Tell me about fishing, please

[Elffriend]

It's been 30 years since I did any fishing. At the time I was a little girl, my brother would bait my hook and if I caught anything he would take the fish off and chuck it in a bucket of water. When we caught enough we took the bucket home to Mom. I have no idea what happened to the fish between bucket and dinner table, but now I need to learn.

My son made a fishing pole in cub scouts so we MUST go fishing. What do I do if he actually catches a fish with this thing? What is the best, most humane (quickest or least painful) way to kill it? What do I do after it's dead?

Right now it's trout season here and the nearest lake has been stocked, so I'm assuming if he catches anything, that's what it will be. What's the best thing to use for bait?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[FeralFemale]

I hate to say it, but we usually just cleaned them live. You scale them by scraping your knife up them against the grain of the scales, rinse. You stick your fillet knife up their you know what hole on their belly and cut all the way up to open them , just deep enough to cut open the skin. Grab the guts and pull them out. Rinse the cavity. If it's any consolation, after a day on the stringer or in a bucket, they aren't that much alive. And I guess, if you don't care about havinv the head, you could cut that off first with a sharp heavy knife, just behind the gills.

When I was young, we used to fillet catfish (that's a little more difficult to explain, easier to show) and they lived quite a while even outside water. The would have their fillets removed from either side and sitll be breathing. That was sort of creepy, but they were just fish and Dad told me that they didn't feel it.

[DixyDoodle]

Take someone who knows about fishing with you! LOL That's a lot of stuff to explain if you aren't sure what you're doing.

First of all, just because you are fishing a stocked lake does NOT mean that all you will catch is lake trout. Obviously there will be other kinds of fish there. Even if you use a typical 'trout' lure, this does not guarantee that the fish you catch will be a trout.

Also, some fish are harder to remove from hooks than others. Trout are fairly easy, since they don't have sharp spines or barbs. Some fish do, so you have to be careful how you handle them to avoid getting nasty punctures in your hands. Having said that, you should also try to handle fish carefully in case they are too small to keep (you should know the rules for this, you can get fined for keeping too small and SOMETIMES too large of a fish). You should try to allow the fish to return to the water and live for another day.

If the fish swallows the hook, again, there is a right way and wrong way to remove it.

Try not to kill the fish until you are ready to clean them. If you are really not ready to graduate to this step, then just catch and release for now. Buy some fish and chips at the local corner shop! When you are ready to kill the fish, a really sharp smack against a large rock is a quick way, or some use a fish bat. Or a sharp knife to the brain, but it can be messy if you aren't sure where to stab. Some just snap their spine with their hands or cut it.....depends on what type of cleaning you are doing. See how complicated it can get? LOL

After it's dead, obviously it's time to clean. I will leave the details for someone else, since again, it's a very hard thing to just explain. Also, depends on the fish type, and how many bones you have to work around (some have extra ribs, etc), some fishes' anatomy makes cleaning more difficult than others.

For trout, most people in my area use a trout reel, which is a special type of reel and use artificial flies as bait. You can also try a regular spin reel with flies or minnows as bait. Fish are fish and if they're there and hungry, you will catch something no matter what you use.

First off: get yourself a regulation booklet to get more info on what you are legally allowed to catch, what size, what they look like, etc. And get a licence if you need one. For a first try, I would skip the cleaning and eating, just practice catching and releasing. Or like I said, find someone who knows about fishing, that would make it a lot easier.

I hope that didn't scare you from fishing; you can easily just plop a bait somewhere and dream about what you will catch. You can learn by just doing it, but it's easier with a fisherman.

Happy fishing!

DD

[DixyDoodle]

Originally Posted by FeralFemale

You scale them by scraping your knife up them against the grain of the scales, rinse. You stick your fillet knife up their you know what hole on their belly and cut all the way up to open them , just deep enough to cut open the skin. Grab the guts and pull them out. Rinse the cavity. If it's any consolation, after a day on the stringer or in a bucket, they aren't that much alive. And I guess, if you don't care about havinv the head, you could cut that off first with a sharp heavy knife, just behind the gills.

Now see, Elffriend, this is a different way of cleaning than I did. So many different versions! LOL But many people do it that way. Yes, some do clean them while alive! I could never do that, though, I'm a bit of a weenie.

