After you catch?

[Capt Juls]

Now that the water is getting warmer, and the fish go belly up pretty quick with a full live well, I will start cutting and throwing them on ice for my customers.

My live well pumps water in and then I can switch it to pump water out. So, after they bleed, I pump the bloody water out and pump fresh in again.

[Shelly J]

No live well on the Shelly J.WE use a 5 gallon bucket about half full of lake water,hold there head in bucket,snip there throat and leave them after a while or when someone has time throw on ice and change out water.Works good for us and taste better.

[forefathers]

2 inches of water in 5 gallon bucket.. Dollar store pruning shears... Been doing it for years. As far as the taste.. Wife didn't like walleye until we met and she tried mine! It's like a while different fish. (better)
Anymore then 2 inches of water is useless. my boat never gets more then a couple of drops of bloody water here and there.

[limitlypps]

while I clean the fish, I discard the backbone and the mud vein meat , when this is done it deters your meat from tainting and going fishy after you freeze it. All the meat is white when its either cyrovac or frozen in water. No need to bleed.
Some folks want that perfect looking fillet and leave that bone in that makes kids dislike fish at times. I like to cut up my fish into 3x3 in squares and do my batter/dip mix/panko thingy which have people raving about my fish even after its been in the freezer for a year. It goes much further when you have quite a number of guests over that have the knack for over consuming.
Salmon has a much larger mud vein and I do bleed them because the meat is very oily and porous and its advantageous to get that blood out as quickly as possible after the catch.Walleye lacks the omega's and the meat is far more dense and I don't feel the need to bleed. Been doing this all for years and not one has ever turned down a fish fry/bake on my premises. So I guess its whatever works for you.

One other thing to consider, all the carcinogens of a fish/if any are store in the belly fat and just behind the head, so make sure you discard that meat as well.

[eriecaster]

I know their is some charters in fl that do this
www.anglers-secrets.com/how-to-keep-fish-fresh

[qspman]

Since I frequently use long nosed pliers to remove the hooks from the fish, its easy to just reach in from behind the gill plate and rip a gill or two....the fish will bleed profusely....and there's no knife involved to stick something/someone you don't want to. Just started bleeding walleye last year and IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE in the quality of the fillets. I do it on every species of fish now.

[BossHogg]

I think it would be effective for the big boat owner if they don't want buckets in the boat to put in a couple tuna tubes off the back of the boat like that are used in the ocean for keeping bonita alive for marlin fishing. small chain hanging off the side of the top of the tube with a set of pruning shears attached. can bleed 3 or 4 at a time.

Just a thought.

[eriecaster]

Just got off the water and cut all my walleye on the lake using the bucket method very impressed with the fillets very white and no mess thanks for all the input. I will continue this practice in the future.