In light of the recent thread where Davie "El Degollador" performed his art on a cobia I wanted to get more information on bleeding fish and whether this is actually a valid practice for us as spearfishers. My thought was that when we shoot a fish most of the time it bleeds out anyways, especially if gutted in the water, so maybe bleeding out is something more important for H&L fishermen. I also wanted to find out what is the best method for it.
Here's a little info I found so far.
QuoteDisplay MoreEssential Steps After Catching Fish
1. Kill the fish quickly or keep them alive in a mesh basket under water.
Kill, bleed, and gut a fish as quickly as possible after landing. A single, heavy blow to the head stuns or kills the fish, making the fish easier to handle. It also prevents the bruised flesh that occurs when fish flop around after being landed. Slitting the throat or cutting the gills also kills the fish quickly.
Freshwater fish like crappie or bass are best if cleaned and iced immediately after you kill them. If you want to keep your fish alive, use a stringer or mesh basket that holds them under water in the lake or river where you are fishing. Avoid placing the fish in a bucket of water. Fish quickly use up the limited oxygen in a bucket of water and die.
2. Bleed the fish immediately after killing.
"Bleeding" the fish means you cut the fish, preferably at the throat or through the gills and sometimes through the artery at the tail. Work quickly since the fish's heart continues to pump for a few minutes, even though the cuts kill the fish. The heart's pumping action forces blood out of the fish through the cuts and prevents accumulated blood from discoloring the flesh and causing undesirable changes in flavor and texture.
Here's a good method for bleeding a large fish.
1. Stun the fish, string a rope or line through its mouth and gills, and dangle the fish over the side of the boat. (Don't submerge the fish in water yet.)
2. Cut the throat or gills and let the fish bleed into the water.
3. Submerge the fish under the water.
4. Bring the fish into the boat before you move to a new location.
3. Clean and gut the fish promptly and thoroughly.
"Gutting" the fish involves cleaning out its body cavity and removing blood, bacteria, and other material in the digestive tract. You should also cut out the gills. Removing the fish's internal organs and gills slows down spoilage and may also prevent parasites from moving into the fish's flesh. If you can't gut the fish immediately, at least bleed it and chill it until you gut it later.
If you bleed or gut the fish inside a boat, use a plastic garbage bag to catch the fish'sinternal organs and blood. Discard the waste appropriately (for instance back at the dock or boat launch site). Discarding fish organs into the water may be illegal.
4. Chill the fish with plenty of ice.
Cooling fish is critical. Spoilage begins as soon as the fish dies. All fish, gutted or not, spoil rapidly if they aren't chilled right away. Ice is the best choice for chilling fish. Cold sea or lake water is the next best choice, followed by covering the fish with a wet cloth. Note the temperature of the water in which you're fishing. During the summer, surface temperatures of normally cold ocean waters can reach 65°F or higher. Keeping fish in water that warm isn't a good idea. If you plan to be out all day in a boat, bring ice.
Never let fish lie in the sun. Keep them shaded and wet if ice is unavailable. Cover fish with a wet, porous cloth like burlap or an old sheet. Cooling occurs as water evaporates from the cloth.
Do not put fish in a plastic bag unless you have ice. A plastic bag traps heat and accelerates fish spoilage.
Cold temperatures slow spoilage. Fish adapted to cold waters deteriorate rapidly at refrigerator temperatures (above 42°F). Chilling and storing fish in crushed ice (about 32°F) enable the fish to keep at peak quality longer. "Blue ice" types of products are less effective at lowering storage temperatures to 32°F.
Use lots of ice to chill fish quickly. One pound of ice for each 2 pounds of fish is a good rule of thumb. Use more if you have a long trip home. Use crushed rather than cubed ice. This prevents sharp ice cube edges from cutting delicate fish and allowing spoilage bacteria to build up in the cuts. However, any ice is better than no ice.
Place fish in small plastic bags with less than 5 pounds of fish per bag. Then place the bags in a cooler and surround them with ice. Surround large, dressed fish with ice in a single bag, and put ice in the belly cavity. Drain the meltwater as necessary. Blood and bacteria drain from the fish into the melted ice, so avoid letting the fish lie in the meltwater.
Consider the following table, which shows the relationship between storage time and quality of freshly fish fillets:
Holding Temperature High Quality Shelf Life
42°F 3 1/2 days
32°F 8 1/2 days
Note that fish kept in crushed ice at 32°F will last much longer than fish kept at 42°F, which is the most common refrigerator temperature. Ice is the key to fresh tasting fish.