# filleting a shark



## paddleparra (Apr 23, 2008)

Due to P mullets recent success and my recent encounters with the old toothy critter, when and if I get one close to the yak, what is:
a) the best way to subdue it 
b) the best way to fillet it?
any advice or links would be appreciated.

pp


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## RangiRocks (Mar 19, 2009)

A. Tap it with an axe handle or something similar. Then spike between the eyes with a knife or spike.Maybe use a tail gaff cause they can fight back.
B.Because they only have a spine just take the two sides off from the top and cut as required

Do you really want to eat it or just catch it cause from a yak I'd photograph it and cut the line myself.


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## Ranger (May 31, 2008)

I've been a fisherman for a long time now, but I'm still new to the whole kayaking thing and I've only owned a kayak for a few months, so before I start I'll let you know that I haven't caught a shark from the kayak yet, but I intend to fix that this season!

From my experience with sharks, I'd suggest that you be bloody careful if targetting them from a kayak, and don't go giving it a go just because someone else can do it, or you may well come off second best. These lil suckers get pretty angry when they are dragged around by a sharp spike to the gob, and they aint afraid to show it!

You do not want to have an encounter with a green shark while you are that close to the water, so make sure you play them out FULLY before getting them to the side of the boat. You want the shark as tired as it can possibly be, and turning on it's side, or loosen the drag and let it run a bit more.

When you believe it is completely played out, use a priest to give it a bop on the head. You'll soon know if it's got any fight left in it, because it will react instantly. A tail rope is a great way to subdue them, but I'm sure it would be fun in a kayak trying to get the thing to the side of the kayak, hold ya rod in one hand, with the shark on the end of it, and then get a tail rope onto the shark with the other hand, all while you are only a few inches away from it in a sitting position!

Once you are sure that it is done in and tired out, give it a few decent cracks on the head to kill it, I even stab mine theough the brain before bringing them in as even holding them by the tail they can still whip around and bite.

I think one of the big problems sharking from a kayak is the fact that you need to ensure it's dead and then defin the thing to prevent the build up of lactic acid (ammonia) which will taint the flesh.

When you are in a kayak, maybe it's not real clever to be stabbing a shark in the head and then cutting it's fins off, knowing that aothers are bound to be in the area, and some maybe a little bigger than you were hoping to contend with!

I always defin my sharks immediately, and cut them both behind the skull and in front of the tail to bleed them. I keep the rest of the carcass whole to begin cleaning, skinning and filletting back on dry land.

Here's an excellent resource for cleaning and skinning sharks: 
http://www.fishingkites.co.nz/articles/articlefive.htm

Everyone will tell you that when it comes to seafood "fresh is best!". This does NOT apply to shark. With shark flesh it is always best to freeze it for 30 days first, and this will remove any residual ammonia taste in the flesh.

I love my shark, and I'll be out hitting them up again this summer, hoping the fill the freezer with boneless meaty fillets again! Check out this puppy from last summer, which tasted magnificent:
















This season I'll show ya one taken from the kayak, and hopefully I'll still have all my fingers, limbs, and my rugged good looks in the photo! ;-)


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## Ranger (May 31, 2008)

I don't wanna start an argument here, but sharks dont have ribs. One of the reasons why they can turn back and bite you when you are holding them by the tail is because their skeleton is made of cartilage and is much softer than bone.









http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark


> Shark skeletons are very different from those of bony fish and terrestrial vertebrates. Sharks and other cartilaginous fish (skates and rays) have skeletons made from cartilage and connective tissue. Cartilage is flexible and durable, yet has about half the density of bone. This reduces the skeleton's weight, saving energy.[7] *Sharks have no rib cage and therefore on land a shark's own weight can literally crush it.*[8]


I dont worry about the belly flaps at all, as there is little meat there anyways. I cut down behind the skull through the backbone, then turn my knife to face the rear and remove the entire gut cavity (flaps and all) in one hit along with the head, all the way back to the anal fin. This looks as if you are cutting away half the shark, and in fact you are, as the gut amounts to a huge portion of the shark, but there's little meat or anything else of use to us there (unless on very big sharks, way too large to target from a kayak).

