish cage and then transfer them into a mesh fish cage tied to my dock. When the day is done, I'll collect the fish at the dock and bleed them out before I take them up to clean. A sharp filet knife to the gills and moving them back and forth in the water will accomplish that. Sometimes the blood clots and sticks so I'll just remove it.
Some people cut the heads off, but for most asian cuisine the elders love to eat it. They don't want to waste anything. At the cottage I usually cook the fish right after I clean it so it's as fresh as possible.
When shore fishing or on a day trip, I always keep a cooler bag that is the perfect size for a couple 5lb bass. I would only keep a couple anyways lol. Large freezer bags can be used to put the fish in after it's bled out. Then pick up a bag of ice at the nearest gas station on your way home to keep the fish super fresh for up to 3 or 4 hours.
Preparing your own food (animal/fish) shouldn't be disgusting, it's a beautiful experience that everyone should know. As long as you do it responsibly.