May 8 CHSP

[Romo]

There was wayyyy too much pressure on those tog and blues around that area this weekend. And why arent there any flounder in the dbay???

[babiak]

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It was great to get out there Saturday. I had to rush in order to only dip out on half of the Mother's day weekend plans. I couldn't find my fish grips before I left so I brought a net and I was glad I did. I was able to land one good size blue. I lost a few spoons because I should have went with a stronger leader. I brined the fillets overnight and smoked them for 1 hour at 200 and another 90 min at 150. They came out great and you can tell in the pic I only remembered the camera after we ate about half.

I have to get a wheeleez this season. The c-tug is useless once you leave the parking lot.

[tufnik]

Nice fish, Romo. I plan to try again this weekend hoping the blues are still around.

babiak,
I've seen another guy do that too. He cut the bottom part of the head from the body. Any particular reason why? If to bleed it, can't you can just cut the gills?

[babiak]

I saw it done on youtube when looking up the best way to bleed blues. I cut the gills and pulled it behind the kayak while paddling back in. When I saw the blood was not flowing anymore, I went behind the gills and under the throat and cut. Apparently , this gets the fish equivalent of the jugular. It did cause another good blood cloud after the gills were done.

I made the rookie mistake of doing the first cut over the kayak and not over the water. My kayak looked like a horror movie.

[Shady]

I bled the two I kept the same way and ended up bleeding 2/3 my tautog and noticed the fillets of the two I bled were much lighter than the one I didn't. I may bleed more of the fish I keep now....

[kuljc]

I saw it done on youtube when looking up the best way to bleed blues. I cut the gills and pulled it behind the kayak while paddling back in. When I saw the blood was not flowing anymore, I went behind the gills and under the throat and cut. Apparently , this gets the fish equivalent of the jugular. It did cause another good blood cloud after the gills were done.

I made the rookie mistake of doing the first cut over the kayak and not over the water. My kayak looked like a horror movie.

when bleeding blues I found cutting under/between the gills better. Doesn't work for all fish though. I usually cut the gills, with the exception of blues.

[kuljc]

I bled the two I kept the same way and ended up bleeding 2/3 my tautog and noticed the fillets of the two I bled were much lighter than the one I didn't. I may bleed more of the fish I keep now....

You'll be amazed. Bleeding out fish makes them taste a lot better. I bleed out all the fish I eat, including the smaller fish like croaker, spot, and perch.

[Slobber Bob]

Sweet deal on the weakies, Romo! You have me thinking I need to get in gear and swing over to some of the rocks in OC Inlet to poke around. Come to think about it I have a lot of fishing I need to do.... whenever I get the time that is

To add to the bleeding fish responses.... Unless I'm bringing a fish home live, it's getting bled as soon as I catch it. Every species, not just blues. No more washing and rubbing the fillets to try and get blood stains out, the meat is light and clean, it tastes better, and it freezes better over the long run if you package it properly. Cut the throat at the thinnest part and into the gills for good measure. Then the fish goes on ice or on a stringer if the water is cool enough. I highly recommend it.

[tufnik]

I'm thinking of keeping the blue alive on a stringer for as long as possible, maybe 1-2 hours. When it's dead, cut and bleed it. I guess bleed it 10 minutes on the stringer? Then put it on ice. Or cut and bleed it right after landing, then put it on ice. Any difference in procedure?

[babiak]

I usually keep my fish on a stringer as long as possible before putting them on ice. Going in the in the cooler too soon makes my beer taste fishy.

[KenY]

Gotta bleed them while they are still alive so the heart and muscle movement pumps out the blood.