Have a look at this link also to see the gut cavity removed: http://www.daybreakfishing.com/CleaningSharks.htm
















Different to how I do it (as I remove the head and gut together), but I'm sure just as effective. As you can see, with the head, tail and gut removed, the shark is greatly decreased in "useable" size, and is now quite easy to take a fillet from each side of the backbone, and then skin.

If sharking from a kayak, I think I'd be very wary of Mako's, which have a tendancy to jump into the boat, and if I hooked anything larger than I was sure I could handle, I'd just be cutting it free. I recon in a kayak little bronzies from around 3-5' should be ok, but unless you are really experienced, I wouldn't be game to tackle anything else when I'm only 3 inches from the water sitting in a plastic bathtub!

If you wanna keep the jaws, cut them away and scrape away as much flesh as you can with a sharp knife or razorblade. Do NOT boil the jaws to remove the flesh, because all the teeth will fall out. Instead, prop the jaws open with a stick or similar to the position you require, and leave them on an ants nest to let the bugs finish the job for you. Maybe inside a crate or cage to keep rover away! The ants will work quickly, and the jaw wont be a vivid white, but instead a yellowish colour, but I believe bleach will whiten it for you if required!


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## GregL (Jul 27, 2008)

In an answer to subduing the critter, from the yak, I would recommend a decent whack on the head to quieten it down, then get one of those foldout pruning saw's, and put a deep cut down across the back of its head and through the spine.. that'll fix it.
I'm also looking forward to some toothy exploits this summer - I used to fish a spot fairly close by from the boat, where you could pretty well guarantee catching 4-6ft hammers and bronzies all day long - with the occasional tangle with a much larger fish (70kg mako was one that stands out in my memory!). Wanted to get there last year in the yak, but it never happened.
Have to admit though that I'll be feeling a wee bit safer in the PA when they get boatside though!
Regards,
Smeg


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## theclick (Jun 25, 2007)

Why fillet when you can just eat it as in, kinda like what happened to this one


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## Ranger (May 31, 2008)

theclick said:


> Why fillet when you can just eat it as in, kinda like what happened to this one


Now that's just silly! Honestly, everyone can see that's just a quick and easy way to GUT the thing first!

Hey, I recon ME and my KAYAK is about the same size as that thing! :shock:


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## paddleparra (Apr 23, 2008)

Great thanks for the advice, so far I have collected one just under a meter but very unprofessional job with lots of slashing, stabbing and buggerising arround, I attempted to fillet it like a normal fish and the only real thing I can remember was that my knife went blunt very quickly, however saying that, salt and peper flake is a great meal lobbed next to a salad!

If I do encounter a beastie much bigger than a meter I reccon it will be free'd to swim for another day.

Cheers

Brian


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## Ranger (May 31, 2008)

paddleparra said:


> the only real thing I can remember was that my knife went blunt very quickly


Cutting through the skin will send ya knife blunt. Shark skin is pretty tough and leathery stuff, even though it's quite thin. A good knife will hold it's edge longer than a cheap knife, and a quick rub on the steel will always keep it deburred and up to the task.


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## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

And Brian, in case you need reminding, in Queensland the bag limit is one and it most be no longer than 1.5m. Some sharks are totally protected and may not be taken.

Kev


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## AJD (Jul 10, 2007)

Ranger said:


> paddleparra said:
> 
> 
> > the only real thing I can remember was that my knife went blunt very quickly
> ...


To help with the filleting and subduing try the following -

Tail gaff or rope.
Use your priest
Slide sharp knife into the vent and all the way to the gills.
Drop the guts out at and fin, bleed etc straight away. (this ensures they're dead and cleaned/bled quick)

When back at the ramp then fillet from the inside out - ie cutting up from the gut cavity and moving from front to back. Often you can get all the meat off without having to cut the skin again (apart from the vent back to the tail). This helps keep your knife sharo as you don;t have to cut through their skin which is like sandpaper.

Hope this helps.
Al


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## paddleparra (Apr 23, 2008)

Appreciated Kev et al,

I was not fully aware of limits and sizes and especially species recognition so will brush up immediately

Brian


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## yankatthebay (Dec 14, 2007)

Louis and I caught them last year at SWR. They put up a hell of a fight and the best advice I can give from experience is to work it back to shore, leave some line out so it is swimming when you land your yak on the beach - then bring to to shore. Once on shore they subdue very easily and a knife across the back of the head ends it quickly and without a lot of fuss.

