killing trout quickly? (+ photos for fun)

[yakimanoob]

Hey folks!

Apologies if this has been well covered elsewhere.  I did try searching but I'm not sure what common words are used for it. 

Do you kill your trout in some way before throwing them in the cooler?  Knock 'em on the head?  Decapitate?  Some other method?  I've heard some bits about people running a wire through the spine too. 

Just curious what others are doing.  I've typically just thrown them in the cooler and let them go to sleep.  But I'm very much a rookie here. 


And just for fun, I took my brother his family fishing at Rotary Lake in Yakima and we got stupid lucky -- arrived about 20 minutes after they dumped 4k new fish in the lake. 

[Evil_EdwardO]

I do like you and throw them in the cooler to go to sleep. Although, I've heard/read the most humane way is to cut/slice the gills and let them bleed out. Not sure how factual that is.

[Skyvalhunter]

knock them on a rock and get it over with. I can't believe I am even answering this

[Alchase]

I keep them alive in a bucket until I am ready to clean them.
Sometimes if I am bored wile fishing I will clean them while still in the boat. Unless it is too big to handle alive, I just start with a cut up the gut. cutout the gills, run a thumb up the inside to get the guts and bloodline, call it good.
Big fish get a bonk on the head, LOL

[Skillet]

Bonk and pop a gill to bleed.

[yakimanoob]

knock them on a rock and get it over with. I can't believe I am even answering this

Like I said, I'm a serious rookie in terms of western/trout fishing.  I grew up fishing streams in the southeast and kept the bass or bream on a stringer and they were alive until I was ready to clean them (or if I was with a friend with a boat, in a live well to the same effect).  I did the same thing at first when I moved up here three years ago, but after watching my trout die pretty quick on a stringer, I just started throwing them in the cooler and feeling like there must be a better way

I'll try knocking them next time I go out (which hopefully will be soon...)

[PolarBear]

Bonk and pop a gill to bleed.

Gotta bleed them out especially if you are keeping eggs to cure.
I was told that fish cannot feel pain only pressure.

[h20hunter]

I'm cruel i guess....all fish get the gills cut while alive. Once bled out they go on ice.

[7mmfan]

It depends on what the end goal is I suppose. If you want the best table fare, you absolutely need to bleed those little buggers, and doing it while they are alive is the best way to get the most blood out. Sever the connection where the gills meet the body, and that severs the jugular. The blood will pump right out of them. It kills them in a matter of seconds.

I don't like to see any creature suffer, so I often bonk my fish before I bleed them, but with little trout like that, that will usually kill them, not stun them, and you lose the heart beat to pump the blood out.

If you are just going to use them for crawdad bait, or something like that, just bonk them on the head and toss them in the cooler.

[Seahawk12]

Usually, if I'm fishing for lake trout I bring a 5gallon bucket and fill it 3/4 with water to keep em alive in until I'm ready to clean them.

[chiwawadan]

I've always head bonked trout. In Alaska, most folks I've known with experience will rip a gill of the salmon to bleed it. "Makes for better fillets" was the claim.

[W_Ellison2011]

I've always head bonked trout. In Alaska, most folks I've known with experience will rip a gill of the salmon to bleed it. "Makes for better fillets" was the claim.

It 100% does make for better fillets when you rip the gill. Just slide a finger under the bottom gill and bounce the fish on your finger. Their own weight will tear it and you will see blood pour out instantly. It makes the fillets taste milder imo. We did the same with all the halibut we caught while up there too. Trout I have never ripped the gills but I could see it being the same. We usually either just tossed them into the cooler on ice or bonked then into the cooler. This year I will cut gills especially on the bigger browns we catch at the lake in the mountains we go to.

[lokidog]

Gill cut is the quickest way, they are dead within seconds of bleeding out.  Bled out trout/salmon taste better than not.

[W_Ellison2011]

Gill cut is the quickest way, they are dead within seconds of bleeding out.  Bled out trout/salmon taste better than not.

