Bleeding fish

[whitey73]

Bleeding all types of fish is a good idea.

[kc]

I work in the food game...specifically fish & have to add, if I had not witnessed the difference brain spiking makes...first hand...I would not have believed it.

Just as an example, if you catch, bleed and ice a fish, fillet it down same day, and place the fillet on a plate, cover with cling wrap and refigerate it is "good" for about 5 days....the same fish brain spiked then bled,iced filleted etc is still perfect 14 days later.......sounds far fetched hey!! Like I said, if I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would not believe it.

I have had the science explained but at the end of the day, try it yourself....you will be gobsmacked by the improvement in eating quality of brain spiked and bled....just as much an improvement over bled and not bled.

These critters are worth looking after if you plan to eat them...takes a couple of extra minutes but worth every second it takes to treat them right.

KC

[Burley_Boy]

KC, wouldn't the brain spike cause the bleeding to be less effective as I assume brain spiking would have to immediately stop the heart?

So whats the best way of finding the brain?

[curly]

hi,you can by from the local tackle shops a spike to spike the fish in the brain; by doing this the fish will bleed internaly,try this and you will find no blood whatsoever in the flesh when its filleted,if you are not sure about this next time you go fishing try both ways and see for yourselves always put your fish into a ice slurry and they will keep perfect and tasty,when spiking a little practice helps to find where the brain is behind the eye cheers curly wa

[kc]

Brian spiking does not immediatly stop the heat beating so a normal blled will still occur when you cut the throat (this is all sounding a bit brutal hey!)

What it does do is stop the release (by the brian and nervous sytem) of endorphines and enzimes which ultimately have a major effect on flesh quality and longevity

KC

[blue_rogue]

Thanks for that men.... I have never spike a fish but by the sounds of it and the eating quailty, I will be doing it from now on.

[sboyes]

bleed them all just tobe safe

[basserman]

Brian spiking does not immediatly stop the heat beating so a normal blled will still occur when you cut the throat (this is all sounding a bit brutal hey!)

What it does do is stop the release (by the brian and nervous sytem) of endorphines and enzimes which ultimately have a major effect on flesh quality and longevity

KC

ditto to kc here
we have had some tunas and kingiys and other big fish like this that after we spike and then gill and gut (bleeding in the process) that when you pull/cut the heart out it is still beating

[devocean]

Ikijima (brain spiking) is a true and tested method used and highly regarded by the japanese and plenty of spearos around the world. If you havnt tried it you will be pleased with the results.
As for bleeding them I have a mate who bleeds his mackeral at the tail as well as the throat and I reckon this definetly improved eating quality.

[Burley_Boy]

With bleeding can I assume that we are talking cutting the throat from underneath the fish until you cut through the backbone?
Is gilling also required at the same time ???

[ratsack]

I did a charter with Ed Falconer from Rainbow beach and his method is to spike them and then straight onto the ice. Theory is once you open them up it allows the bacteria in and the fish will not last as long.On ice gilled and gutted 4 days spiked and not cut 6 days. He is also a pro fisher and that is the way the markets demand their fish, whole. If one kills,gills &guts and then put into a slurry isnt all of the flesh going to get contaminated by the slime etc?

[tideline_two]

over here (south east ,usa) i've never seen recreational caught fish bled or gutted while out fishing. with the exception of yellowfin tuna that is. king mackrel (just like yall's spanish mackrel) are gaffed and thrown in the cooler on ice . i've pier fished where people usually don't have a large cooler. kings caught there are gaffed and cleaned almost imediately. i've tried fish both ways. i can't tell a difference.

[markpeta]

Don't reackon it could hurt more of the blood away from the flesh the better something to think about.

Mark

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

I remember not soooooo many years ago when we were told not only to gut them, but to make sure the arteries running along the spine inside the gut area were also scraped clean. I still do it. I guess things change as our knowledge expands.

Dave

[wiseguy67]

Worked on a longliner out of port lincoln targeting tuna for the japanese market; the proceedure for tuna that were being sold for sashimi way back in 1987 @ $57 kilo for Northern bluefin was: handle with care, cut each lateral line/bloodline just 1/2 inch deep then put the tip of your blade into the heart, now you've got blood pumping everywhere it is at this point the Ikijima/brainspike is applied and into the swim tank for ten minutes then you gill gut and wire brush the vertbrae and into the snap freezer -50C. I was not allowed to touch a knife until i had proven myself, I was on the boat for three months started cutting in the second month.
Personaly i carry a 5" blade while surf fishing, as soon as i have the tailor, bream etc i go in behind the gills and insert the blade into the vertebrae apply a slight twist which open/breaks the vertebrae. Tailor taste much better if bled asap. As do all salt and fresh water fish. Ice asap is also best for lasting quality. Presently as I don't have boat but do have a kayak i do not bleed on board for my own well being LOL
Here is a pic of a nice one off the wall a couple months ago.