I did the unthinkable!

[outsider]

Most fish are easy for me to fillet, trout being the exception. However I haven't killed a trout in 30+ years.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Use a priest. GG

 

[TimMurphy]

JackM wrote:
No one mentioned it, but they make a miniature club for whacking fish and it is called a "priest." I assume this is because it administers "last rites."

Dear Jack,

Religious commonality aside, I'm surprised no one commented on this?

I thought it was funny!

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[BrooksAndHooks]

I keep any fish I kill in season. That doesn't happen much at all. Only ever killed one wild brown, he swallowed a fly on opening day when I was swing for stockies on Penns with some family. Couldn't believe it.

We used to keep stocked bows and browns a lot more often. I haven't fancied the taste of them much lately, but this is how we do them. Just gut and wash out well. Fill the whole fish with butter, lemon, and pepper where the guts were. Throw it on the grill. Skin peels right off and meat will pull off whole right off the bone if done right. Super easy. Wouldn't bother trying to fillet a trout.

 

[Chaz]

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

No you didn't say, but I wanted to make it clear to you and others that it's against the law to harvest trout from streams that are wild trout streams. And PFBC watches this board.
And it does say right in the book that you can't gut the fish on stream.
I suppose no one reads anymore.

 

[dryflyguy]

JackM wrote:
No one mentioned it, but they make a miniature club for whacking fish and it is called a "priest." I assume this is because it administers "last rites."

I remember reading one of Ernie Schweiberts books when I was new to FF. And him talking about dispatching fish with a priest. And I wondered at first what he was talking about, although I quickly realized what it must be.
That was the first - and still the only - time I've ever heard of a killing club referred to with that term

 

[steveo27]

hooker-of-men wrote:
Everyone I know hangs game. None leave the guts in.

This. Shoot the deer, tag it, then gut it as soon as you can. Get the deer home and hang it. Skin it while its still warm, the warmer the deer, the easier it is to skin. Clean/remove all the bloodshot meat. Ever try to gut/skin a deer after a day of tracking it? Cut the hooves off, cut the scent glands off, cut the head off. Cut the tenderloins out. Cover it in cheese cloth and let it hang. We typically let our deer hang for about 3-5 days in the barn as long as the temperature stays under 42-44*. The meat dry ages fantastically and it really changes the taste/texture.

Same goes for trout in my opinion. I like to gut them right after I kill them. Easier to clean before rigor mortis sets in

 

[phiendWMD]

I haven't killed or eaten a fish since the early 1990's. That was a stocked rainbow that my cat finished up after I remembered I didn't like fish. Really I just wanted to give it another chance after not having it for a long time* I thought about trying another one last summer. I just couldn't be bothered ultimately. If I ever kill one again, I was probably try how the Japanese kill their fish. By stabbing it in the brain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikejime


*before that the last fish I eat was in the early 80's. My uncle and father forced me to eat a fish after I insisted I didn't want to. The joke was on my uncle though, because I threw the fish up all over his kitchen, living room, and hallway on my way to the bathroom. He never tried to make me eat another one...

 

[melvinp]

After all this I hope it tasted good at least.Poor kids will need some kind of counseling.Too funny

 

[Swattie87]

When I first read the OP story, I immediately thought of this...(language warning).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVY717u04II

As an aside, that show makes for a good, funny Winter binge watch. I also have no clue what a Rainbow Trout is doing in a coastal harbor in England.

 

[PocketWater]

pcray1231 wrote:
drive straight to Poor Richards, trade for a smoked one, drive home.

Mmmmmm. So freaking tasty. I kept two this year. I took them to Poor Richards, got a smoked one, and the other filleted and traded it to a friend for some venison steaks. I ate the smoked one with some fancy cheese on crackers and ate the whole damn thing in 3 days.

 

[jifigz]

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

Incorrect. What is a wild trout stream? I don't know about where you live, but in Mifflin County every stream that is stocked with trout also has an abundance of wild trout. Are these considered wild trout streams? Who knows, but regardless as long as this stream was stocked he can harvest any fish from the stream. I'm just criticizing you Chaz, but stocked stream vs wild trout stream is a blurry area in my part of the state.

 

[jifigz]

I also find that a quick slit to the gills of a trout bleeds is out really quickly and it dies almost immediately. Warm water species I just thrown in the cooler right on ice. Being cold blooded their metabolism slows so drastically they don't feel much as they slowly suffocate.

 

[rrt]

1. Interesting responses. Every couple of years, I hook a fish so badly that I know it won't survive, so I also use the rock to the head method. Seems cruel, but it is quick and efficient.

2. Jack's warning about where you can presently harvest a trout is appropriate: You can kill 3 9-inchers or better on ATW, but you are not allowed to harvest fish from wild trout streams until the traditional opening day and from then until Labor Day.

 

[JackM]

And it is appropriate to note that the presence of wild trout does not in itself prohibit extended season harvest as long as you are an ATW (now "Stocked Trout Water") or downstream areas.

 

[Cornholio]

The most bizarre fish killing I have ever had the displeasure of witnessing (although it was somewhat funny in a weird way) was about 15 years ago. I was fishing the Allegheny for Smallmouth with a couple of friends and there was an old man of about 75 with a young kid, who I am assuming was his grandson. The little guy hooked into something, and then a 15 minute epic brawl ensued. The kid then landed a MASSIVE Channel Cat. He beached it on the shoreline, put his foot on it's head, puffed his little chest out and said, "I'm taking this home to show granny!" The old timer said " You ain't taking sh#t home boy!" An argument followed and then the old man lost his temper. He grabbed the catfish by the caudal peduncle and swung it in a full circle and plowed it's head into the side of a huge Oak Tree. I Will never forget the WHACK! It was reminiscent of a 12 gauge shot.

 

[JeffK]

I eat a few fish a year, and unfortunately wild trout taste much better than stockies. For smaller trout I break the neck, but for lakers and larger trout from lakes I bleed them out. In general, I like to be prepared to keep fish on ice if I plan to keep a fish and only keep a fish if I cook it that day. I don't bother with the ice in winter. If you are eating anything it is only right to keep them in good shape. After all, as a fisherman I can get fish fresher than any store.

As an alternate to the C&R religion, one NYS guide, who kept the occasional fish, remarked that if a wild trout population was so stressed taking a few fish would harm it we probably shouldn't be fishing at all.

 

[Reeder]

When I was a young kid, one of my uncles was attempting to put a trout on a stringer for us, but it kept jumping and flipping around and he kept dropping it. He finally lost his patience, shouted out some expletives, bit the top of the trout's head off, spit it about 8 feet out into the water and then put the lifeless trout on the stringer and stormed off. What a nutcase. We all still laugh about it to this day.

 

[JackM]

Ooooh, Uncle Ozzy!

 

[greenghost]

kbobb wrote:
jeez, bashing in heads with rocks and clubs. just put your thumb in their mouth and quickly break the neck by bending the head backwards touching their nose to their back. it snaps in less than a second and it's immediate lights out. seems more humane to me - probably why hanging replaced stoning.

Also i've always heard to gut game ASAP and get the hide off and cool them ASAP. don't see sides of beef hanging with the hide on or guts in.

Agree. That's the way to do it. Snap. Gut. Cook. Eat. Mmmmmm.