What we did is make a shallow cut behind the gills, not all the way through, just through the meat. Another shallow cut behind the head and cut beside the backbone, on each side to the tail. And then run the knife back over the ribs to the tail. There will be just a little bit of underbelly skin left that you gently slice off, avoiding puncturing the inner cavity, since doing so will spoil the meat. If done properly, you don't have to worry about 'gutting' the fish, since the fillet will fall right off in once piece, and the rest is discarded whole.

I'm sure you're going to get sooooo many different versions on how to kill and clean, etc., your head will be spinning!

DD

[rwinsouthla]

Undoubtedly, there will be someone near the lake that would be more than happy to assist. If not, just catch the fish, get 'em home as quickly as possible. Trout can be cleaned by cutting the head off before dead. Clean the guts out, and get a sharp knife to cut from the tail, along the backbone, toward where the head was. Leave the scales on. You can either grill it until the meat flakes from the scales, or simmer on a low fire in olive oil or butter in a black skillet until the meat flakes from the scales. You don't have to scale it. This would be the easiest for a newbie.

Enjoy the fishing and the bonding that it brings. Your son will NEVER forget it!!!

[Big Dave]

I read your situation. You have had some experiance I belive from what you have written. Best Bait for trout is Kernal corn from a can. Also if your boy is in scouts talk to the leader about help. You may also find a big brother in your church or a civc organization that will put you in touch with someone. (my paranoid tendenies will not let my child go with anyone I do not Know,in a group and most of the time with out supervision that I impecablly trust.) Now there is a site called singlemothers.org fishing that could help you out. I reared my daughter as a single dad from the time she was six till she graduated high school. I now have two stepsons that are the best two boys on the planet in my opinion. We fish regularly and if you would like my youngest to write or email your child I think he would be happy to. Check out that web site best to ya. TRUTH & MERCY, Big Dave

[beorning]

If humane is what you're after...

I lived in Germany for a while, and by law, you have to carry a small club and hit the fish you catch in the head with it hard enough to kill them immediately after they are caught. I did it there, because I wanted to keep fishing, but I don't do it here. After a day on the stringer and the ride back home in a cooler, there isn't much life left in the fish. I usually cut the heads off first if I'm not fileting them, or if i am, i drive a hunting knife through their head and into the stump I clean them on. This kills them, and holds them in place while cleaning them. I second the opinion that you should take someone with you who knows how to fish and clean the catch. It will make things much smoother and it is easier to learn from someone directly than to have it described to you online

good luck.

[Snugglebunny]

When we went fishing my Dad would just whap them against a rock - kinda like the way I try to unball a sock before putting it in the washer. He'd give em a good coupla whacks and stick them in the cooler.

When we got home he'd clean them, but I don't remember how he did that.

[MelissaW]

Such good advice already! Now, just two tiny tips from a squeemish mom with a boy who loves to fish : Take a pair of gloves and a pair of pliers. You never know when you are going to catch a catfish with big, stingy whiskers, or a bluegill with sharp spiny fins. I can't tell you how many times I've been forced to take off my sweatshirt to remove a slimy catfish because all we took to the pond was a pole and bait! The needlenose pliers really come in handy for hooks that are stuck fast in fish or fingers (hopefully not the second one). If my husband isn't there, we don't keep any to eat, but when he fishes for food, he brings them home alive and kills them with a little club before he cleans them. Have fun fishing!

[DixyDoodle]

Originally Posted by MelissaW

The needlenose pliers really come in handy for hooks that are stuck fast in fish or fingers (hopefully not the second one).

Good advice, I always take my fishing pliers (those that are specifically for fish; the nose is longer than your average pair). You don't want to be sticking your fingers into fish with teeth or even catfish for that matter. Having a catfish 'clump' down on your fingers is the creepiest feeling. *ick* But if a hook is caught really far in or is too difficult to remove, sometimes it's better just to cut the line and lose a lure (unless of course it's your 'lucky' lure---every real fisherman/woman has a lucky one! ).

