[markoneil]

I am new to fishing and most of what i have caught has been small rainbows. I have been salmon and steelhead fishing a few times now and have noticed people will break something in the fish's gill to bleed the fish. there are many posts explaining the importance of bleeding a fish but none that go into detail on the best way to do it. Some people say to slash the gill and others say to cut the throat. Would love some advice or even some pics showing the best place or method to cut or break to bleed it effectively.

Mark

 

[Guest]

I pull the gills out of the fish on both sides then hold the fish upside down (By the tail) and let all the blood leak out of the fish

 

[Family_man]

There is a fairly big artery that runs into the gills if you slice around the front of the collar under the gill plates and take out all of the gills that artery usually get severed and the fish will pump the blood out for aslong as the heart is pumping...then if you want you can hang it upside down.....make sure all of the peices of gill are gone.
Good Luck

 

[Rib]

I have often seen people removing the gills and such, but have never done it myself...I find if I want to take one home, I reach my finger in underneath the fish's head where the abdomen of the fish and the head meet. If you do it right you can reach your finger in under the gills poke it through the membrane there, and tear the major artery open. The fish will bleed out nicely dead or alive, but it is better to bleed it while it's heart is still pumping. Then I just hold the fish up and let gravity do the rest.
Seems to work well, and I find is quicker and less messy than cutting out all the gills and such...no knife required.
rib

 

[ea187]

what is the purpose of bleeding a fish?

 

[Bent Rod]

I put my fingers under the chin in a hook like fashion and put my other hand against where the head becomes the back of the fish. I then pull up with the hook hand and press down with the other hand. This is done to break the neck of the fish so to speak. The fish is then held head down and pumps it's blood out super quickly. On top off removing the blood the fish will cease to move 100% of the time, no flopping, just painless immediate death.

Bleeding is done to maximize flavor and also assures the finest roe quality should this matter to you.
This is why commercially obtained roe is garbage, it is tainted with blood and has begun to breakdown , even if it looks good. Often it is previously frozen as well, good for Sturgeon though.

 

[young gun]

I just rip the gills out and let the current of the water wash the blood away,(i attach a rope to my belt and to the fish so i dont lose it! ;D

 

[sage2106lb]

I remove the gills pronto.When a fish is dead, the first area to spoil is the gills.

 

[scruffy]

i just insert the knife by the gills and give it a little slice to cut the large artery to allow it to bleed .

 

[Mike D.]

I put my fingers under the chin in a hook like fashion and put my other hand against where the head becomes the back of the fish. I then pull up with the hook hand and press down with the other hand. This is done to break the neck of the fish so to speak. The fish is then held head down and pumps it's blood out super quickly. On top off removing the blood the fish will cease to move 100% of the time, no flopping, just painless immediate death.

Bleeding is done to maximize flavor and also assures the finest roe quality should this matter to you.
This is why commercially obtained roe is garbage, it is tainted with blood and has begun to breakdown , even if it looks good. Often it is previously frozen as well, good for Sturgeon though.

Amen brother, perfectly stated!

Mike <"))))))><

 

[Guest]

I put my fingers under the chin in a hook like fashion and put my other hand against where the head becomes the back of the fish. I then pull up with the hook hand and press down with the other hand. This is done to break the neck of the fish so to speak. The fish is then held head down and pumps it's blood out super quickly. On top off removing the blood the fish will cease to move 100% of the time, no flopping, just painless immediate death.

Bleeding is done to maximize flavor and also assures the finest roe quality should this matter to you.
This is why commercially obtained roe is garbage, it is tainted with blood and has begun to breakdown , even if it looks good. Often it is previously frozen as well, good for Sturgeon though.

I actually picked up some roe from bruces market and it was some of the best roe i have seen, and i use alot of roe and i know when there is some crappy roe and good roe, this stuff was premium roe, as good as the roe from fresh chrome chum off the squmaish river, but bleeding a fish to obtain clean roe is VERY important

 

[markoneil]

Wow there are alot of suggestions here.

There are a lot of suggestions here, i was wondering if anyone might be able to post a few pics with some detail as i have never done it before.

