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4-7-24 weekend I gave some fish away & the older person said they didn't know how I got the meat so white so I thought I'd share with some of you all on crappie dot com. :popcorn
You can click 4-7-24 Bleeding vs Not Bleeding Crappie - YouTube or for my Special Friend Ketchn I even gave dat dur feller a few pics. :Cowboy:Rofl
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Good post and video. So next is how do you bleed them?
On Crappie, Bass, Bream you go in and cut the gills on both sides.:check I use sharp scissors & put them in the Live Well for about 15 - 20 minutes. So Fishinglarry, when I'm about to get off the water in the next 30 minutes I go in and start snipping if the water is cold I know they are still alive. In Summer when it's hot as soon as I catch them I'm snipping their gills & it will help preserve the fish longer. In the video I show you were I made the cuts on the 1st 2 Bled fish. Hope that helps.:cheers2:ThumbsUpQuote:
Originally Posted by Fishinglarry
I never bleed mine, but prefer to fillet my fish live not on ice. Then drop fillets in cold water.
Think I’ll give it a try, looks a lot less messy on the cleaning table. Thanks
Tidal river Crappie are so mild if I remove any more taste it may become "mystery meat". Ross Barnett Crappie have kinda a Catfish taste compared to Tidal River fish. I would leave the skin on for some dishes but we are not supposed to eat the skin of fish out of the Pearl River fish so I don't eat the skin out of any Coastal river except the Mock Eel Rolls I make with Tempura Fried Goggle-Eye fillets.
I put mine on ice (and in fridge) overnight. I do so while the fish are still alive. Next day they are stiff, easier to clean, and the fillets look like your bled ones. I believe getting them cold fast like I do removes the blood from their meat. Kinda a natural self preservation reaction where all their blood is redirected to critical organs, just like in humans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slab
I ice mine in a cooler too then go at it a few hours later. I might give bleeding them a go just to get the t shirt and to see if there is any difference in taste.
Seems like to much trouble and waste of time to me.
I clean them as soon as I get home, fresh from the livewell & soak in lightly salted water over night. They are white and clean as any filets I've ever seen, give them a rise and to the oil they go.
I'm with you Slab, as soon as it swings in the boat and makes the cut, into the cooler it goes. Seems adding one at a time to the cooler all of them chill down fast. I use to leave all my fish in the livewell then move to the cooler back at the dock but realized the fish in the middle were not near as cold as the fish where the cold could readily chill them down.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slab
seen this done with tuna and salmon , wasting ketchn time with crappie , just saying
put em on ice for a few hours and they barely bleed when you put a knife in em if at all ......
and it is what it is yawl :Rofl:highfive
Only fish i ever bled is mullet, but some dont consider him a fish ;)
Same here. I also put in water and leave in refrigerator overnight before cooking or processing. I have left them for 3 days in frig. Longer than that (4 or 5 days) I'll change water. They will be just fine.Quote:
Originally Posted by NIMROD
I do the same thing Keeferfish. Filets are white as snowQuote:
Originally Posted by keeferfish
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we store our crappie in the freezer submerged in water and let them defrost that way in a bowl in the fridge , they never have any color to speak of . I prefer to let fish die slowly in the ice bath myself , likely a bit more humane , hate to have to smack them in the head to hold still while I whack on them and that there "twitching" thing and soft flesh makes for a poor way to get the meat off them well anyway ....
did see a video back when were a fella was letting them bleed beside the boat on a stringer , he used scissors to cut the gills , and it was winter time , seems like wasted time to me though , just saying
Tried the above but seems to take way too long to thaw, prefer my vac sealer much better plus takes up way less room.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ketchn
First time for everything. Never once in my entire life I've heard anyone say a SLOW DEATH is more humane? :donoQuote:
Originally Posted by Ketchn
remember they are cold blooded , pretty sure very cold is not uncomfortable to them like it would be a warm blooded critter ....Quote:
Originally Posted by keeferfish
fish falling asleep in slushy ice and passing away and not coming back to life is way better than a few sharp blows to the head is my guess on the death venue ....:dono:Rofl
Geeze, they are fish, we eat them. I'm not too worried about their feeling. Now don't go flaming me here, It's just my opinion. After all, theiur other ways to die don't seem too pleasant. Alligator crunched, the gullet of a Heron.....the list goes on.