I haven't done trout yet but from my experience with lingcod, cabezon, rockfish, halibut, and salmon... They all taste better if you bleed them! I've got a spot in the mountains that we regularly catch 10"-14" rainbows and cutthroat trout plus a couple 16"-26" browns. I will be bleeding them this year for a taste comparison.

[j_h_nimrod]

All fish, 2-3 gill arches cut, ripped, or torn out and on a stringer in the water for a more complete bleed. The longer they remain alive respiring the more completely they bleed. I have never noticed a flavor difference personally, but there is a difference in storage life and quality.

[Alchase]

Why the need to bleed out, if you keep them alive until ready to clean?
Seriously cutting a trout to bleed out make no sense to me unless you are packing them on ice after the bleed I guess. But if alive when you go to clean, it take seconds to gut and gill a trout, and anything with blood in it is pulled out along with the blood vain?

[lokidog]

Why the need to bleed out, if you keep them alive until ready to clean?
Seriously cutting a trout to bleed out make no sense to me unless you are packing them on ice after the bleed I guess. But if alive when you go to clean, it take seconds to gut and gill a trout, and anything with blood in it is pulled out along with the blood vain?

Most people have dead fish when they clean them, especially trout that die when you look at them funny.  Also, from my experience, cutting live fish (at least bigger ones) is a pain in the butt.  It also seems to leave more blood (staining) in the meat.

[yakimanoob]

Thanks for all the replies.  It's helping me wrap my head around the situation. 

I guess the theory with bleeding them is you end up with less blood/meat contact?  I usually trim the ribs off when I filet, so I wouldn't have thought it mattered much if some blood got on the sides of the body cavity 

I'm weak on my knowledge of trout circulatory system anatomy, but those muscles have to get oxygen somehow.  Are there small blood vessels going to the muscles?  So maybe bleeding them removes the blood from those? 

 

[j_h_nimrod]

The theory is to remove as much blood from the flesh as possible. The blood carries bacteria, enzymes, and other bad stuff that speeds deterioration. Just cleaning does not remove this blood sufficiently for optimum quality. Proper bleeding while alive or shortly after causes collapse in the circulatory system that removes most of the blood. Additional milking of the gut walls and removal of the kidney (blood vein along the spine) help as well.

@Skillet - do you want to elaborate on bleeding a king for commercial sale?

[jackelope]

knock them on a rock and get it over with. I can't believe I am even answering this

It’s perfectly alright for new folks to ask questions. If you don’t like it, don’t respond.

[Skillet]

@Skillet - do you want to elaborate on bleeding a king for commercial sale?

You pretty much nailed it.  Kings and coho get the same treatment. I'll add that blood seems to be a primary source of the "fishy" taste in salmon, and to get the premium money trollers do for their fish we get as much out as fast as possible.  For my operation, that means:

Stunning in the water
Popping/cutting a gill
Bleeding immediatly in a seawater tank until water runs clear
Heading or gilling fish
Pressure bleeding
Gutting
And finally icing or freezing on plates

Pressure bleeding is done with low pressure seawater through a pipette inserted into the main artery along the backbone, under the kidney (what most people call the bloodline), prior to gutting.  If done right, pressure bleeding really improves the quality, shelf life and flavor of the fish.  Not practical for fish under 5-ish #, though, unless you really downsized your equipment.

The fish I catch to sell look like this within 15-20 minutes (max) of being landed.

[chiwawadan]

@Skillet - do you want to elaborate on bleeding a king for commercial sale?

