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[bigsnag]

On Sunday I hooked into 3 springs, one I decided to keep as it was your typical chrome silver early spring. Got it to the beach and bled it as I usually do by breaking a couple of gill rakers so the heart pumps out the blood. After about 30 minutes when the bite died off I cleaned  it and was really surprised when I opened it up inside the body cavity it was full of blood. I appears that the fish struggled so hard during the fight it had hemorraged during the fight which was no more than 10 minutes.

 Never have I ever experienced this in all the other fish that I've kept and as I didn't bonk the fish a body blow was ruled out.
Got me thinking that if I had released it, this spring would have swam away and died at the bottom of the river.  Makes one wonder how often a Caught and Released fish would have suffered the same internal bleeding unknow to us and died out of sight.
Anyone else had this experience?

[BigFisher]

You probably accidently torn an internal organ, while you ripped the gills out. Over that 10 minute span the heart was able to pump the existing blood into the body cavity out that tair. I guess theres different possiblities, good question.

[Terry D]

Whilst I fully appreciate the question may need to be asked but I'm always cautious of posting articles like this.  It does not promote anglers in a good light and it only adds to the ammunition for the anti-angling people out there such as PETA etc.  Same as when we have to clear up all the 'angler's' litter left on the banks.  Sometimes we can be our own worst enemies without knowing it.

[bigsnag]

Definitely rule out the torn organ theory as I  only broke 2 gill rakers. Secondly I am very anal in the way I like to clean fish. My fishing buddies swear I should have been a surgeon.

Terry D, I agree we fishers are our own worst enemy evidenced by what we do,what we don't do and what we should be doing. Our opposers ie: animal rights groups and Protection societies are well organized and networked by people with as much passion for their cause as we are with our passion for sport fishing. They have great information gathering systems and no doubt monitor discussion forums like this one. However the question has been raised and its too late to withdraw it. The answer to the may be out there some where in the angling community as it may be an isolated incident due to specific things that happened during the course of playing this fish or what happened after the fish was on the beach. If someone out there knows what caused this fish to bleed internally I/we need to know this to minimize and prevent it from happening.

[Nucks]

Somebody has to ask this question............why didn't you bonk the fish or any of your fish for that matter? If you bonk the fish and then rip the gills, the fish dies right away and barely evens moves after that. If you just rip the gills, the fish rithes around for a while and prolonges the death. Is this really ethical?

If it were you, would you want to die quick or a slow death?

[milo]

Somebody has to ask this question............why didn't you bonk the fish or any of your fish for that matter? If you bonk the fish and then rip the gills, the fish dies right away and barely evens moves after that. If you just rip the gills, the fish rithes around for a while and prolonges the death. Is this really ethical?

If it were you, would you want to die quick or a slow death?

Agreed. The fish should be bonked and then bled. Even the regulations say that you should dispatch your catch quickly and humanely. A blow in the head qualifies as humane. Ripping the gills doesn't.

[bigsnag]

Back to the original question.... anyone ever come across internal bleeding in their fish?

[adriaticum]

Is this really ethical?

If it were you, would you want to die quick or a slow death?

This is a really ridiculous comparison!

[adriaticum]

Back to the original question.... anyone ever come across internal bleeding in their fish?

No, never seen this.
I suspect if you were "breaking" the gills instead of slicing them with a knife some blood may have gotten into the body cavity as BigFisher suggests.
It's hard to say without examining the liver or spleen of the fish for ruptures etc...

[dereke]

Is this really ethical?

If it were you, would you want to die quick or a slow death?

This is a really ridiculous comparison!

Not sure why this is a ridiculous comparison, ripping the gill rakers while the fish is alive in my opinion is quite unethical. If you bonk them first then bleed them it does the same job. Bleeding out while you are still alive would be awful.

[Nucks]

Is this really ethical?

If it were you, would you want to die quick or a slow death?

This is a really ridiculous comparison!

No it's not at all actually...................exactly what Dereke said.

[Jonny 5]

Yeah, I am sure that fish die shortly after the fight sometimes.. Not sure if its from blood loss or what.  On sunday I saw a nice jack chinook snagged on a little river near my old home... one of two springs in that pool.  One monday, I could see one live one and one dead one in the pool.  Too bad, as that river has VERY few chinook in it.  But on the plus side, I saw a bunch of cutties in there too and I am sure that none of the dead fish will go to waste.

[Stratocaster]

I would dispatch it first with the rock shampoo and then slit the gills.  You don't want the fish thrashing around and bruising up the meat which would offset any benefits from bleeding the fish in the first place.  Even when the fish is knocked out, the heart is still pumping blood for a while after. 

[Swanny]

Not sure why this is a ridiculous comparison, ripping the gill rakers while the fish is alive in my opinion is quite unethical. If you bonk them first then bleed them it does the same job. Bleeding out while you are still alive would be awful.

Is this really ethical?

If it were you, would you want to die quick or a slow death?

Seriously, this is a fish that you are hunting. Humans are not hunted. When a spider or bug is stepped on, do people think it is Unethical. The reason anyone kills the fish in the first place is for the meat. You want the meat to be good. If you think that killing the fish is unethical, then release the fish.

[Nucks]

Not sure why this is a ridiculous comparison, ripping the gill rakers while the fish is alive in my opinion is quite unethical. If you bonk them first then bleed them it does the same job. Bleeding out while you are still alive would be awful.

Is this really ethical?

If it were you, would you want to die quick or a slow death?

Seriously, this is a fish that you are hunting. Humans are not hunted. When a spider or bug is stepped on, do people think it is Unethical. The reason anyone kills the fish in the first place is for the meat. You want the meat to be good. If you think that killing the fish is unethical, then release the fish.

Just another example of how things have turned for the worse on this river.................poor fishing methods (bottom bouncing), lack of respect (sliding into someones fishing spots if they move down river to play a fish), vandalism (witnessed by the broken glass on the ground at most fishing holes), and unethical practices (as discussed).

I don't think killing fish is unethical at all, please read my quote again. It's the way the fish was killed is the unethical part.

As stated by many...........bonk it on the head with one swift blow, cut/rip the gills, clean it, keep fishing, enjoy for dinner with some friends, and look forward to your next trip.