Dealing with fish once in the boat

OK, now that I've finally stopped chuckling I'll get down to business.

Since Pat got a fairly definitive written response on the acceptable parameters regard the cleaning of halibut on the boat or away from port it would behoove
anyone fishing in Alaskan waters to carry a copy of that epistle on their boat. I'm certainly going to carry it..

As far as salmon and other manageable size critters are concerned they never
see the floor on my boat. I have a cleat on the gunwale on both sides of my
22 cruiser, just barely forward of the cabin bulkhead. I also have the infamous
DogOnDans cooler rack where my ice chest resides. There is a stringer on each cleat. long enough to reach the cooler. Upon catching a salmon it goes
from the net immediately into the cooler where it is threaded on the stringer and immediately back in the water where it is promptly bled. Once bled it goes back in the cooler and ice. I may have 2 or 3 salmon on a stringer at one
time but having a stringer on both sides gives me plenty of capacity for a hot
bite. Halibut are bled before they come in the boat.

Anyone that doesn't have a cooler rack really ought to look at our intrepid
"Engineers" classic design. That has to be one of the best additions I have ever seen for a C-Dory! It clears the cockpit floor, is simple but incredibly slick, cheap but invaluable! Thanks again, Dan.
 
Hey Mark where did you get the plunder to build your cooler rack. It look great and I am going to rob the idea if I can locate the supplies.
Thanks.
Big Dave
Raven Dancer.
 
I've discussed the filleting issue with troopers in PWS and their interpretation is the same as above, they just want to be able to figure out how many fish were caught.
 
Hey Dave,

The rack is made out of the plastic lumber that Home Depot sells 1" x 4" stock).
It makes for a very lightweight and durable rack. The stainless steel support I
got at a local shop and had them cut it to the right angle and length on the spot.
The pockets for the support are made from some scrap starboard that I had and
as you'll note I sandwiched it so the metal support is not going to contact the
gelcoat. A few screws, a lot of fun putting it together, and voila'. I
don't recall the angles off hand but Dan will probably chime in on that, or it would be easy enough to figure it out (around 25 degrees). Most expensive part of the deal was the SS support and that was only $20.00.

Oh yeah, I anchor the cooler with a couple stout bungy cords from the cooler handles toa pair of SS fasteners on the inside of the splashwell.

Using an aluminum support bar like Dan did would save a bunch of weight and
probably a good option. I went with the SS because I thought the price was right
and I have this "more is better" affliction. Not necessarily so though.

You'll love it. Have fun!

Mark
 
There is an issue with building things out of this "plastic lumber" that Home Depot sells. It's not available at some locations, LIKE CALIFORNIA!!!

Near as I can tell, it's intended for facia boards, since plastic won't rot, and there's a need for that kind of thing in the PNW, NOT CALIFORNIA!!!

When I did search for it a couple of years ago, I couldn't find it at my local HD, and found through the manufacturer that the closest lumber yard dealer was in Ukiah, about 140 miles away. So I built my project (a locking cover for my fishing rods on the back of my bulkhead) out of plastic milk cartons.

It would be really nice if some C-Brat would go into business buying and shipping small quantities on order from other C-Brats for projects like the cooler rack and the rod cover.

Joe.

Tyboo Mike's Locking Reel Cover
Reel_Cover.jpg





3rd Byte":11liil82 said:
Hey Dave,

The rack is made out of the plastic lumber that Home Depot sells 1" x 4" stock).
It makes for a very lightweight and durable rack. The stainless steel support I
got at a local shop and had them cut it to the right angle and length on the spot.
The pockets for the support are made from some scrap starboard that I had and
as you'll note I sandwiched it so the metal support is not going to contact the
gelcoat. A few screws, a lot of fun putting it together, and voila'. I
don't recall the angles off hand but Dan will probably chime in on that, or it would be easy enough to figure it out (around 25 degrees). Most expensive part of the deal was the SS support and that was only $20.00.

Oh yeah, I anchor the cooler with a couple stout bungy cords from the cooler handles toa pair of SS fasteners on the inside of the splashwell.

Using an aluminum support bar like Dan did would save a bunch of weight and
probably a good option. I went with the SS because I thought the price was right
and I have this "more is better" affliction. Not necessarily so though.

You'll love it. Have fun!

Mark
Click to expand...
 
