Thread: Anyone with rising muddy water tips?

Bled, I don't think there is a better eating blue than from Kaw. I have eaten lots of them. Not a finer meal than them, some fresh fries, and my friend's wife's hushpuppies. I'm with ya on the belly meat on blues. One thing Tim said that I have corrected from my old ways is to rinse the fish thoroughly then NOT soak it in water. The red meat will sour much quicker in water. We will trim and dry a little and put in a ziplock until freezing.

Originally Posted by TimY

Pretty simple. I carry a pair of loppers in my boat and with the fish still on the stringer, I put them in a plastic tub and cut all the tails off then hang them over the side of the boat until they bleed out usually 20 to 30 min.

Just FYI, make sure that all of your rods are stowed away and your totally finished with fishing before you do that, if a warden happens by there could be a problem!
From the rules & regulations:

It is unlawful to:

• Possess a gamefish, hybrid striped bass or flathead catfish that has been filleted or had its head or tail removed while actively engaging in fishing.

I've had better luck cutting their gills while on a stringer. They seem to bleed out faster and better. Just a few minutes and they are done. That is for smaller fish; I throw back any blue over 8lbs or so. Livewell, stringer, then cooler works pretty well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I like to pack them in ice, by the time I get home all of the blood is pulled out of the meat.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by mjg_07

I've had better luck cutting their gills while on a stringer. They seem to bleed out faster and better. Just a few minutes and they are done. That is for smaller fish; I throw back any blue over 8lbs or so. Livewell, stringer, then cooler works pretty well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have tried cutting the gills but didn't work as well as cutting the tails at least on the bigger fish. May work ok on smaller ones but only takes a minute or 2 to cut the tails with good loppers.

Tim - I agree with you that lopping the tails is a better option because the heart is still active and pumping versus suffocation due to destroying the gills. My .02

I usually just cut their whiskers off.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by crapAlicous

I usually just cut their whiskers off.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

That's funny don't care who you are