Cleaning Fish- Gird Your Loins!

Okay, we're going to walk through cleaning fish on the deck, but look out! It's a little messy.

After you let the fish bleed out, cut around the gills and pull them out.

 

Cut down the belly to the anus.

Open the belly and pull out the entrails.

If there's an egg sac, try to keep it intact.

Scrape out the excess intestines and rinse well before storing in the fish box or on ice. And make sure to cut open the stomach to see what the fish last ate- it makes nice dinner conversation when your guests want to know everything about the critter they're eating.

 

We had a female and tried some of the eggs. They were ... eggy. And not the greatest texture. I guess it needs a little treatment with brine or chilling down over right out of the ocean. I'll let the sushi chefs keep in charge of that.

 

 

Here's a little video showing some of the internal plumbing mysteries of a fish. And vegetarians out there (the real kind that don't eat fish), I respect that you eat only what you're willing to harvest. It's a great reminder of why I would venture out in search of my own food than go to the fishmonger.

 

Salmon Fishin'

Last weekend gave me the amazing opportunity to go salmon fishing on my buddy's boat. That's been a major one on my list! Here's the lovely vessel, Overtime, fitting because its owner has spent 500 hours on her in the last year.

He can load her into the water in just a couple minutes, and backs up the trailer like it's second nature.

Out at sea with two ladies and a cute dog, we're ready for adventure and fearless to the fog and cold.

Less than an hour out, we get our first bite. My friend, Slim, let me reel the first one in.

A hefty 16 pounder was not too bad for our first catch.

What a thrill!

The fish can flap around on the deck for a while, and sometimes even escape, so it's important to club them and spear the gills so they bleed out.

With salmon you troll the line through the water, and often don't even need bait. Here is one of the lures my friend is hooking up to the line.

Slim brings in another one. He thinks it was all the female pheromones that helped us get 6 salmon and 1 rock fish for the day.

Here's a better look at the club he uses, with the curved blade on the end. If this seems cruel, remember that fish would suffer more if left to suffocate to death.

With a hook on the end, when looped through the gill, this shows the fish weight. Our biggest was over 20 pounds!

Check in tomorrow to learn about cleaning fish at sea. Look out, it's not for the feint of heart!