I really like the DogOnDory/3rd Byte cooler rack along with many other ideas and method of handling fish on a CD.
When I started this thread I never thought there’d be so much feedback, there’s some really valuable information here I plan on using as I prepare the Triple J for next summers exploring of PWS. And thanks for the regs clarification, I’d never have known.
I agree with previous threads regarding the cutting loose of big butts in favor of the 20 to 30lb’ers, these are much more desirable.
I don’t think I’ll be vacuum sealing out on the boat though, I find this process much easer to do after freezing. I lay the fillets flat on sheets, freeze overnight, and then vac the next day; I believe this gives you a better product. Hay, everyone has there ways of putting up fish, and I’ve probable tried them all over the years, but even under the best of circumstances- at least to my taste- frozen fish is dog meat after about 10 months. Now my buddy will pull something out of freezer that’s been there for two years thinks its great, to each there own I say.
The absolute best way to preserve your fish is to have them flash frozen, glazed, then vacuum packed, but this process in only available commercially.
The one thing I tend to disagree with is bonking and fish over the head unless it’s absolutely necessary, I believe this only slows the bleeding process.

Great stuff! :thup
 
dogon dory":2g6a5zl0 said:
breausaw":2g6a5zl0 said:
The one thing I tend to disagree with is bonking and fish over the head unless it’s absolutely necessary, I believe this only slows the bleeding process. :thup
Click to expand...
You just have to calibrate your bonk. The idea is to stun em long enough to get the gills cut and over the side or into the bleed bucket or whatever. No for sure you're not supposed to bonk hard enough to kill them. They're supposed to bleed to death slowly while helplessly hanging there in their native element, contemplating the innevitable end.

Now if you get bitten or finned, all bets are off. Then you can beat them till their eyes fall out on the deck. And who could blame you?
Click to expand...

Touché :beer
 
OK Mark, I'm back from Home Depot with all the plunder. Im trying to figure out the angle you cut the slot in the starboard, how sure are you about the 25 degrees ? Once that is figured out the rest is a snap ! Do you have a way of measuring that angle ?
I won't be able to use mine when the back curtain in place on the camper back, but that really don't matter anyway because the top is folded up when fishing .
Thanks.
Big Dave
Raven Dancer.
 
I'm pretty sure it's 25 degrees. If Dan think's it is as well I believe your safe. Dan,
may have pulled a couple of winks since he did his, but you know how them damn
engineers are.....they never forget a thing. Besides it's dark as hell outside right
now, colder than a wedge, and I'm afeared of getting run over by a herd of moose
if I wander out after dark. Maybe in the morning I could get the courage to go check it?

Man, I dunno what the world is coming to. Some guy's just have bonking
on the brain. I like them fish healthy when they go on the stringer and only
when they are on the stringer and in the water do they get bled.
Bonk, bonk bonk,.....
 
3rd Byte":2g8wcauh said:
<stuff deleted>

Man, I dunno what the world is coming to. Some guy's just have bonking
on the brain.
Click to expand...

Mark-

I agree, the cold, lonely, looooong winter has got all youse guys going,,,,,,,,,





BONKERS


JOE. :wink
 
One more thing, somewhere in the timing of this, might be photographs. Fish that are fresh out of the water, not faded or blotchy with ice water soak marks, not cleaned or bled, held by excited fishermen who are seeing their fish for the first time and amazed at it's heft, make the best photographs when taken out on the water, not on the dock or back at home. I too believe bleeding helps the quality of the meat, but long after the meat is gone, someone is going to be enjoying the photographs if they are done right. Tuna especially fade quickly - check out the color of mine in the album. The "sparkle" of the catch fades quickly -- catch it. You'll end up with great, publishable photos instead of faded smiles and grey, very dead looking, stiff fish that could have come from a supermarket.

While fighting the fish I ask someone to grab my camera and snap a few action photos, with the strap around their neck (lost some Leupold binoculars once). I remind them to frame the shot on the center of the person's body, not their face. I always net the fish when they are of any size (20+ lbs.). It is easy to lose them if done wrong. I offer to have the guest/fisherman do the bonking of their salmon once it is on board. It is a visceral experience, they like it, adds to their bragging rights, raises the intensity of their involvement, and it is hard to screw up. We quickly cut the leader to lure and drop lines if they are entangled in the net, tie the nylon safety rope through the head and mouth which also provides a handle for the guest to lift with. I wipe off the fish with a damp rag, tie off the safety line to keep the fish from being dropped overboard (more of a possibility on my high fish deck than in a C-Dory's recessed cockpit), turn the fish so it reflects the light and shines, make sure it is held high enough, watch the photo is framed right, held steady and snapped. We take some with flash, some without, some with others in pic, some alone. I then weigh the fish whole on a quality scale. Depending on how bad the fishermen wants the fish to weigh a nice rounded number (say 20, 25 or 30 lbs.) I may hedge the weight of the fish up one pound, never more (and I don't hedge at all for the regulars, myself included!). I drop the fish overboard, slice the gills, later clean and drop in the ice box. C.W.
 
Jay;
I made a bleed tank with plastic culvert pipe, the bottom of a bucket and a ball valve. It is mounted on the motor bracket. But, can be made smaller to accommodate available space. We bleed all fish, salmon, tuna, halibut and rockfish. Once they are bled they go on ice. There are some photos posted in our album.

Good fishing
Gene
 
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