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Here's one to think about.
We were always taught to cut the throat on our Deer and Elk kills so they would bleed out, most of the ocean charter boats are now bleeding out all their fish.
My question is does anyone "bleed out" their freshwater
fish and if so why or why not? If you do can you tell a difference in the taste.
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I would venture to say- "bleeding out" fish has been done for a long long time- immediately after the fish is caught.
More so with fish of size and blood volume but none the less this is by no means something new.
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I met an old lady on the Salmon River years ago that would immediately rip the gills out of every fish she caught to "bleed" them out. She said it made a big difference in the taste.
I've just never seen anyone bleed out a catfish or bass.
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we routinely bleed out our salmon and steelhead to improve the eating quality and also to clear out any blood from the eggs which we process for use as bait later. bloody eggs are pretty much useless.
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I started bleeding out my steelhead last year and I think it did make a difference in how they tasted, they were a little better and tasted a little fresher. I also think they saved better in the fridge and freezer (not that they stayed in there for long anyway). I dont think it makes a ton of difference, but it only takes a second to kill them then cut right below their gills where their body kindof comes to a point between their gills, there's a major blood vessel there. Worth the extra few seconds in my opinion. Watched a guy (who'd had more than a few beers) cut his finger wide open with a fillet knife trying to bleed out a fish last year, I'll bet that hurt.
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Bleeding fish will in fact improve the flesh quality of fish. It will help eliminate blood spots and bruising and make for a more mild tasting fish. It some species it also slows the movement of parasites from the guts to the meat. Removing the gills will allow the fish to stay fresher longer. The majority of the harmful bacteria the starts to decay fish is in the gills. If you properly remove the gills and get a good bleed you can keep a fish on ice for a long time with no negative effects. This is fish preservation 101 stuff but it's not practiced as much as it should be.
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The Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife tells us that with pink salmon, bleeding the fish by slashing both sets of gills immediately after catching the fish moves it from "poor quality" to "excellent quality". Chefs in the Seattle area claim they can tell if a fish has been bled by simply tasting the product. I'm not sure about the other species, but I can attest that the difference in the pinks is, indeed, significant. So, why don't I bleed kokanee? Hmmm. I guess because it is a big, messy hassle. By the way, the Wash. biologists also say that putting your fish on ice is equally important. I notice people all the time with fish on a stringer in warmish reservoir water. Yuk. I always bring a cooler with plenty of ice.
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Fish on the stringer has caused more people to think trout taste bad than bad cooks. The digestive enzymes will start to digest the first soon as it dies. Ice will slow this process big time. If you don't ice you get "belly burn" or even "jelly belly". Good crushed ice with a handful of salt in a cooler with hold fish for days.
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Other than panfish or small kokanee I bleed all my fish and I do think that they taste better but another good reason is that there is no bloody mess when you fillet them. Nice clean fillets.[fishin]
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I too rip or cut out the gills of my keepers. Ice as soon as possible.
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[quote IAintLying]I met an old lady on the Salmon River years ago that would immediately rip the gills out of every fish she caught to "bleed" them out. She said it made a big difference in the taste.
I've just never seen anyone bleed out a catfish or bass.[/quote]
Bleeding out catfish makes night and day difference in the quality of the meat. Letting them swim around in clean water does as well. I used to let them swim around in my stock tank (which was fed by an artesian well) for 3 or 4 days before konking and cleaning them. Huge difference.
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I keep a bucket of fresh water on my boat. As soon as I catch a Kokanee I rip out one set of gill rakers and allow the fish to bleed out in the water for 4 minutes. The fish is then cleaned or at least patted dry and put in a bag and then into ice as quickly as possible. This process makes a huge difference in taste and meat texture quality.
Nothing worse than a fish that has died on a stringer in the water as it's body releases acid from the struggle throughout the meat as well as being spoiled by the blood. [:p]
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