Fish care

[Smalma]

As a self admitted fish snob (at least when it comes to fish for my table) taking care of my catch is a very high priority.

With the up coming humpy season and in view of how I have seen some catches treated recently I thought a reminder of how best to take of our catches may be helpful to insure that the rewards of our efforts can be at their best!!

Of all the "meats" that are commonly consumed fish are among the most fragile that we detail and the quality of the final product (our dinner) directly relates to how we deal with our catches as soon as it hits the net. Both the fish's flesh and its fats begin to breaking down immediately upon its death and a fish that had the potential of providing a great meal can become virtually inedible in a very short period of time yet I constantly see folks handling fish in way that virtually insures that their catch has no chance of providing the feast that it could or should have. It is far too common to fish treated in a way that no one would treat a fine steak; would anyone treat their steaks by towing them around in the water for hours, storing them in a plastic bag (often black) or leaving exposed on the deck for hours (often in the warm sun), keeping them in fish boxes without ice, sloshing around in warm bacteria laden water, etc.? Such treatment quickly leads to a degraded product and doubly so for uncleaned fish.

My catches are immediately bled. This can be done by handing the fish over the side of the boat on a rope, in bucket of clean water, or in a live well. Bleeding can easily be accomplished by cutting or tearing one of more gill arches though it is equally effective cutting the arteries at the base of the tail or throat's isthmus; I usually opt for severing one or more gill arches. The fish will freely bleed in done immediately even if it has been "bonked" by a priest.

As soon as the bleeding is over I clean (greatly aided by using a sharp knife of adequate size) the fish the making sure to remove all gills and kidney (the "bloodline along the spine") and associated tissue. Cleaning of the fish is especially important in fish that still actively feeding, In those fish the stomach's acids will continue with the digestion process long after the death the fish and if left unchecked leads quickly to belly burn. This is especially common if fish such as humpies and blackmouth

Immediately after cleaning the fish goes into an ice chest with lots of ice. For the more fragile fish (for example humpies) I like to have some crushed ice to pack in the bellies.

My fish (in this case Chinook) at recent large BBQ (50 people) drew rave reviews from everyone and once again drove home point that if one starts with a quality fish that is well taken care of the PNW angler easily can provide a first rate meal to family and friends.

Tight lines
Curt

[Nelly]

Great post and a great point Curt!

August is often (hopefully) the warmest month of the year and as such presents a huge fish cooling challenge to small boat and bank anglers.

Ice and lots of it should be standard equipment for anyone who wishes to enjoy a quality salmon dinner and yes, humpies are quality fish!

[Salmonhawk]

Great reminder Curt. I am very particular with the fish I am going to eat as well. Without proper care after catch and treatment after cleaning, any fish can have that "fishy" taste that is less than desirable.