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[mustardman]

Hauled in a nice Spring today at Scale bar.  As I was carrying it back a guy asked me if I bled it yet.  No!  He said that the fish should be bled immediately after you catch it because the second the fish dies the meat starts to spoil if you don't bleed it.  I've never heard of this before.  He said I should rip open the part behind the mouth which is where the main artery to the gills are.  I did that but the fish was dead for a few minutes and never bled.  He said the meat tastes much much better if you bleed it right away.

Anyways, Is it ok to just wait till I clean it which is usually right away or should I bleed it immediately after killing it or maybe kill it that way by tearing the main artery?

[bentrod]

It'll be fine.  In the future you should bleed your fish, but don't worry about this one.  You'll just have more blood on hand when  you clean it.  As long as you kept the fish cool, the flavor should be good.  It is very important if you plan on salvaging roe.

[canso]

no bonking? just bleed to death?

[Fish Assassin]

Bonk it and bleed it and keep cool especially in this heat. Otherwise the stomach acid will start turning the flesh yellow.

[bbronswyk2000]

What others have said bleed that thing ASAP and keep it cool in the shade. Dont put it in a black garbage bag as it will cook it.

[hue-nut]

What others have said bleed that thing ASAP and keep it cool in the shade. Dont put it in a black garbage bag as it will cook it.

good point, I've never thought of that. I usually try to find a nice spot to keep my fish with a bit of current to flow over it.....after its bled and gutted and dead!!!! When my brother and I started, we would catch pinks, bonk them and then have them sitting out in the sun ungutted and unbled, we did not want to put them in the water cause we thought that they would come alive possibly.....grosses me out to even think about then eating them!!

[scuntor]

Most guys bonk it and then bleed it. Unless you cave in it's head it should just be stunned and the heart still pumping when you bleed it.

[Rodney]

http://www.fishingwithrod.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=18731.0

[one more cast]

Just a side note, don't put your fish in plastic garbage bags - they are treated with a chemical deodorizer. Do you want to eat that?   If I don't have a cooler I'll use a burlap sack thoroughly wetted down, as the water evaporates it will keep your fish cool.

Ditto on the burlap, soak it in the cool lake/river water and cover the fish or put it right in the sac...good for carrying out and good for in a small boat/pontoon.

You can get them after buying rice in the burlap.
When finished for the day and no fish...just fold it up and you're good to go.

[adriaticum]

Years ago I worked on a collector boat for the Fraser River gillnet fleet. Not one of our fish on board or any of the boats that flew the company flag ever bled a salmon. The fish were kept cool on ice from the netting boat than transferred onto our boat and tossed in the iced fish hold until we could make the trip to Steveston from Fort Langley area.

I wouldn`t be too concerned about bleeding as long as the fish is kept in a cool/cold dark area.

Cheers
Nuggy

You didn't bleed them because you processed many fish and simply don't have time.

[lude98r]

Like everybody else says the fish should be bled, I also like to clean the fish as soon as possible, it only takes a couple of min to do.

[DragonSpeed]

So you think you could identify a cooked fish which has been bled out and put on ice from a cooked fish that hasn`t been bled and put on ice? I doubt it very very much.

The "on ice" part is a very important part of that equation.  Hard to put it on ice on a gravel bar with no cooler.

[adriaticum]

So you think you could identify a cooked fish which has been bled out and put on ice from a cooked fish that hasn`t been bled and put on ice? I doubt it very very much.

http://www.calkingsalmon.org/pdf/procedures.pdf

The perfect scenario is to bleed the fish properly, clean it immediately and put it on the ice.
But who among us river fishermen, can ever do this.
Especially in the summer.

[steelhead]

Bonk and Bleed immediately ,,,heart beat still remains long enough to purge all damaging Blood. Ice is a must if available,,,,especially on the smaller fish ,,,pinks , coho etc. A fish left in a beach rock enclosure in dead water will heat to 100 deg. (35 c) Burlap is great if you can find some bags.
The best quality quick frozen fish that come out of the commercial plants from Alaska are NEVER cleaned on the grounds but bled only. They are always heavily iced or frozen in the ROUND and shipped south . Immediate dehydration begins when the belly cavity is opened to the air. If you will be consuming the fish with in hour plz clean it and keep cold. If a time will run before you pull it out of the freezer keep it in tact as long as you can . I have smoked or filleted fish up a year in the freezer and they have a few dry fins but the flesh is still prefact.

Sound gross but it really works.........trust me .    Try one of your sockeye this summer, one cleaned and put away the old way & the other left in the round............ decide then whats best..........

[drivel]

Awesome link Adriaticum!!

Nice clear instructions with logical explanations.