You pretty much nailed it.  Kings and coho get the same treatment. I'll add that blood seems to be a primary source of the "fishy" taste in salmon, and to get the premium money trollers do for their fish we get as much out as fast as possible.  For my operation, that means:

Stunning in the water
Popping/cutting a gill
Bleeding immediatly in a seawater tank until water runs clear
Heading or gilling fish
Pressure bleeding
Gutting
And finally icing or freezing on plates

Pressure bleeding is done with low pressure seawater through a pipette inserted into the main artery along the backbone, under the kidney (what most people call the bloodline), prior to gutting.  If done right, pressure bleeding really improves the quality, shelf life and flavor of the fish.  Not practical for fish under 5-ish #, though, unless you really downsized your equipment.

The fish I catch to sell look like this within 15-20 minutes (max) of being landed.

Great response. Thanks for sharing the insight!

[yakimanoob]

knock them on a rock and get it over with. I can't believe I am even answering this

It’s perfectly alright for new folks to ask questions. If you don’t like it, don’t respond.

Haha. I don't mind. And this has me reminiscing about our thread on wolves last year.  Pretty sure skyval still thinks I'm a troll, but that's ok. 

[pianoman9701]

I use this and it's very humane. But sometimes I can't remember: Have I shot 5 trout or 6? Do you feel lucky, fish? Well, do ya?

[yakimanoob]

 

[yakimanoob]

@Skillet - do you want to elaborate on bleeding a king for commercial sale?

You pretty much nailed it.  Kings and coho get the same treatment. I'll add that blood seems to be a primary source of the "fishy" taste in salmon, and to get the premium money trollers do for their fish we get as much out as fast as possible.  For my operation, that means:

Stunning in the water
Popping/cutting a gill
Bleeding immediatly in a seawater tank until water runs clear
Heading or gilling fish
Pressure bleeding
Gutting
And finally icing or freezing on plates

Pressure bleeding is done with low pressure seawater through a pipette inserted into the main artery along the backbone, under the kidney (what most people call the bloodline), prior to gutting.  If done right, pressure bleeding really improves the quality, shelf life and flavor of the fish.  Not practical for fish under 5-ish #, though, unless you really downsized your equipment.

The fish I catch to sell look like this within 15-20 minutes (max) of being landed.

Getting back on topic...  Thanks Skillet!  This is very helpful for me.

[Alchase]

Great info Skillet!

[Alchase]

I have never noticed a flavor difference personally, but there is a difference in storage life and quality.

I agree, Trout do not have the oil Salmon do. So anything you can do to minimize the "dryout" that happens in the freezer is a good thing.

If you are eating them for dinner that night?
I would not even worry about it.

[branches]

We just let the kids bonk the head and then put in a gallon Ziploc bag with there name on it and put on ice. When we get our limits we then clean the fish and put back into the Ziploc bags on ice until we get home. For us I got the kids involved in the cleaning and the cooking of the fish. They always wanted to cook were own fish even when they were very young. We just had then put the fish in tinfoil with whatever spice and olive oil they wanted and cook it for about 15 minutes on the BBQ.

[DOUBLELUNG]

For small trout I like to bend the head back 180 degrees - pops the spine so they don't flop around and tears the gills so they bleed out fast.  Then straight onto ice.  The taste is noticeably superior than letting them die with circulatory system intact and/or kept at ambient temperature - whether dead or alive.  I suspect stress hormones may play a factor when kept alive, but all I know for sure is they taste best to me when spine is severed and they are bled out fast and iced.  Big ones that can't be killed that way get stunned with a bonk and either cut gills or sever the dorsal aorta with a slice from the bottom to the spine through the meat just forward of the tail fin - they pump out very quickly with that cut but they are a bit mutilated for photos.

[Skyvalhunter]

That's harsh I would hate to see what you do with a deer or elk!!

[jamesfromseattle]

Never heard of pressure bleeding but curious to give that a try this summer.

With trout and salmon I usually stun an pop a gill. If you’re like me and have a tough time keeping your gear organized, don’t worry about using any equipment: just a solid punch with a closed fist to the top of the head then use a finger to pop a gill. To pop a gill you can just put your index finger in the gills and pull towards the tail. I do both sides because of my OCD, but one is probably good enough.