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View Full Version : Halibut bleeding/cleaning?



jplee3
05-22-2007, 04:14 PM
Hi all,
For those of you who target halis and have had luck bringing them in from the surf/shore, I was just curious as to how you go about handling the legals you plan on keeping. Do you immediately bleed them (like put them on a stringer, cut the gills, and leave em in the water to drain)? Or just do all that stuff when you get home? I've heard it's better to bleed them ASAP, but what's the best way to do that if you're surf fishing?

TIA,

Jeremy

SanDimasLMB
05-22-2007, 05:28 PM
If you want to bleed halibut or any fish in a matter of fact, you want to cut all the way down to the vertebre/bone of the fish from about 1-2inches from the tail and then just bend the tail back to sever the spinal cord of the fish but thats if you want to humanely kill/take it out of its misery. Plus breaking its vertebre help blood flow easier

halijedi
05-22-2007, 09:54 PM
When I bleed halibut and any other fish for that matter, I simply tear out the gills with my pliers and if I have a knife around, I would cut half way through the tail.

Troutman65
05-22-2007, 09:58 PM
I personally never heard anyone bleeding Halibut. I know you can get 4 nice filets out of legal size or larger one.

jplee3
05-23-2007, 07:06 AM
I personally never heard anyone bleeding Halibut. I know you can get 4 nice filets out of legal size or larger one.

Thanks for the tips guys. Troutman, I've just read that some people prefer to bleed em because the flesh won't be as firm and will have much of that 'fishy' taste if you don't. As with any fish I suppose. But yeah, I believe you get the 4 fillets (2 whiter meat and 2 darker meat) + the cheek! Still hunting for *my* legal, BTW :D

Nessie Hunter
05-23-2007, 08:27 AM
Gill cut and bleed while alive.

Gets (pumps) all the blood out faster and cleaner. Improves taste a lot... :D

Halibut is good eating..

But they stink so bad (BO) when I land them, I just cant see keeping them near me or eating one.. I C&R unless some one with me wants the legals...


.

jplee3
05-23-2007, 08:40 AM
Gill cut and bleed while alive.

Gets (pumps) all the blood out faster and cleaner. Improves taste a lot... :D

Halibut is good eating..

But they stink so bad (BO) when I land them, I just cant see keeping them near me or eating one.. I C&R unless some one with me wants the legals...


.

lol are you serious about the halibut "BO?!" I haven't noticed on the ones I've gotten. Of course, none of those were legal or *huge* so maybe the stink wasn't as big either ;) Wow, now I'm really fascinated :D

sonarbp
05-23-2007, 10:58 AM
It is best to bleed and clean a hali as soon as possible to prevent contamination of the meat!!!! Halibuts are bottom dwellers that tend to have worms. When a halibut dies, the worms leave the intestinal track and work there way into the flesh of the fish. If there were a “worm� in the meat it would most likely be a Nematode or a Cestrode. These are killed when the fish is cooked.

If you find a worm in the flesh of the fish, just cut that section away and cook the remaining fish.

sonarbp

Troutman65
05-23-2007, 11:13 AM
I have learned somthing new today. Thanks for the info.

jplee3
05-23-2007, 11:34 AM
It is best to bleed and clean a hali as soon as possible to prevent contamination of the meat!!!! Halibuts are bottom dwellers that tend to have worms. When a halibut dies, the worms leave the intestinal track and work there way into the flesh of the fish. If there were a “worm� in the meat it would most likely be a Nematode or a Cestrode. These are killed when the fish is cooked.

If you find a worm in the flesh of the fish, just cut that section away and cook the remaining fish.

sonarbp

Thanks for the info sonar! I guess this is a good excuse for me to bring my grill to the beach :D
If/when you bleed the fish from the surf, do you do it while the fish is submerged in the water? Is it generally safe to do it that way? I'd imagine it would get real messy and gritty/sandy bleeding a fish on the sand. I guess the most ideal way would be if you have a cooler or something with saltwater in it.

sonarbp
05-23-2007, 11:54 AM
Hey jplee3,

A buddy of mine told me once all he does is pull the gills out of the fish!!! He said if you do it right.....you will pull the gills, the intestines, and the other organs out of the fish! Remember that the stomach is where the worms will mainly be!

I have never tried this myself but my buddy swears by it!! It seems, if it works, to be alot cleaner way of handling the fish. I will ask him more about it and get back to you.

sonarbp

Nessie Hunter
05-23-2007, 02:19 PM
Many of the local Hali have the flesh worms..

Never heard of the intestinal worms migrating to flesh after death?? Live and learn...

All the Hali I catch have a horrible odor about them.. Kind of like rancid piss or ??

99% I catch in the bays though. The other fish do NOT have that odor....

Im sure if you turn off the lights most of our local fish will glow in the dark.. I wouldnt eat any of them...



.

sonarbp
05-23-2007, 02:34 PM
Many of the local Hali have the flesh worms..

Never heard of the intestinal worms migrating to flesh after death?? Live and learn...

All the Hali I catch have a horrible odor about them.. Kind of like rancid piss or ??

99% I catch in the bays though. The other fish do NOT have that odor....

Im sure if you turn off the lights most of our local fish will glow in the dark.. I wouldnt eat any of them....

Nessie.....it doesn't happen right away....but the worms will move as the fish starts the rigor process!! The longer you wait the greater chance of the worms migrating.....a few hours you should be fine but the sooner you can clean it the better.

I do have to agree with you about the glowing fish we have in SoCal.....I would not eat any of them!!!!

sonarbp

sansou
05-23-2007, 07:48 PM
Many of the local Hali have the flesh worms..

Never heard of the intestinal worms migrating to flesh after death?? Live and learn...

All the Hali I catch have a horrible odor about them.. Kind of like rancid piss or ??

99% I catch in the bays though. The other fish do NOT have that odor....

Im sure if you turn off the lights most of our local fish will glow in the dark.. I wouldnt eat any of them...



.

Very true!

Local bay caught hali here in SD (at least ones I've personally seen or caught myself) ALL have had worms. Haven't noticed any particular odor though beyond the stank all these bay fish have....

ssrmr2
05-31-2007, 02:18 PM
alot of fish have worms.... yellows from Benitos, the Lupe, under paddies. all had worms when i filleted them, while i was working on the RR3. even tuna had some.

to help with the worm situation, clean the fish asap. as soon as its landed taken all pictures, brain them... and pull all the guts, gills and etc out of them. i have pulled 6 fish out of SD and cleaned asap as described and no worms in flesh. just an idea that seems to work for me.

sandies have them too.

-steve

rockbass
05-31-2007, 07:57 PM
Im sure if you turn off the lights most of our local fish will glow in the dark.. I wouldnt eat any of them...

True that!!! It can be scary with some harbor fish!!!

But I eat a lot of my catch that I get off of the coast-not harbor fish-

give me the wide open anyday!!![/i]