Hate fishing, but gotta do it....

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by bfloyd4445

why not? both soaked in alcohol.

Fish ain't beef!

[bfloyd4445]

Originally Posted by markpierce

Fish ain't beef!

....but they both can become inebriated....did i spill that right?

[sailtones]

Hi, great topic that is close to my heart, so just thought I would add my 2 cents worth.

I have been fishing all my life, from spear fishing, bottom fishing, shell fishing, long lining, netting, potting, trawling, I even worked on a fish farm during my summer holidays as a student.

Having seen the varying ways people dispose of fish, I think one should most definitely respect the fish and make it as humane as possible.

I have seen people beat a fish with belaying pin or other blunt object, which works sometimes, but mostly ends up in a writhing blood splattered battle with the poor fish.
A knife between the eyes, works well on small fish, but try it on a 30kg tuna!
Alcohol on the gills, to be honest I have even tried this myself but it has never seemed to calm the fish and you still have to kill the fish.

On the fish farm, we would dip net the salmon and put them directly into a bin of iced water where they would be gassed, not to be killed but to be calmed. Once calm we would use a short bladed knife to go in behind the gills and slice the heart for a very swift end. Slicing the heart drains the brain of blood in seconds. It needs to be quick because the last thing you want is damaged scales. This method also allowed for bleeding which is important for the flesh in commercial salmon. I have always considered this to be the most effective and swift way.

These days, I always have a couple of lines trailing in the wake. When I catch something, I try to get it on board as quickly as possible. Once aboard, I tie a 6mm line around the tail with a self tightening loop (already set up ready to go) then i hold the fish down and cut the heart to dispose of the fish as quickly as possible. Then he goes back over the side hanging on the line around his tail to bleed. (note, he is already dead by this stage and is not bled to death)
After 5 min or so, back on board ready to be appreciated as a culinary delight.
Our personal favorite is to change the lunch menu to a fresh plate of sushimi. Then we plan the next few meals around the fresh fish, and smoke (in the cobb) or freeze or dry the rest (fish jerky or biltong...yum!). the head and bones become fish stock.

I figure there are some simple rules.

Only catch what is legal i.e. size, bag limit etc.

Only catch what you can and want to eat

If you do catch something you don't want or is not legal, if at all possible, return it to the sea alive. If it is not legal but has died, should you throw it back anyway? Personal choice there, but it seems a waste of a life to throw it back. Just don't get caught with it, the fisheries will not see it the same way!

Dispose of what you keep as quickly and humanely as possible.

And before you put a line out, get yourself set up with all the gear you will need to get the fish aboard, kill it, clean it the boat and yourself, and cook or preserve the meat. If it is a hassle, you wont enjoy it.

Happy fishing!

[bfloyd4445]

Sailtones, that was well said. Thank you sir. Most treat fish when caught as if they were not livings animals like us with feelings.
I learned as a young man to respect living things as I respected myself and when i pulled the trigger it was only when i was insured a one shot instant kill. Fishing was the same, I began using barb less hooks in the sixties just because they caused less damage to fish allowing for easier release. On smaller keepers i slit the belly then cut the gills loose pull down and usually all the insides pull out with the gills, instant bleeding. No thrashing suffering, fish death is instant. Larger ones are done in a similar manner depending upon species.
The club thing is horrible to watch as the fish shudders in pain then hit again to make sure,maybe several times......yucko....Lets put humane back into being human and do away with all practices not humane. Should be a minimum standard for a human being right?

[Codger2]

Originally Posted by bfloyd4445

Most treat fish when caught as if they were not livings animals like us with feelings.

Feelings? Maybe you ought to "bone up" on your biology.

