So you caught dinner.,what now? Coffin? Cooler? Live well?

[BullGator]

Lets just say you are out for the day fishing for kings, browns, steelies, etc. and plan to eat your catch when you get home or even freeze for later. At the launch I have seen guys pull their catch out of live wells, iced coolers and plain ole' coffin boxes like my boat has.

Once landed, some guys whack them with the bat first, others throw 'em in the box live.

What is your preference?

[goin deep]

Boat em and bleed em! I bleed all my fish unless it's tournament time. I cut their gills and drag them behind the boat for approx. 10 minutes then they go on ice.

Brian

[TyeeTanic]

I used a live well last year and all the fish were dead within 20 minutes. I think unless you have a massive live well with crazy aeration, then they are basically useless.

This year I am going to just kill them and put them in a cooler box on ice, if I'm planning to keep them.

[Tim Bromund]

bonk em and put em on ice in a cooler.

Tim

[traveling man]

i put ice and water in my live well and throw them in alive. i am going to try gilling them this year.

[skipper19]

I used to throw them in the box. But I think that bleeding them would help in the messy cleanup of the ice box and the fillet table, not to mention releive the lactic acid and taste fresher for consumption.

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[jayjay]

I always bleed all fish ,except perch,too many of them..Meat definitely taste better.Also do this to trout and salmon ,the eggs cure better and are not as stinky

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[jimski2]

Eviscerate and take the gills out. Ice them on a bed of ice so the gurry does not taint the flesh.

Ideally the best is to freeze them in a tank of chilled seawater, dip them in a bath of fresh water and freeze them immediately. The ice formed from the water bath keeps the freezer burn away. Live wells are useless unless they are temperature controlled.

The commercial tugs on Lake Erie bed their perch on ice layered on every six inches in coolers that are pallet sized, covered and sealed. The processor cleans the perch and walleyes as soon as they hit the dock.

[BullGator]

Wow guys thanks! I had never heard anything about bleeding out the fish before, certainly glad I posted the question.

I did some research online, and also found some youtube videos on the subject as well.

Even if I can't or don't want to eat all of the fish caught, I give them away. I was surprised to learn last year that the survival rate of boated fish was very low, so I feel compelled to make sure they are not wasted.

Thanks again!

[jason]

i cut there throats and there gills, drag them in the water for 5 mins to bleed them out....i found they taste better bled out.

[salmonrama]

If the fishing is fast and furious then I bonk them. If the fishing is more evenly paced then they get bled.

[muskybob]

Definitely bleed them out before going in the cooler. You'll be amazed how much better they taste. Also remove the lateral line when cleaning them. MMMMMMMM, ya can't beat fresh fish!!!