Transporting Live Fish

  • Brian Klawitter
    Keymaster
    Minnesota/Wisconsin Mississippi River
    Posts: 59992
    June 21, 2013 at 5:04 pm #1179242

    They would bleed out better while still alive and kicking. I have heard of people doing at home though.

    sgt._rock
    Rochester, MN
    Posts: 2517
    June 21, 2013 at 5:12 pm #1179243

    I just clip the gills with the cutter pliers laying in the boat as I’m coming in to the ramp with the livewell running to have flow. Nice white fillets.

    BBKK
    IA
    Posts: 4033
    June 21, 2013 at 6:28 pm #1179279

    Bleeding fish makes cleaning a lot easier, not sure on taste though as I really havent tasted any difference.

    If I am bank fishing I put them in a basket or on a stringer to keep them alive and then when it is time to leave I put them in a bucket of water and rip the gills with pliers. By the time I get home I have a bucket of red water.
    If I am in the boat I do the same since it is usually a 15 minute trip from the ramp back home. If it was any longer I would bleed on the way to the ramp and then put them on ice.
    If I am up in MN where I clean the fish in a cleaning station right at the ramp I pop the gills when I am dome fishing and let them bleed out on the ride back to the ramp.

    jerrj01
    Hudson, WI
    Posts: 1547
    June 21, 2013 at 6:45 pm #1179286

    All the methods mentioned work well. But when you bleed them out before cleaning you will notice that the fillets are blood free and very white in color. Removes blood even from bruises the fish may get from bumping in livewell or on the bottom of the lake. I think it also helps remove some of the fishy taste from the “mudline” on the older fish.

    moxie
    Sioux City,IA
    Posts: 874
    June 23, 2013 at 12:12 am #1179528

    I was wondering, can I bleed it by cutting the tail off while on the stringer in the water?

    Huntindave
    Shell Rock Iowa
    Posts: 3088
    June 23, 2013 at 2:29 am #1179553

    Quote:

    I was wondering, can I bleed it by cutting the tail off while on the stringer in the water?

    Not if there is a length limit on it. Otherwise, yes it will bleed out thru the severed spine.

    BBKK
    IA
    Posts: 4033
    June 23, 2013 at 2:34 am #1179556

    Quote:

    I was wondering, can I bleed it by cutting the tail off while on the stringer in the water?

    Sure, but I wouldnt do it for very long. Water is pretty warm right now, about 75º here. Your fish would go bad quick being dead in 75º water.

    I read in In-Fishermen mag once that once a fish dies, if it is not put on ice it starts to build bacteria (rot) in less than 5 minutes. Of course it would take a long time to get to the point where it spoils your fish, but you get the point.

    Maybe a half hour or so would be all I would trust a dead fish in 75º water or air. So I wouldnt suggest bleeding them until you are starting to pack up your gear to leave. Only takes a few minutes for them to bleed out.

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