Halibut bleeding/cleaning?

[jplee3]

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]

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]

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]

I personally never heard anyone bleeding Halibut. I know you can get 4 nice filets out of legal size or larger one.

[jplee3]

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]

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]

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]

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]

I have learned somthing new today. Thanks for the info.

[jplee3]

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.