Dealing with fish

R

RajunCajun

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Sep 20, 2018
14
Hunter 260 Rockwall
Where do you guys clean your fish?

I've been using a large cutting board in the cockpit area, but despite my best efforts, a bit of blood and guts ends up on the deck and makes a trail to where I can toss the remnants overboard. Plus, its not the most comfortable of positions for me as I am usually hunched over or squatting.

Ideally, would like to clean the fish in a more comfortable position like standing up, and be able to keep the mess and smell off the boat.

I'm running this slaughter house on a Hunter 260.
 
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weinie

weinie

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Sep 6, 2010
1,297
Jeanneau 349 port washington, ny
Fill bucket with sea water.
Hold fish overboard in gills with left hand and slash belly with right. Drop knife in bucket.
Pull out guts while holding overboard and put fish in bucket. Run fresh water into bucket from wash down as you run your hands into the belly picking out remaining stuff and washing away blood. Diluted bloody water won't won't stain fiberglass. If so, a touch of oxyclean is a two second clean up.
 
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All U Get

All U Get

.
Oct 2, 2008
3,811
Pearson/ 530 Strafford, NH
Some people catch big fish, haul to the dock and use the fillet board. (Weinie turn on the heat)
 
weinie

weinie

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Sep 6, 2010
1,297
Jeanneau 349 port washington, ny
All U Get said:
We're here in Port Washington and today it might be cold enough to keep it fresh.
Click to expand
aye that it is.
went out yesterday for what could be one of the last sails of the season. Absolutely gorgeous.

where are you moored/docked?
 
J

JimInPB

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Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
One of the reasons that I like my sugar scoop transom Hunters so much is because they make it easy to drag big fish on board & then rinse off the blood & guts after I'm done cleaning them. In boats that don't offer this convenience by design, the type of board that HMT2 recommended would be my preference. Magma is my preferred brand name for those boards.

Gene, if you are having a hard time catching fish off of a sailboat, you need to come out with me some time. Even my little day sailor has brought in tuna & mahi.
 
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R

RajunCajun

.
Sep 20, 2018
14
Hunter 260 Rockwall
Hey JimInPB,
I've got a hunter with a sugar scoop on the back. Where do you clean them? On the steps using a cutting board?
 
Kings Gambit

Kings Gambit

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Jul 27, 2011
5,134
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
RajunCajun said:
Where do you guys clean your fish?

I've been using a large cutting board in the cockpit area, but despite my best efforts, a bit of blood and guts ends up on the deck and makes a trail to where I can toss the remnants overboard. Plus, its not the most comfortable of positions for me as I am usually hunched over or squatting.

Ideally, would like to clean the fish in a more comfortable position like standing up, and be able to keep the mess and smell off the boat.

I'm running this slaughter house on a Hunter 260.
Click to expand
A friend of mine used to clean his in the dink. But, he was cruising!
 
All U Get

All U Get

.
Oct 2, 2008
3,811
Pearson/ 530 Strafford, NH
weinie said:
aye that it is.
went out yesterday for what could be one of the last sails of the season. Absolutely gorgeous.

where are you moored/docked?
Click to expand
We were on #3 yellow but Matt moved us over by the water taxi dock on a mooring. We probably will leave in the am tomorrow.
 
thinwater

thinwater

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Mar 26, 2011
3,732
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
I have always used a plastic cafeteria tray. Good containment lip, easy to clean off, and easy to store. Also useful as an all-around work surface.

Besides, blood stains are proof you caught the fish, almost as valued as pictures.
 
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weinie

weinie

.
Sep 6, 2010
1,297
Jeanneau 349 port washington, ny
All U Get said:
We were on #3 yellow but Matt moved us over by the water taxi dock on a mooring. We probably will leave in the am tomorrow.
Click to expand
ah....the town docks. I'm at the club next door to the town dock if that's where you are.. Too bad you didn't come in the summer. We have an great dockside bar that is perfect for watching the sunset with cold beer or rum drink. Hopefully, I can get one last sail in tomorrow or friday. The weekend looks like crap and then its time to decommission. As trump would say... SAD!
If you need parts or anything, West Marine, Ace Hardware, and stop and shop are a 2 minute car ride.
 
h2o_snow

h2o_snow

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Nov 18, 2016
162
Hunter 260 Lucky Peak, ID
RajunCajun said:
Hey JimInPB,
I've got a hunter with a sugar scoop on the back. Where do you clean them? On the steps using a cutting board?
Click to expand
RC,

How big is your catch? I have cleaned on our 260 off a HPDE sheet attached via ubolts to the port stern rail seat railings.

For larger fish how about a HPDE sheet bridging the port cockpit lazerette and the stern fuel lazerette. You could clean on your knees and was everything overboard. Although - kneeling fit might be dependent if you have a wheel - we have a tiller.

Fish pics? What do you guys use as a trolling rig?
 
J

JimInPB

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Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
I troll all sorts of different rigs depending on where in the ocean I am, how far I am going & how seriously I want to take my fishing that day. A basic 1 rod rig off the back of the boat with a simple squid skirt, popper, rattle jet, or bullet head is all you really need.

If you go to an in-line daisy chain teaser, you will be more likely to get hit sooner, but you will have more work landing the fish & more stress on your trolling rig while pulling it. Big-lip deep-divers can work well in some areas, but again, they put a lot of strain on the trolling gear. If kings are in the area, then a 4" spoon usually goes out back. If tuna are in the area, I might drag a cedar plug or a feather. If you want to get more serious about your fishing, you can go to natural baits like bonita strips, double rigged ballyhoo, split tails, etc, but that gets more involved, more expensive, more messy & more stinky. If you want to get uber serious about it, you can go to live bait. Dragging those around requires a slow boat speed & more attention, but I get some of my best fish that way. I also sometimes run a release clip up my leach line so that I can fish green stick style, but that gets pretty involved & requires a lot of effort.

As far as the rods go, I usually have one 5000-6000 size spinner rigged with 20# line & 1 4/0 class conventional rig with 30 or 40# line. Most of my boat rods are around 6-6.5' long, but for the boats that have low booms, I also have some shorter ones.

You can get some decent Amarine stainless rod holders off of Amazon for around $15-20 each, depending on style.

An average catch for me is in the 2-4' range, but occasionally I do get something up to the boat that is over 6 or even 7'. Of course, smaller stuff is frequently also in the mix. I have a small flying gaff that I use for dragging the monsters on board.
 
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