But when you are cutting them up, dont forget to have a knife sharpener with you. I needed 3 knives to finish cutting mine up, then they all needed a good sharpen afterwards. Next time I will use one knife and sharpen it several times while filleting.

Very good meat though, well worth the effort. Mine was a Black-tipped reef shark.


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## Feral (Oct 18, 2008)

Usually use that kiwi method above, but go slightly higher and make sure I miss the gut cavity etc.

Although with the new size limit I might have to review that!

Generally I turn it over and skin it after cutting off the head and gut cavity.

Also to bleed a shark (which I definitely recommend) ring bark its tail after capture.

Eat bullies straight away, never had a problem with smell etc. (Been told its linked to the skin, but lots of old wives tales around)


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## outbreakmonkey (Aug 31, 2009)

Catch and release then going to the fish'n'chips shop sounds a whole lot easier.


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## scleburne (Aug 10, 2008)

You know I am pretty fool hardy as a beginner but after catching a 60 cm couta and finding that difficult to manage I think even for the smallest sharks I would be towing that thing back to land.


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## widsa (Nov 26, 2008)

outbreakmonkey said:


> Catch and release then going to the fish'n'chips shop sounds a whole lot easier.


Obviously have not eaten fresh Gummy!! ;-)


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## outbreakmonkey (Aug 31, 2009)

widsa said:


> outbreakmonkey said:
> 
> 
> > Catch and release then going to the fish'n'chips shop sounds a whole lot easier.
> ...


Have and do regularly but we just go to the fish market for it. Even a smallish shark would give you so much flake you'd end up having to freeze it which kind of defeats the point.


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## widsa (Nov 26, 2008)

No, freezing shark flesh is actually better beleive it or not.
Helps to get rid of the amonia apparently.

I still havent been able to buy Gummy in the shops that tastes as good as the stuff I have caught myself.
Maybe its the way I treat my catch, fast kill, bleed and slaughter.
Or maybe its just in my head!!... 

I just think that I would treat my catch better then something you can buy over the counter.

Each to his own...


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## Ranger (May 31, 2008)

Ranger said:


> I always defin my sharks immediately, and cut them both behind the skull and in front of the tail to bleed them. I keep the rest of the carcass whole to begin cleaning, skinning and filletting back on dry land.
> 
> Everyone will tell you that when it comes to seafood "fresh is best!". This does NOT apply to shark. With shark flesh it is always best to freeze it for 30 days first, and this will remove any residual ammonia taste in the flesh.





outbreakmonkey said:


> Even a smallish shark would give you so much flake you'd end up having to freeze it which kind of defeats the point.


Actually by the time you cut off the fins, the head, the tail, the gut cavity, then remove the backbone and skin the fillets, you'd be surprised at how little is actually left, but it will still definately pay you to freeze it first, just as that which is served at the fish N chip shop will have been frozen first. This is shark, not fish!

I would suggest that a 4' shark (kayak size) would only be enough to feed about 6-8 people. Maybe a couple of kilos of flesh tops.

It's not really any more work than fishing though, as one little shark is all you need, but if it's a whole lot easier to go to the fish N chip shop, you can enjoy that too.

Next door to my local fish N chip shop is a video store where I can hire a canoing DVD too, coz that's also a whole lot easier than gettin the kayak out for the day! ;-)


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

eric said:


> 3. Tow it backwards if possible behind the yak, lashed by the tail. This will weaken and maybe even drown it.


please don't do this, cruel in the extreme


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## topgunpete (Jul 19, 2009)

Ranger said:


> A tail rope is a great way to subdue them, but I'm sure it would be fun in a kayak trying to get the thing to the side of the kayak, hold ya rod in one hand, with the shark on the end of it, and then get a tail rope onto the shark with the other hand, all while you are only a few inches away from it in a sitting position!)


I have no idea of how to kill, clean or catch sharks, but if you do try the above, please please please video tape it. As long as you don't get bitten, it would be the funniest thing ever watching someone trying to tail rope a shark from a yak.


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## Ranger (May 31, 2008)

Stick a rope on me ya b#@#ards!


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## paddleparra (Apr 23, 2008)

And just who the hell authorised the taking picture of my mother in law in the pool?   ;-)


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