[anthony]

Why is it that you get a clean red spring or coho you bleed it out and they change skin colour.

Anyone have a answer as to why they do this ? other fish in the vedder system dont chage colours once cleaned

I noticed today after i cleaned my red spring, that while it was sitting the skin would change from chrome to grey back to chrome back to grey a few times.

Thanks.

 

[flyguy]

I do not know but humans turn a greyish color as well when dead :-X

 

[Krypto-Limitkiller-Sanderson]

Usually a sign you should have held out for a cleaner fish if you wanted a truely chrome fish.

 

[anthony]

Usually a sign you should have held out for a cleaner fish if you wanted a truely chrome fish.

Yes, but i have seen a truly chrome dime bright coho and it changed to pretty ugly for some reason, I know red springs always change colours once they get bonked, but when bonked in the fraser they usually stay that colour which is kind of weird, fraser water is allot more dirty then the vedder water.

I have got chrome white springs in the past and they stayed chrome in the vedder when they bleed out.

maybe its just a red spring thing

 

[salmon slayer]

Hey FF let us know how that red tastes if you BBQ it. I have seen other fish (pinks from the fraser) darken up after being bled out. I'm curious if this has any noticeable effect on the quality of the meat or if it just means I should take my pics prior to cleaning the fish :cheers:

slayer

 

[anthony]

usually it doesnt affect the meat, what i check for is how firm the body is on the fish, sometimes they feel really soft and mushy, that fish was really firm, the meat was a nice bright red , allready had some for lunch and it was really good !!!!

Maybe its the enzymes the fish builds up once it reach's the fresh water, Im no scientist/Biologist so its just a guess

what affects the meat is not properly bleading the fish.

I also cut out the bellies of the fish and freeze them for halibut bait !!! they go nuts for that !!!

 

[Krypto-Limitkiller-Sanderson]

I've bonked a few springs from the Vedder this year. Most were "clean" but not chrome and I expected them to darken a bit when bonked and bled. Only one was a truly chrome chinook and if it had changed colours I would have been very surprised.

Fraser chinook are usually earlier into their spawning run than a fish caught in one of its tributaries and therefore have usually spent less time out of the salt which means that they are less likely to change colours when hit on the head.

Just because a fish is not bright chrome and changes colour a bit when killed does not mean it will be bad table fare but the later in the run that a fish is killed, the more selective a person must be to ensure that the table fare of the fish remains acceptable, no matter what the outward appearance of the fish may be.

 

[anthony]

I rememeber a few years back, I was bar fishing with Chris Gadsden and a bunch of guys across from island 22 i got a small red spring it wasnt chrome but it was close, I bonked it and when it was time to leave and i grabbed my fish it was really chrome. weird how it went from almost chrome to really chrome.

 

[nayhkilas]

I noticed another weirdness, you bonk bright spring on the river, its color turns ugly after sometime. Then you take it home and after one hour of driving spring in a bag, you open bag at home and spring is bright again ....

 

[Krypto-Limitkiller-Sanderson]

Ah yes, the bag trick, works every time. I have no idea why that happens though.

 

[nayhkilas]

Hmmm, I wonder if you get spring on the river, then put in the bag, then put into river water while you fishing. Will it keep brightness?

 

[Krypto-Limitkiller-Sanderson]

Probably easier to just catch a bright fish to begin with :2cents:

 

[Thrasher]

This is a good question. I have wondered that before too Anthony.

Few years back we caught a 35# spring in the Fraser that I thought was way too dark to keep when we got it up to the boat. It felt great, so we decided to keep it. We bled it and put it on ice, and A few hours later, I could not believe it was the same fish. Something happened and it was nearly bar chrome.

It is odd how they change colors.

The male steelhead do the similar thing in other rivers I have noticed. Not sure why, but I am certain google could answer the question if I felt like looking.

 

[anthony]

This is a good question. I have wondered that before too Anthony.

Few years back we caught a 35# spring in the Fraser that I thought was way too dark to keep when we got it up to the boat. It felt great, so we decided to keep it. We bled it and put it on ice, and A few hours later, I could not believe it was the same fish. Something happened and it was nearly bar chrome.

It is odd how they change colors.

The male steelhead do the similar thing in other rivers I have noticed. Not sure why, but I am certain google could answer the question if I felt like looking.

wow your still alive LOL !!! , I havent seen or heard from you in ages

 

[fishnfvr]

Maybe they change color due to exhaustion. Depending on how long the angler has played the fish?? I remember when we caught our sailfish - he went from beautiful blue to dark black. I guess after being played a while they change color? At least thats my guess?

 

[HOOK]

I would have to say that explanation is the closest to realistic yet :thumbup:

 

[anthony]

i dont think playing them to long is the problem (that is of colour changing, playing a fish to long causes other problems), the springs i got were landed in less than 5 minutes easy.

unless 5 minutes is to long but doubt it !!! I have seen people play springs till there pretty much dead when they get landed and thats because there scared to put the binders on it or dont kow whow to fight the fish, but thats is also part of the learning curve, they let it run till its tired then reel it all in. which is fine if your gonna keep the fish but not good if your going to release it.

I have told a few people that were fishing springs, that if there having a hard time controlling the fish , and they have a pile of line out, its better to just point and pull to bust off the fish instead of putting the fish through hell.

So what if you lose a hook thats why they come in packs of more than 1 there not meant to last forever and there is more fish in the water.

eace:

 

[JetBoat Jim]

quote:"I have told a few people that were fishing springs, that if there having a hard time controlling the fish , and they have a pile of line out, its better to just point and pull to bust off the fish instead of putting the fish through hell."

tell them its time to leave the 10 lb leader at home and go 30/20, and a stronger rod.

 

[fishnfvr]

i dont think playing them to long is the problem (that is of colour changing, playing a fish to long causes other problems), the springs i got were landed in less than 5 minutes easy.

unless 5 minutes is to long but doubt it !!! I have seen people play springs till there pretty much dead when they get landed and thats because there scared to put the binders on it or dont kow whow to fight the fish, but thats is also part of the learning curve, they let it run till its tired then reel it all in. which is fine if your gonna keep the fish but not good if your going to release it.

I have told a few people that were fishing springs, that if there having a hard time controlling the fish , and they have a pile of line out, its better to just point and pull to bust off the fish instead of putting the fish through hell.

So what if you lose a hook thats why they come in packs of more than 1 there not meant to last forever and there is more fish in the water.

eace:

I didnt necessarily mean YOU over played the fish - but look at what a fish goes through - swimming up the vedder! And then to get hooked and have to swim for your life! Im sure you would be exhausted too - lol :happy: eace:

 

[anthony]

quote:"I have told a few people that were fishing springs, that if there having a hard time controlling the fish , and they have a pile of line out, its better to just point and pull to bust off the fish instead of putting the fish through hell."

tell them its time to leave the 10 lb leader at home and go 30/20, and a stronger rod.

I will let you tell them next time LOL !!!

i use 12 pound leader and 15 pound main and have no problems !!!