Thanks

Mark

 

[Bent Rod]

I put my fingers under the chin in a hook like fashion and put my other hand against where the head becomes the back of the fish. I then pull up with the hook hand and press down with the other hand. This is done to break the neck of the fish so to speak. The fish is then held head down and pumps it's blood out super quickly. On top off removing the blood the fish will cease to move 100% of the time, no flopping, just painless immediate death.

Bleeding is done to maximize flavor and also assures the finest roe quality should this matter to you.
This is why commercially obtained roe is garbage, it is tainted with blood and has begun to breakdown , even if it looks good. Often it is previously frozen as well, good for Sturgeon though.

I actually picked up some roe from bruces market and it was some of the best roe i have seen, and i use alot of roe and i know when there is some crappy roe and good roe, this stuff was premium roe, as good as the roe from fresh chrome chum off the squmaish river, but bleeding a fish to obtain clean roe is VERY important

I buy large quantities of roe from various sources including Bruces, they receive their roe from fish caught in the Fraser Test fishery. Typically they receive the fish one day and they are on ice,the fish are cleaned the following day and the roe is bagged then.
Although this roe SEEMS great, it is subject to picking up some undesirable smells from it's time sitting in the fishes body.
Will it catch fish ,yup, is it top quality roe, nope.
For SUPER roe you need to remove roe immediately from fish and wash off any blood and cure as quickly as possible, like the very minute you get home. This is how you acheive a egg that is a cut above others.
Other commercially caught roe is left in a vat, un chilled and begins it's breakdown immediately, or sometimes it is left in the fish for a good period until the fish is processed, this stuff is not very good at all.
Again it will catch fish, but believe me when I say, super fresh roe makes SUPER deadly roe. 8)
My 2 cents on this matter.

Sorry for the hi-jack , but this does relate to bleeding fish.

 

[Guest]

I cure up some sweet roe, and have been for along time. when i got my 2 fish and cleaned them and removed the roe right away and and made sure it was clean ASAP !!!! But the drive being a while away from my house I had the roe sitting in crushed ice keepint cold then into jars and the cureing process started. Bruces Roe is good and i havemade some really Nice stuff by cureing it , with different methods but not as good as the chum roe from the squamish

Your Roe looks good but Mine is just as good as yours

The main thing i look for in roe is , has to have no smell, and no blood on it , just clean fresh eggs or i wont use it

 

[sage2106lb]

Sorry for the hi-jack but there is no roe better then steelhead roe for steelhead fishing.

 

[Guest]

Sorry for the hi-jack but there is no roe better then steelhead roe for steelhead fishing.

I dont think were talking about steelhead roe and steelheading , were talking about roe in general, but yes If you can get it steelhead roe is nice

 

[Rib]

Keep it up guys...this is good stuff! I don't cure a lot of roe personally, but i have done some over the years...can anyone suggest good methods to store roe bags for long periods of time?
Thx,
rib

 

[Bent Rod]

Once singles are obtained, immediately place in a womens nylon and leave in the river with a bit of current running over them, this will water harden them , 1 hour is good.
Or you can do this at home with cold tap water but not nearly as effective.
Next I color a good portion using various colors of bait dye, the new BAD AZZ dyes are exceptional, my old stand bye was ROE GLOW, but Roger stopped selling it.
Now simply either tie bags or store as just singles in the fridge, add to them PURE ANISE, which aside from being a scent attractant , is also a preservative and will leave you with juicy little eggs that have all the goods.
A friend and poster from this site turned me on to using sea salt to store them in, it also helps preserve the eggs and the last well stored in water that has been saturated with the sea salt, again try adding PURE ANISE to this solution.

Another great option is to take your favorite cured egg chunks and tie roe bags with them, this was my favorite approach , as you get great smell and milking along with the longevity that having it in a bag gives you.

But hey, it's steelie season, I don't need frickin eggs to catch steelhead , but if your desperate ;D.

 

[markoneil]

Wow lots of good information here. Should i catch a fish with roe in it what are some steps i can take right then and there to ensure i will be able to produce some usable roe.

Mark

 

[Guest]

just bleed the fish and remove the eggs ASAP