Best way to kill a fish

[jibes138]

I like to troll on long passages and often catch a bluefish, especially between Point Judith and Cuttyhunk or in Vineyard Sound. I've had luck with tuna clones and with Rapala lures. The problem is when you catch them and they are flopping around getting blood all over the boat and trying to bite you and rip your fingers off with their deadly teeth.
I read once where if you pour Vodka down their mouth it will knock them out and kill them. I went through at least a pint of Vodka on one fish while my wife was seeking shelter below with the kids from the voracious razor sharp teeth of the great beast. After the pint of Vodka the fish was as alive as ever and it must have been a mean drunk because now it had a look in it's eye making me think I was going to be dinner instead of vice versa. So whats the best way to knock out a fish quickly and efficiently and still have cocktails at the end of the day?

 

[cephius (Dave)]

With large active fish like that we usually drop them into a container with sea water and don't mess with them until much later. A cooler will work.

 

[Rick Webb]

I'd Always Heard

Rum poured through the gills. Maybe this one was a better drinker than most.

 

[petersea]

Dave, I took a poll of E dock and came up with the following. Hank said corrision, I said a 12 gauge, Mopey Dick said he never caught a fish and did not know. A few of the blue bloods said they would never fish on a sailbaot ! Every one else said not to waste the vodka ! !

 

[delan]

For sure, the Vodka works, but you have to pour it on the gills.
a tap on the head with a small club or kids baseball bat works.
or when you haul it up to the deck, drop it straight into the cooler on ice, this speeds the process.
Best, Joe.

 

[kloudie1]

For sure the vodka works when poured onto the gills …but I remember the first and only time we tried it, we ended up with such a mess that we won’t do that again. The 15 pound tuna REALLY got active before he passed out. He tossed a winch handle overboard, and bloodied two crew before we got him under control with a small club. The cockpit looked as if the Texas Chainsaw Massacre had happened in there.. Now, the club is used before he comes aboard, while he’s still in the net. No more wasted vodka.

 

[JustDucky]

I usualy rap them on the head with a hard object several times (I have used the winch handle but my wife will then not use it for a week). I keep telling myself to get a fishinge billy but ......

 

[Dean5735]

take knife

Simply cut the throat, what's the big deal.

 

[rpwillia]

Don't waste the Vodka ...

or even a rod and reel either. Just use dynamite to bring them to the surface; side benefit is they are already tenderized too!

 

[sailaway78]

Just drop them in a bucket

Most offshore fish have teeth. Barracuda and King Mackeral even moreso than Blues. I have a bucket in the cockpit with sea water in it. Just drop them in head first. Two gallon bucket will contain a pretty good sized fish. A good smack in the head works well for larger fish. It's really no big deal. Get yourself a non slip glove, like the cheap garden gloves from Wally World, so you can hang on to the fish. Then drop into the bucket, or rap on the head.

 

[Jumpstart]

Rum in the gillls of a good sized mahi mahi worked for us. It died instantly and didn't make a mess. Of course then we filleted it, soaked it in lemon butter and cooked it. Best mahi I've ever had.

 

[FLHippy]

Bringing big fish on small boats.

The problem is when you catch them and they are flopping around getting blood all over the boat and trying to bite you and rip your fingers off with their deadly teeth.

Hahhaah - teeth Those bluefish are mean.

I fish from a relatively small sail boat and I have two tricks which make bringing the fish aboard fairly safe. I frequently catch 5 and 6 foot sharks in my gaff rigged wooden weekender.

1. Most important. Have a place to put it which restricts their movement. For me, my cockpit well is that place. An ice box will work just as well. Doesn't matter if you have ice in it or not. Just so long as you can put the fish in there and sit on the lid till it "settles down"

2. Have a fish billy. Once it's settled down enough for you to get a good whack on it... Bash it's head once or twice with a fish billy. Walmart has an aluminum one which will last forever. It looks like a baby baseball bat and you find it in the fishing department.

 

[caguy]

Thanks FlHippy I especially like the tie dyed-shirt to hide the blood stains.

I wonder if other fish go into a deep sleep when place on their backs the way sharks do.
I keep a collapsible army bucket filled with water. I have a gaff and club (backup aluminum tiller handle) for bigger fish.
When I was a kid I remember the skipper throwing a guys catch overboard before it destroyed his 14' skiff. After that the guy waited patiently for the clipper to use the club before bringing it onboard.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Another urban myth

Dave,

I'm still amazed at how many folks still think the vodka / rum / tequila actually works, when the guys who've been "out there" know it doesn't.

Here's a first hand report from a friend of mine: http://sailblogs.com/member/blackdragon/?xjMsgID=109041

 

[zeehag]

i just grab the fishie behind the head and start to fillet it--sounds mean but i eat fresh fish ......wear gloves that have non skid on them lol....and a bucket of water in the cockpit for cleaning and storing the fishie --storing before i clean him lol......

 

[Hermit Scott]

I make them watch sex and the city, the movie. As soon as they realize what movie it is, they will kill themselves.

 

[zeehag]

i Make Them Watch Sex And The City, The Movie. As Soon As They Realize What Movie It Is, They Will Kill Themselves.

Roflmfao...gooood One!!!!!

 

[COOL]

Dave,

I'm still amazed at how many folks still think the vodka / rum / tequila actually works, when the guys who've been "out there" know it doesn't.

We have used cheap Vodka to instantly subdue
many a Mahi Mahi on Pacific crossings.

 

[jibes138]

Tolerance

So the consensus seems to be that Mahi are especially susceptible to alcohol, poured on the gills. Bluefish, from my own experience seem to actually like it and try to find ways to chew your leg off after a few vodkas.
So like people it seems different fish have different tolerances to alcohol.
As far as pouring it on the gills versus down their gullet, where do you think it goes when you pour it down their throat? It goes right out their gills, so are you suggesting the alcohol has a directional component and that only alcohol inverse to normal water flow will knock out a fish? I think we need a marine biologist to weigh in on this one.
Zeehag, filleting a live bluefish sounds a bit crazy, and will likely result in having all the sking on one of your arms peeled completely off from the elbow down. Their teeth are like razor blades and their attitude is like Mike Tyson in his early days.
If you want to read a great book it is called 'Blues" and was written by John Hershey. It is all about the bluefish including great recipes. I have a lot of respect for these vicious little killers. They will attack and kill anything like large size piranha. As far as hitting one with a club, I think the story will go you hit it with a club it bites off a finger, you hit it again, you lose a hand, a third time, it chews your face off.

 

[jibes138]

Blues, by John Hersey

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

They meet by chance on a dock at Martha's Vineyarda young man and an old fisherman on his way to catch bluefish for dinner. With some reluctance, the stranger accepts the fisherman's invitation to join him; over the summer, a new world opens to the stranger. Hersey (Hiroshima, A Bell for Adano) discourses with eloquence on the natural history of bluefish, Vineyard Sound, wind and weather. The stranger and fisherman go out 12 times between June and October, observing fish, birds and fish migrations. On each return, the fisherman prepares the bluefish a different way. In the course of conversation the two recall poets who have written about fish and the seafrom Homer and John Donne to Elizabeth Bishop and John Ciardi. Readersespecially fishermen and naturalistswho can surmount the artificial framework will find this a rewarding book. Illustrations.