Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: LP89CG on September 27, 2015, 09:26:12 PM
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Im wondering if its better to "Bonk" or bleed by ripping the gills out. I've just ripped the gills out and bled the fish upside down, but it seems mot people bonk. not sure if its an ethics issue or a preference issue. ?
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I believe bonking is so that the fish does not suffer when you bleed it out.
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I bonk my fish once or twice and then I cut the gills and bleed em out. The heart will pump out blood for a couple of minutes after bonking so that is an ample amount of time. I think it's more ethical than just ripping the gills. It's more of an ethics issue IMO. It looks a bit gruesome otherwise and there really is no need for it.
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Rip through all the kills and snap the neck back, takes 2 seconds and is painless.
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Rip through all the kills and snap the neck back, takes 2 seconds and is painless.
That may work for smaller fish like coho or pinks, but I don't think you could do that on a 25+ pound spring.
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I bonk my fish once or twice and then I cut the gills and bleed em out. The heart will pump out blood for a couple of minutes after bonking so that is an ample amount of time. I think it's more ethical than just ripping the gills. It's more of an ethics issue IMO. It looks a bit gruesome otherwise and there really is no need for it.
Thanks
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That may work for smaller fish like coho or pinks, but I don't think you could do that on a 25+ pound spring.
Works fine for fish of all sizes if you're strong enough
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Rip through all the kills and snap the neck back, takes 2 seconds and is painless.
My only issue with that, although effective, is it makes for a sloppy carry back to the truck.
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Bleed them out fully, clean them on the river, drop them in some heavy duty garbage bags and carry them back.
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Don't pack your fish in garbage bags. They are often treated with chemicals and the last thing you want is to mix what you want to eat with it. I usually carry my fish as they are to the vehicle, and transfer them directly into a ice-filled cooler. This way no plastic bags are wasted, no worries about leakage, the fish are well stored and remain ice cold on the way home.
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Besides that, call me what you will but for me it's a pride thing. Not for showing my kill off to passers by (who don't give a crap anyway) but I feel like I'm hiding something if they're in a bag. The fish bleeds out plenty after it's been cracked over the head and then bled.
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Don't do what the guy on Alaska Bush People did - kill the fish by bashing it with your fist.
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Besides that, call me what you will but for me it's a pride thing. Not for showing my kill off to passers by (who don't give a crap anyway)......
I'm all about the showing off part, especially when everyone else caught nothing. ;D
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Don't pack your fish in garbage bags.
If it's made in North America, all that sort of stuff is inert and is tested to be sure it can be eaten by toddlers with no harm. Non-food plastic films may impact some off flavours to food stuffs but I don't think a raw fish is volatile enough to pick much if any up. Anyway this is what I learned working in a plastic bag factory
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I've seen some guys do some pretty horrific things for "field dressing" their fish.
Personally, I picked up a medium-sized locking, folding hunting knife with a thick blade that I keep in my belt and a smaller top-handle cooler that I put half a bag of ice in.
If I catch something I want to retain, I use the BACK side of the blade as a swift bludgeon to the fish's forehead. This will render them unconscious with a single tap(it really doesn't take much). You don't need to smash their head with a rock or bat, they have small brains that are very close to the surface of their head and you only need them unconscious for the next 10-15 seconds. Once that's done, I use the knife to cut ALL of the gills completely through and bleed the fish out upside down with it'd head under moving water. You want to swish it back and forth to keep the blood from clotting so you get a full bleed.
Once you cut the gills, the blood pressure in the fish's brain will plummet and it will stay unconscious. Any movement is purely reflexive at this point so don't worry if you drop it, it won't swim away.
Once the water is clear around the fish where you're swishing, flip it over and do the rest of your field dressing. There might be a bit more blood at this point but once you've gutted it, rinse it off thoroughly and put it in the cooler.
Usually, no more blood should show up, the cooler should stay clean and usable for the whole day and the fish temperature should stay low enough to prevent any "stink" forming.
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I always bonk the fish first, enough to render it unconscious or dead (usually the latter). Then I cut through both gills, place the fish back in the water so the blood does not congeal as fast and I also massage the heart to actively pump the blood from the body until little or no blood is forced from the gill cuts.
I shudder every time I see someone do the gill rip without first killing or rendering the fish unconscious. Even worst is the gill rip and then chuck the fish on the bank to let it bleed out, which can often take a long time, causing the fish unnecessary pain and suffering (IMHO). Yes, I know we are causing fish pain and suffering catching them, but there are many techniques that can be adopted to minimize this as far as possible.
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Stun it by hitting it on the head a few times with a fish bonker or small stone then cut a gill or 2 to bleed it out. I usually place the fish head first (upside down) in a bucket with some water to let it bleed out completely. This process takes up to several minutes depending on the size of the fish.
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Try turning the fish upside down, placing the head in the water. Slowly run your fingers down its back/spine and shake the fish by holding the tale with the other hand. You'll be surprised how much more blood will come out from there.
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If you don't want to carry a cooler to the river, try something " old school ". Use a damp burlap sack ( if you can find one ) to store the fish while you're on the river. Evaporation of the water causes cooling and the fish stay cool . I carry the fish to the truck where they are transferred to a cooler containing a plastic bottle of ice. I also follow the bonk and
bleed method.
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For me: 1 Bonk (with a wooden bonker) >> Cut the gills out >> Bleed out in running water >> Transfer to a cooler with ice bags lining the bottom, tastes fresh and great everytime.... ;)
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I use a potato sack as it does not rip as easily and can be used multiple times, might smell a bit off ;D
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I rarely plan on killing my catch, but if I do catch a hatch coho and decide to kill it, I bonk then bleed. As for carrying, it ends up in my stripping basket until I get home.
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Bonk, cut gills at the lowest part of the gill plate, place it in water and even give it a bit of a slow swim action to help with the pumping of blood.
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last year couple of guys who I fished with showed me a trick , they took a stick kinda sharp on one side , poke through the gill (fish is kinda on a side) and nail it to the shore with fish in water , they left it for a few minutes , and after cut the gill and cleaned it , I used that few times and no blood left in fish after this . all of above was done after bonking fish (tap it)
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I rip the gills and bleed the fish and shortly after clean it and place it in a burlap (coffee bean) sack.