Kokanee meat prep?

[DuckHarvestor]

I have heard from several sources, including a fish biologist, that as soon as a koke dies its flesh starts degrading and softening due to bacteria attack. Being sensitive to warm water they almost always die in our "live" well before we get back to the dock and start processing them. I am thinking of using a cutting board on the boat and filleting the fish immediately and putting them on ice. Any thoughts? We fish in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico and realize the laws may vary by location. I leave on the skin on each side when i fillet them so proof of species is still attached.

Thanks for any insight in advance.

[nofish]

This is what I have found that keeps the fillets firm and the family liking them.

I first cut a gill and let them bleed out, it takes about 10 minutes or so, after that they go on ice until it's time to fillet them and then they go right back on ice. I try to get them processed sooner than later. This will help keep them firm.

I will usually do this on the lake so I can go fish for something else

[Bduck]

My fish box is also my bleed out chamber. As with what Aaron explained I do the same. I will also remove internals leaving head attach for travel depending where I'm at. If at the Gorge I sharpen knife for filets. Then I will get the fish on ice ASAP. I fish Utah, Wyoming, & Idaho.

[DuckHarvestor]

I appreciate the insight and will change how I handle the fish.

Regards,
Gary

[kokanee64]

I agree whole-heartedly with the others about bleeding them out and keeping them on ice. We also "club" them with piece of iron wood to knock them unconscious. I was told by a guy who might know the facts that knocking them out stopped the adrenalin dump and improved the flavor of the fish. My wife is so proficient doing this and seems to find enough satisfaction "clubbing" that is kind of scares me sometimes. The guy also said he puts them in a net and drags through the water while they bleed out. We use the live well but have to replace the bloody water frequently. As an aside, we never clean at fish cleaning stations anymore -- they aren't nearly as clean as the lake. When we clean salmon that have been bled out, there is essentially no blood while cleaning. We clean several times each day -- rather have fillets on ice than dead fish on ice.

Roger

[Cybersnow]

Do you still filet smaller fish? One of the lakes I fish here in Idaho has an abundance of relatively small Kokanee. I have been icing them, then gutting them-at the lake and leaving the heads on. Never thought about bleeding them and filleting them. It seems the filets would be too small. They get stuffed with onions, a little lemon and fresh dill, wrapped in tinfoil and grilled with skin and heads on.