# Bleeding a fish and which fish should you bleed



## KarlD (Apr 20, 2010)

Sorry if this is in the wrong area, feel free to move mods.

I was wondering what the best way is to bleed a fish, I've been catching a few bonitos and I'm not sure i've been doing the right thing. Likewise which fish are best bled, I had heard tailor also needed bleeding but are there any other which benefit from a bit of a cut.

Any advice welcome.

Thanks

Karl


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## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

My personal observation of the difference in flesh colour and taste between bled and not bled fish leads me to believe they all benefit from prompt bleeding.

I've been fishing with people catching the same fish in the same place and I bleed mine while they just throw their's in the esky. When the time comes to fillet the bleed fish produce whiter flesh, if that means anything. My mrs can even tell by looking at the fillets whether the fish have been bled or not.

As for what way is the best, I'm not really sure and have never been shown. I just figure that their gills are the equivalent of our lungs so cutting them in the gill area to produce bleeding does the trick. I'm sure there is a "proper" way but don't know what it is.


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

Karl, if you must bleed fish, assuming you're in a kayak, bleed it into a container, and when you're finished fishing that area, or finished for the day preferably, toss the blood over the side, then head off quickly.

If you bleed fish over the side continually throughout the day, you're berleying up the nasties... they're right into fish blood... not for this little black duck, thank-you!

Some fishing clubs have reverted to not bleeding fish, but slap them straight into an eski with plenty of ice and salt-water... and ice-slurry if you like... the salt water reduces the temperature of the ice to veerry cold! These clubs work on the idea that the less you damage the fish, the less bacteria can damage the flesh, and the better it is to eat.

Cheers, Jimbo


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## theGT58 (Nov 1, 2011)

I think the old consensus was that pelagic type fish should all be bled. Other fish, guess it's up to you and some these days like to bleed all fish. I don't bother with non pelagics but will brain spike or chuck in a live tank any other fish straight away. I've rarely bled fish before myself as I rarely catch pelagics so I'm not expert but have bled tailor, salmon and tuna before. With tuna I find a pectoral cut easiest (just behind both fins). With the others I tend to cut the arteries in the gills. Whatever you do get a bit of guidance from someone on how to do it right so the fish dies quickly. Im with Beekeeper, I wouldn't even attempt to bleed any fish whilst out at sea unless I was 100% sure I could catch and retain the vast majority of the blood.


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## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

I bleed everything I intend to keep for the table. Put simply if I am going to kill a fish for a meal then I make every possible effort to ensure that it is in the best possible condition for that meal. This means bleeding upon capture and icing down in a sea water ice slurry as soon as possible after. Obivously with limited space on the yak ice and eskies aren't really practicle so these are kept in the car ready for my return. Whilst I like to brain spike fish I won't do it in the yak for fear of slippage and my brain spike becoming a leg spike or worse as I have had the spike slip off the head of some fish at times when they wriggle at the wrong moment.

With smaller fish I use a thumb up under the gills and rip them down and breaking the jugular in the process, bigger stronger built fish will require a knife cut from the underside of the gills down toward the back bone, I also then bend back their heads and break their neck to quickly put them out of any pain in the absence of a brain spike.

I have no issues in regards to bleeding fish in my yak, I have the front cover on my profish and keep my catch in the front well so I just neck them and put them up the front under the cover to bleed out through the scupper holes. I understand that some believe this may entice inspection from unwanted men in grey suits but I find that a hooked and struggling fish tends to get them more wound up than a bit of blood in the water, so if you're concerned then don't fish near me. This is just my observation from my trips to Fraser where I have encountered sharks on the yak whilst fishing offshore, I've never really sighted them regularly enough in other areas to be able to comment although I know they are there. Each to their own though and this is your own personal decision to make.

Kev


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## billpatt (Apr 12, 2010)

I also bleed all my fish, I don't carry an ice slurry so it is the most humaine thing to do I think. I never use an anchor, so I just bleed them over the side and put in a damp sack in the hull.
Never had any shark problems to date, seen plenty but most of the time we are bigger than them so they leave us alone.

To bleed I just cut the throat all the way to the gill rackers. You will get a few spurts of blood and that is that.


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## bundyboy (Sep 6, 2009)

I bleed all my fish as well. I was cutting their throat with a knife but have found cutting it with a pair of stainless snips (similar to pruning snips for gardening) is alot easier and much safer. Once I cut their throat I just leave them near the mirage drive well to bleed out for a while before giving them a rinse off and into my YakCatch bag they go. Someone gave me the snips and I am yet to find anywhere that sells them but they are awesome. Just watch out for the blood spirting out once you snip them. Not sure how this method is in terms of killing the fish as humanely as possible, maybe throwing them into an ice salt water slurry and putting them to sleep would be better but this isn't really an option with a YakCatch bag or similar only. I will have a hard esky on board sometime soon though so I may experiment with this.

I've never had any problems with bleeing them out into the water and attracting unwanted attention but then again I'm mostly up the creeks where this is probably lower risk than out offshore.


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## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

Bundyboy, I haven't seen the snips you're talking about but they're probably available as chef's kit from King of Knives or a kitchenware shop. Do they look like secateurs?


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## bundyboy (Sep 6, 2009)

PM sent Barrabundy


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## SamT (Feb 27, 2011)

bundyboy said:


> I bleed all my fish as well. I was cutting their throat with a knife but have found cutting it with a pair of stainless snips (similar to pruning snips for gardening) is alot easier.


I've been in the habit lately of using my shimano cutters to cut the hard bit of the throat, then sliding a knife in to do the rest. This can be done while the fish is still in the net. Having to push hard with a knife on a wriggling fish between my legs makes me think that eventually, more than fish blood will end up getting spilled.


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## IsoBar (Nov 24, 2011)

Hi,
I'm so new here, that I don't even have a yak yet, but I'm happy to read from your experience (specially shark related).
As a marine biologist, I can advise you to bleed big fish, by a cut at the ventral side, very close to the tail, all the way to their back bone. Fish have a big vein running there (caudal vein) and that's where we bleed them to take blood sample.









Thanks for the interesting discussion, 
Iso


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## amulloway (Jul 8, 2008)

Im sure some of you have noticed that the heart of a fish continues to beat for a fair while even after removal from the body.
With this in mind I think the most humane option is to dong them on the head or brain spike them prior to bleeding, then cut the throat and/or slice just up from the tail as described earlier. 
Also as described previously you can break the neck on smaller fish.
I have found that the heart will spurt blood out even after the fish has been knocked off in this manner.


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## SamT (Feb 27, 2011)

IsoBar said:


> As a marine biologist, I can advise you to bleed big fish, by a cut at the ventral side, very close to the tail, all the way to their back bone.


That sounds like a great tip for mackerels - head (especially teeth) in the hatch & a safe slice at the tail.

Now i just need the wind to drop off so I can try it out.


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