Most merciful way to kill your catch?

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saganco

RIP my precious kitty baby
Oct 29, 2006
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Colorado
This may seem like a stupid question to most fishermen and women, but since most of us also "keep" fish and do our utmost to keep them healthy and alive - I would like to know the most merciful and painless way to kill the fish we catch for dinner. I've heard that cutting their gills will allow them to bleed out in the live well, make the meat taste better, and is not painful for them.

Any other thoughts - or comments on this method? I love to fish and to eat it, but having a terrible time making the transition from keeping my fish alive to killing them for dinner! :cool:
 

saganco

RIP my precious kitty baby
Oct 29, 2006
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Colorado
Awww, you're TOO funny - 39 pages of mumbo jumbo!? :laugh:

How about the readers digest version for those of us who don't have that kind of time? I want merciful and something that won't affect the taste of the meat (or make it unhealthy for us)...
 

milesalive

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Apr 22, 2009
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Kalamazoo,MI
freezing water
 

Amphiprion

Contain the Excitement...
Feb 14, 2007
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Andrew
Awww, you're TOO funny - 39 pages of mumbo jumbo!? :laugh:

How about the readers digest version for those of us who don't have that kind of time? I want merciful and something that won't affect the taste of the meat (or make it unhealthy for us)...
That's what the table of contents is for ;). There are actually only 2 pages of pertinent info. According to the table of contents, start on page 20.

FWIW, freezing is actually not recommended, since nociception (pain) hasn't been proven to be eliminated at freezing temps.
 

saganco

RIP my precious kitty baby
Oct 29, 2006
239
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Colorado
Awww, I tried to read that stuff, but my soft heart breaks with the decriptions of killing all those innocent animals in such "creative" methods. I couldn't get very far.

So is cutting the gills and letting them bleed out a bad plan or a painful way to die? Supposed to make the meat taste better... But I don't know, never tried it. Freezing water is kinda hard to manage in a live well...
 

Amphiprion

Contain the Excitement...
Feb 14, 2007
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I wouldn't imagine that it would feel great. That's like severing your pulmonary artery/vein.

Edit: If you are willing to do that, trystunning, decapitating. Using any chemical agents are not recommended if you are going to eat that particular catch.
 

saganco

RIP my precious kitty baby
Oct 29, 2006
239
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Colorado
So stunning is what - a bonk on the head, but not lethal? Wouldn't decapitating the fish make it harder to skin, scale, or clean? Especially for a catfish (hubby used to nail the catfish's head to a board to skin it - before my time...). Any thoughts on the cleaning/scaling/skinning without a head?

I would have never thought about chemicals :yuck: my whole life is about using as few chemicals for anything in life that I can.
 

Amphiprion

Contain the Excitement...
Feb 14, 2007
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Mobile, Alabama
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Yes, it would make it difficult for certain fish like you mention. You wanted humane/merciful, not easy :p

Edit: you can always pith.
 
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