Great weekend & tried bleeding out

We fished Friday nite, all day Sat, and Sun morning. We caught 7 or 8 each day for 3 guys and I'd say 4 lb plus average, all jigging anyway, this was my first time that I cut them and hung out on a stringer for ten minutes or so. WOW what a difference it made in the fish cleaning. I was skeptical but no blood or slime to tend with, it was just like everyone says and the meat was nice and white. It's well worth the little extra step. Oh yeah, we put 40 nice perch in the box too SE of Kelleys, what an awesome weekend even if we did fish in a little rain on Sat.

Sounds like a good weekend. Bleeding out the fish is great Eaven takes out the fishey taste in the bigger fish.

did you get your walleye around Kelleys

Day one was Crib Reef others were Kelley's Shoal, we even got a few on Starve Island Reef when North wind was blowing so hard but that was last week.

I am fairly new to walleye fishing and this is the first I have heard of bleeding out the fish. Can you give me some pointers on what and where to cut?

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Originally Posted by JJ7

I am fairly new to walleye fishing and this is the first I have heard of bleeding out the fish. Can you give me some pointers on what and where to cut?

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Cut at the base of the gills at the narrow area closest to the mouth be sure you cut all of the gills off also as close to the mouth as possible where they all come together, when done the head will be attached only by the back. I use a pair of Sea Shears from Cabela's but Fiskers work well also, just be careful of the pointed ends on the Fiskers. Point the fish away from you as sometimes they squirt a pretty large stream of blood. Put the fish in a 5 gal. bucket of water or a live well full of water or on a stringer and let dangle in the water for 5 to 10 min. as this helps in the bleeding process and also keeps your other fish and cooler much cleaner. If done right there will be very little if any blood in your cooler and it seems to slow up the slime production as well.
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have you ever tried knocking them out like a salmon just hit them in the back of the head this also helps on the slime in your cooler and keeps the meat cleaner not sure why but it works

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Originally Posted by BILLY JOE

have you ever tried knocking them out like a salmon just hit them in the back of the head this also helps on the slime in your cooler and keeps the meat cleaner not sure why but it works

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Yes I have, but I much prefer bleeding them. It kills them quickly and gets rid of most if not all of the blood and stops most of the slime production. Getting rid of the blood seems to be the secret to white fillets! If I was going on a charter boat I would not expect the captain or mate to bleed the fish as they have their hands full just setting lines, netting fish and keeping things in order. There are alot of lines to watch and other things to keep organized on a charter boat!

Took out of Fox Haven Marina on Thurs. , Fri., & Sat. and fished the L can, A can, almost all western basin reefs. What a haul. Would like to know when the walleye will be around Kellys for not so long trip.

Is kelly's some girls house or some one you know?? The kelleys I know of starts to hold fish after they spawn, which should be here really soon. With the bad weekend predicted I may have to wait til a little longer to head that way.

There are fish being taken on both sides of the bass islands, so they should be starting to stage between bass and kelly's.

Ya, my girlfriend Kelly! lol I've always liked that spot, I think you could probably catch fish there all year long, especially early morning and late evening. I think that it's just about to get really good around the islands. All the fish we caught there were big males too.

Thanks Wakina. I'll have to try that ... once I find the fish.

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Originally Posted by JJ7

Thanks Wakina. I'll have to try that ... once I find the fish.

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JJ7: You are welcome!!

Friday the marks were so thick and so good I found it hard to believe that we didn't snag a couple while trolling between D-can and Niagra.