This reminds me of one time when I was foolishly carrying an extra Red Devil lure in my hand and jumping from rock to rock on the shoreline. I slipped on moss, fell and.....yep, two of three hooks right into the heel of my hand. No way was I going to go to the hospital with that hanging off my hand so I just yanked them out....backwards. Well, pushing the hooks the tiny rest of the way through was not an option, since I didn't have anything to cut the tips off with. Pulling barbed hooks back through your skin isn't very nice, but fortunately my hand was still pretty numb from falling.

So be warned: be extra careful around those hooks. If something bad can happen, it will.

DD

[tobo6]

Funny thing about fishing is that each person has a story to tell and different ways to fish.

Here is my version:
Two ways to fish on a lake that has been stocked with trout with a homemade pole. You either fish the bottom of the lake or the top of the lake. For the bottom of the lake put a lead weight about 3 ft from your hook. No bobber. For a young child, I would recommend using powerbait. Either powerbait dough that looks like playdough in neon colors or powerbait worms which are plastic colored and scented lookalike worms. In my experience, its more likely the child will catch a fish before they run out of patience and this is important so they are bit by the fishing bug for life, lol. Anywho...Cast the line and let the weight sink to the bottom of the lake. The hook will float up three feet off the bottom. Keep the line taunt and pull when you feel a tug.

Fishing the top of the water.....Put a little weight (enough to keep the hook and bait from floating) and a bobber about 4 feet from the hook. Cast and watch the bobber for movement. You can use powerbait here too.

Have a bucket with water handy to throw the fish in. If your child likes the feel of fish when he catches it, probably letting him hold it while you work the hook off of it will do the fish in, and you don't have to worry about conking it out, lol.

Don't scale a trout. Chop the head off, split it open. Using the thumb just slide it down the inside to clean. Rinse it off good and it's ready to cook. For lake trout my favorite way to cook it is to dip the fish in beer, roll in flour and throw it into a skillet with a little oil and fry it.

Most of all Remember......Have fun!!

[FeralFemale]

Oh, I have a good tip for bottom of the lake. We usually did this with catfish (who liked maggots and velveeta as bait if you can believe that)

Do what the above poster said...put a weight about 3 feet above the bait. Cast it out, then set your pole up in the crook of a Y shaped branch you put in the ground so the handle end is on the ground and the tip is angled up in the air, don't let the line get stuck between the pole and the branch.

Take a smallish bobber and attach it to the line between the second and third eyes from the tip of the pole. Pull down the bobber about a foot from the pole. If a fish starts messing with your line, that bobber will start to move up or down, usually up. And if he hits and and runs off with it, that bobber will slap up against the pole really fast. You set the hook when either you feel it is right or when the bobber is all the way up against the pole.

KEEP AN EYE ON THE BOBBER and grab hold of the pole as soon as the bobber starts to move. I once lost my father his best rod and reel because I wasn't keeping an eye on the pole. That pole must have 'skied' 20 or 30 feet before the fish finally took it down, never to be seen again. Boy was dad mad.

[btai]

Chicken livers are also very good catfish bait...but they stink to high heaven and your hands will be smelling like them for days

[Elffriend]

Wow, I knew this was the right place to ask! Thank you all so much. I am going to print out this thread and study it before we go. I'll post again this weekend and let you know how we made out.

[insanity]

Best advise i can add is to take a cooler full of ice.Just toss the fish in as you catch them, they will stop flopping in a min or two.No mess,no pain from getting stuck by there fins while trying to beat them to death,and there not swimming around on a stringer slowly dieing.Seriously they will taste better also. I didn't believe it till i tried it for myself.
Might want to take a separate cooler for your beverages.

[DixyDoodle]

Originally Posted by insanity

Best advise i can add is to take a cooler full of ice.Just toss the fish in as you catch them, they will stop flopping in a min or two.No mess,no pain from getting stuck by there fins while trying to beat them to death,and there not swimming around on a stringer slowly dieing.Seriously they will taste better also. I didn't believe it till i tried it for myself.
Might want to take a separate cooler for your beverages.

And make sure it is a cooler you don't want to use for anything else! We did this before and depending on the cooler, you may never quite get the fish smell out. I tend to use a stringer (chain) when shoreline fishing because I like to travel 'light' while fishing and don't want to have to drag a cooler or anything else large around with me. Sometimes I have to climb little cliffs, over fallen trees, through thick bush, etc to get to that special place.

DD