[hollywood8118]

Originally Posted by bfloyd4445

Sailtones, that was well said. Thank you sir. Most treat fish when caught as if they were not livings animals like us with feelings.
I learned as a young man to respect living things as I respected myself and when i pulled the trigger it was only when i was insured a one shot instant kill. Fishing was the same, I began using barb less hooks in the sixties just because they caused less damage to fish allowing for easier release. On smaller keepers i slit the belly then cut the gills loose pull down and usually all the insides pull out with the gills, instant bleeding. No thrashing suffering, fish death is instant. Larger ones are done in a similar manner depending upon species.
The club thing is horrible to watch as the fish shudders in pain then hit again to make sure,maybe several times......yucko....Lets put humane back into being human and do away with all practices not humane. Should be a minimum standard for a human being right?

Yawn......

Seriously?
Catch it, Kill it, Eat it. It is a fish not a bunny
What next.. talk quietly to your tomato before slicing it?

HOLLYWOOD

[Codger2]

Originally Posted by hollywood8118

Seriously? Catch it, Kill it, Eat it. It is a fish not a bunny
What next.. talk quietly to your tomato before slicing it?

[bfloyd4445]

Originally Posted by SeaHorse II

Feelings? Maybe you ought to "bone up" on your biology.

...Maybe you should grow some sensitivity to the world around you. worms are nice and calm till you pick one up and they then they start squirming to escape your grasp. If that worm had no feelings it would have laid placid in your hand but it felt the dangeropus giant that had grabbed it and was frantically trying to escape. Just as you would do if you were he/she.
But you are right back in the fifties and sixties in junior high and high school kids were taught that animals didnt have feelings. If you still believe that maybe you would be interested in a bridge I have for sale, hardly used, and located in London a great neighborhood?

[Nomad Willy]

My ex wife used to go fishing w her daddy in Juneau Alaska and when they caught a big halibut (80 - 180lbs) she'd rub it's stomach and they'd stay calm as a sleeping baby. Otherwise they could beat a wood skiff to pieces or in rare occasions even kill the fisherman. The small halibut (chicks .. about 30lbs) are much better eating than the big boys the tourists like to catch for added hair on their chest.

[bfloyd4445]

Originally Posted by manyboats

My ex wife used to go fishing w her daddy in Juneau Alaska and when they caught a big halibut (80 - 180lbs) she'd rub it's stomach and they'd stay calm as a sleeping baby. Otherwise they could beat a wood skiff to pieces or in rare occasions even kill the fisherman. The small halibut (chicks .. about 30lbs) are much better eating than the big boys the tourists like to catch for added hair on their chest.

< smile > you should have mentioned that the smaller fish are better to eat because they have accumulated less heavy metals and other toxics that man has discarded in the seas in their flesh. Even vthe guy that things animals have no feelings should be able to understand that the less stuff one eats the less toxics his body will contain. So I guess that means i need to stop eating..with my belly i should be good for at least a year or two.................

[Ocean Breeze NL]

Originally Posted by hollywood8118

Yawn......

Seriously?
Catch it, Kill it, Eat it. It is a fish not a bunny
What next.. talk quietly to your tomato before slicing it?

HOLLYWOOD

It didn't really occur to me but now I feel bad when I dug the eyes out of the potatoes today before I placed them in the fryer. On the positive note I guess, it was a fairly fast death I suppose and they didn't really see it com'in either.... sheesh

[Moonstruck]

Ms Saucy, why waste good booze when a lead weighted billy club will do the job nicely. There is nothing like the feel and thud of a well placed blow to the head that the billy club gives. Very satisfying indeed.

[Delfin]

Originally Posted by hollywood8118

The same technique also works for the fisherman!

HOLLYWOOD

I've asked you not to post that picture of me at my son's birthday party more than once, Hollywood....

[hollywood8118]

Originally Posted by Delfin

I've asked you not to post that picture of me at my son's birthday party more than once, Hollywood....

Carl,
I am holding the picture from when at the party... you stripped down to the rebel flag boxers, climbed on top of the single wide, yelled " hey ya all watch this" ....and did the belly flop into the wading pool. I was impressed that you did all this with a beer in your hand!

HOLLYWOOD