I did the unthinkable!

[Cornholio]

As of lately I have been feeling like a bit of a hypocrite. I am a catch and release fisherman who releases my fish in the name of conservation, but yet I buy fish from the store that comes from the ocean. The oceans are being depleted of fish as we speak. Out of sight out of mind I guess..

Anyhow, today I decided that I would keep a wild brown trout from a local stream. It wasn't the first fish that I have ever kept nor the first animal that I have ever killed. I keep some warmwater species and do some small game hunting every year, so killing is something that I have been accustomed to. I just want to gain a better perspective of loss and sacrifice in relation to food in a way that is close to home for me personally. My logic may be a little strange, but whatever...

So the stream I went to is a small stream that flows along a dirt road with little traffic. I was standing at a bend pool that is tight to the road when the 13 inch brown struck my fly. Being a guy who hates to see an animal suffer I normally just smack them over the head with a rock or stick instead of letting them flop around on a stringer. Since the water was cold I didn't want to reach in the stream to grab a rock, and there was 6 inches of snow on the ground that covered all sticks of the proper bludgeoning size. So, I did what any reasonable human being would do; I laid the fish in the snow and gave it a couple of good cracks with my fist. That's when I heard the car drive past. I looked up to see two small children in the backseat of an SUV staring at me with a look of pure terror on their faces. I then did the first thing that came to my mind which was smile and wave. In hindsight I think that may have made me look slightly crazier... And I am sure those kids will always remember the strange man who was laying in the snow along a back road beating a fish to death.

 

[pete41]

I have to laugh -about 50 years ago I headed up to Young woman's creek for opening day--- I was strictly C&R even then.Sitting on the wing of the bridge at the beginning of the FFO section , I was doing pretty good on the stocker's with small white marabou streamers.Carload of local yokel types stopped and started catching fish off the other wing.Every time they caught one they would kill it by smacking it on the concrete.To this day I still remember that sickening WHOCK sound that made.

 

[JackM]

I think you broke the law by harvesting out of season. Was this an ATW or downstream area?

 

[outsider]

Correct me if I incorrect: When I fished Young Woman's Creek, Cross Fork Creek, and perhaps even Slate Run in the late 60's and into the 70's, the regulations were different than today. If my recollection is correct, 3 trout could be harvested per day. The first day of trout season on Cross Fork Creek (those streams were not open to fish until the first day), a Fish Commission Officer always stopped by to talk to us, examine our kill (which was zero). He never made mention of our six-packs chilling in the creek.

And during that time period, a certain number of trout could be harvested from Clark's Creek as well. I remember so vividly when I caught s stocked pig in Clark's Creek, circa late 70's or early 80's. I believe it was stocked by the Upper Dauphin Sportsman's Association. 28 1/2", 8 1/2 lbs. Upon release of said fish my fishing buddy said I was ******* crazy to release it.

 

[hooker-of-men]

Cornholio wrote:
Being a guy who hates to see an animal suffer I normally just smack them over the head with a rock or stick instead of letting them flop around on a stringer.

I've wanted to start a thread here to discuss the most appropriate way to harvest fish, but I figured the conversation would degrade into C&R lectures immediately. I haven't kept trout in years, but I often think about it. I'm pretty unsure about the best way to kill the fish and the best way to handle/store dispatched fish while out on the stream (in terms of ethics and in terms of quality for eating).

 

[Fly-Swatter]

" In hindsight I think that may have made me look slightly crazier... And I am sure those kids will always remember the strange man who was laying in the snow along a back road beating a fish to death."

Isn't there a similar story in Jim Morrison's Childhood. Maybe you'll end up on a rockumentary some day.

 

[Acristickid]

Smack on head - humane.


Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleeding
Ghosts crowd the young child's fragile eggshell mind.

 

[outsider]

Once again I could be wrong (Corn-doggy your answer). I took this as" tongue in cheek".

 

[sarce]

I got a filet knife for Christmas and have never killed and cleaned a fish so I'd also be interested in tips on properly whacking fish. Completely serious.

 

[Cornholio]

Jack, I was perfectly legal.............. But thanks for making sure.....

Hooker-Of-Men, I was being serious. I really do hate to see something suffer. Unfortunately in this cruel world that we call home, something must give it's life for us to keep ours. That is the game of life, and I think modern comforts have hidden that reality from us.

For the record I am almost completely a catch and release fisherman, so I really don't want to hear a lecture on how we should release everything we catch. It is annoying and redundant...

As far as the quickest way to kill something, blunt force trauma to the head is by far the quickest and most humane way to do it. This is a medical fact.

All living creatures deserve respect even in death.