That's what I do. Put on a clip metal springer over the side of the boat after I cut their neck/gills. After a few minutes, they go into the cooler with ice and a couple of gallon milk jugs filled with frozen water. Doesn't take but 30 seconds and the fillets are whiter and less blood on the cutting board.Quote:
did see a video back when were a fella was letting them bleed beside the boat on a stringer , he used scissors to cut the gills , and it was winter time , seems like wasted time to me though , just saying
nice video thank you for sharing
I never ever thought about bleeding crappie. Seems like excess to me but to each his own.
The closest I've ever come to bleeding a fish is cutting the dark strip out of each side of a Striper as it is very strong tasting.
Same as others if not iced before filleting put them in lite salt water over night in fridge white and firm the next day !
Respect to all the ways everyone does their fish. :HandsClapping When you catch them do with them as you choose.:ThumbsUp Its just "When you know, then you Know". :cheers2 Tight lines. :biggrin
you will never reach speeds of 60 plus fish in an hour bleeding them , just taking images and tossing them back wastes most of my FPH ratio potential ....just saying :Rofl:Rofl
:scratchhead Never been a desire for me to achieve @Ketchn. :Rofl When I get out on the lake I'm there to enjoy it for the Day's Duration on the Water while I hunt the species I'm targeting in it's domain. I'm not on a clock except to catch the 15 - 25 Crappie I can for the day as the Texas Limit. :ThumbsUp I'm not racing to catch 4lb, 3lb, 2lb, Crappie or 25 Crappie per Hour.:fish That sound's like a wasted day to me. Drive 2 hours 1 way to catch a limit in 1 Hour then go home? :pukeHow on earth will I enjoy being on the lake & the pleasure of having 3 boats? :scratchhead Glad Bleeding Crappie slows me down. Whewww.... :woohoo You keep Dropping that Ketchn Hammer like a BOSS on your 15 minute - 1 Hour Lunchs.:bash :notworthy:superman I'll keep pounding out my 3-5 Limits per month in 5-8 hours enjoying the waterways & outdoors while relaxing. rotfl:woohoo Everybody wins... :highfive:cheers2Quote:
Originally Posted by Ketchn
Mine go in ice after catching.
After cleaning, stainless bowl with ice water in garage fridge.
When preparing to freeze I use bottled water to fill freezer ziplock bags purging all the air out.
Maybe OCD on using bottled water but my way for years and years.
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Mind to on ice when caught,after cleaning wash and add salt water overnight. Rinse after taking out of fridge to get rid of salt. Freeze in zip lock bags filled with water with air pushed out.
I only bleed out two types of fish now. Catfish and walleye. I’ve done crappie, bass and even bigger bluegills but found it doesn’t make it taste any different from not bleeding them. I ice those down and no blood to worry about. I use an electric knife to clean mine. When I bled those smaller fish, the meat was mushy. Not on the walleye and catfish. And I don’t have to worry about pinbones when I clean mine. They come out when I remove the rib cage and skin. So do what works best for you and enjoy eating your catch.
You’re spot on, Slab. I do that with all my fish -ice ‘em up, refrigerate, and fillet ‘em first thing next AM.When I’m fishin’ don’t wanna be messin’ with anything else. Fishing time is of the essence.
I've gotten in the habit of bleeding all of the fish that I keep (mostly walleye, perch and crappie) and they do indeed make much nicer looking fillets. I presume that they also taste cleaner and better, although I suppose that's subjective and unless you had some that you caught and bled and some that were not bled on the same outing, I think it would be tough to prove.
I think it makes the biggest difference in the fish that go in the freezer. Seems to me they keep better bled out. I bleed every fish I keep.
Fish that go live to ice chest don't need to be bled. IMHO
I take a filet knife and cut just behind the gills on each fish as I remove them from the livewell and put them in a bucket.
Only takes seconds per fish. No blood on / in my fillets.
MO
Fish that go live to ice chest don't need to be bled. IMHO
I take a filet knife and cut just behind the gills on each fish as I remove them from the livewell and put them in a bucket.
Only takes seconds per fish. No blood on / in my fillets.
MO