 

[outsider]

So much for my intuition. Although I don't kill trout, I can't argue with someone who selectively harvests one. Over the years, my wife begs me to kill just one fish so she can experience the tastes of a trout harvested from a stream. Just can't bring myself to do it (although I once again made the promise this year).

But the question begs: cornhoho, why did you post what you did?

 

[steveo27]

Im not one for killing wild fish but I typically keep a few stockies each year to eat because they are delicious - clean em, stuff em with butter, onions, and garlic, wrap with bacon and proceed to grille.

If I do plan on keeping one or 2, Ill wait until later in the day to keep them that way Im not lugging a dead fish around.

Dispatch the fish - I use the dull side of the blade of my hunting knife and pop em in the head - gut em, and then put em on a stringer and back in the water until you are done. Keeps em cold and keeps em from gettin weird. Once you get back to the truck, throw em in a bread bag then put em on ice.

This has worked for me for years.

Ive seen people smash em in the head with rocks, smack them off of trees, stab em, club them, ect and its never pleasant. Ugh.

 

[hooker-of-men]

Cornholio wrote:
Jack, I was perfectly legal.............. But thanks for making sure.....

Hooker-Of-Men, I was being serious. I really do hate to see something suffer. Unfortunately in this cruel world that we call home, something must give it's life for us to keep ours. That is the game of life, and I think modern comforts have hidden that reality from us.

For the record I am almost completely a catch and release fisherman, so I really don't want to hear a lecture on how we should release everything we catch. It is annoying and redundant...

As far as the quickest way to kill something, blunt force trauma to the head is by far the quickest and most humane way to do it. This is a medical fact.

All living creatures deserve respect even in death.

I didn't mean to sound at all skeptical; sorry if I did. I'm in full agreement that people would benefit from a more intimate relationship with the things that die for them to survive and that doing it right is extremely important. That's one of the reasons I think this forum would be a great place to discuss the topic: the C&R crowd usually seems a little more thoughtful about treatment of fish than the stringer crowd.

With that said, what's the best approach after whacking the fish on the head? Does one gut the fish right away on the stream? Should I be carrying a wicker creel and keeping an eye out for soft ferns like Hemingway? Does any of that have an effect on the taste of the fish?

 

[Cornholio]

"But the question begs: cornhoho, why did you post what you did?"

To see what kind of response I would get.

Hooker-Of-Men, Lay the fish on the ground and smack it on the head with a fist sized rock. Kills it instantly. As far as preservation that really depends and there is more than one way to do it.

This time of year you could carry it around with you all day. During the summer I really don't bother keeping anything unless it is getting close to the end of the day. If it is a cool day in spring or fall I will gut it (although I am not sure of how necessary gutting is) and lay it in a spring or tributary and then pick it up later in the day.

Never used a wicker basket, but if it worked in Hemingways day I am sure it will still work.

 

[Swattie87]

According to the regs, it is illegal to gut a fish streamside unless for the purpose of immediate on site consumption. Otherwise the fish must remain in tact until you get home.

I bonk em' on the head with a rock. Right behind the eyes. One solid strike usually does it. If I want to keep a fish or two for the grill, I usually wait until late in the day and keep the last legal fish or two I catch. I wrap them in a few plastic grocery bags and put them in my pack. I'll have a cooler with ice or will stop at the nearest gas station for a bag of ice to put on them for the ride home. I kept some Stockies this year, and was ultimately disappointed with the final cooked product each time...Lemon/butter/onion/lots of Cajun seasoning was what worked best.

I kept one legal size wild Brookie on a backpacking trip this Summer that somehow gill hooked itself on a dry. It tasted far different than the Stockies.

Edit: Check that on the above...you can gut streamside, but the fish must otherwise be in tact, unless for the purpose of immediate on site consumption.

I assume this is so the fish can be properly measured by a WCO if warranted.

 

[Chaz]

You do realize that harvesting trout from wild trout streams is illegal during the extended season?

 

[outsider]

Kill the fish with a blow to the head (or grab the trout by the jaw and break the neck upward) , gut it, put it on ice. The fresher the better. Love Crappie fillets. never tried to fillet a trout. Scale it, dip in flour, pan fry it in butter.

 

[Cornholio]

Chaz, Do you know the stream classification of where I was fishing?

 

[Chaz]

I slit them behind the gills and break their neck, I believe that is the most humane way to harvest a legal trout. I rarely harvest trout, but only stockies later hater in the season once in a while.

 

[outsider]

I agree with Chaz (as I stated before) break the neck by holding the fish by the body and the lower jaw and pull up to break the neck. If you put a fish on a stringer, hook it through the jaw, not the gills.