An oldie —
Date: January 30, 2001
To: PFIC Message Board
From: Scooterfish
Subject: Fort Point + Muni Pier — (& Killing A Fish)
Fished from 3:45pm until 6:45pm... Started at the old Coast Guard beach spot just east of Fort Point Pier, caught one nice rubberlip (.9 pounds) on pileworms. Tried casting motor oil grubs for a while, no takers.
Moved over to Muni Pier at 4:50pm. Friend Rich hooked into a nice legal cabezone on his second cast, just BARELY over 15", 1.8 pounds. We had a couple of fish that did not manage to stay on the hook during the fight, probably perch. No other fish except for a few baby cabezon and one buffalo sculpin that was pretty small.
The keeper Cabezon was extremely tasty... a little Zatarain's Fish-Fry, some lime... Yum...!! Wierd thing though, for some reason, this fish would not die... I clubbed him on the head several times with a construction hammer, but throughout the cleaning process, he appeared to be very much alive. Even after cleaning and filleting, his gills and mouth were still going, like a live head with a meatless and gutless carcass attached.. kind of unnerving, especially for my fiancé... All I could tell her was that fish just doesn't get much fresher than that... (she gladly ate it anyways, btw!) Scooterfish
Posted by aafrench
Nerves...The fish was probably dead, and it was just his nerves. I have noticed this a lot with Large Mouth Bass. The equivalent of a chicken running around with his head cut off. Andrew
Posted by baitfish
I had something like that happen to me when I was cleaning a shovelnose one time. I chopped off the tail and the whole time I was cleaning it, even after I skinned it the muscles kept on spasming. It was really weird having a chunk of fish in your hand and it is moving. Baitfish
Posted by Scooterfish
I dunno ‘bout Nerves...I've seen the nerve twitch thing before, but I think this was different. During the cleaning process, this guy was literally flapping around everywhere and actually tossed some of his guts across the room with his tail... I'm hoping the hammer blows were effective enough to at least reduce his suffering... I did hit him damned hard, and quite a few blows...Scooterfish
Posted by aafrench
Maybe he just didn’t want to die! But I have given Large Mouth Bass blows that I know would knock me out and the big suckers still flop around... as long as the fillets are not flopping around in the pan I’m ok.
Posted by stinkyfingers
Ouch! I'm saying a prayer for all those Big-mouths! I've only killed one in my life (because I usually kill my first catch and eat some to get the "wild" into me - it's like a bond), and I don't expect to kill many more. Maybe if I'm camping and NEED to cook dinner and have no fish at all... The one that I did kill and go to cook still flapped around even after I had wrapped in foil and on the grill. You could actually see the foil moving around - CREEPY! Scooter: That fish you had is a trip. To actually see the guy still trying to breathe and stuff - YIKES! Were the organs still moving, like the stomach and/or heart? I don't know if you guys have seen "Me, myself, and Irene" but it reminds me of the part when Jim shoots a cow, trying to put it out of it's misery - only to have to shoot 7-8 times because the cow won't die. He ends up choking it. What a riot!
Posted by Salty Nick
I usually try to stab the brain to kill a fish, though sometimes you still get jerking reflexes from nerves. A couple of times after killing and cleaning a fish, I pulled the guts out and the little red heart was pumping, Kinda weird looking at a beating heart from a dead fish. Oh, that reminds me, Valentine's Day is coming up. . .Salty.
Posted by stinkyfingers
Thanks for the reminder, Salty! Way to keep us all out of trouble (or at least those of us that "forgot" about it until just now)! Like my girl said, you're a great guy. I wish you and your wife a fun-filled Valentines Day!
Posted by Salty Nick
Thanks Stinky, same to you & your girl! (Maybe you could give her the Anti-backlash reel for Val. Day) That might not fly though, might have to get her that ring, Stinky. . .
Salty.
Posted by harukan
The fish that would not die--how to kill it...The only quick and clean way to kill a fish is to chop its head off. That severs the connection between brain and heart, as well as between the gills and the rest of the fish. If for some reason you want to leave the head on (as when cooking a whole fish Chinese-style), then cut through the spinal cord right where the head joins the body.
Posted by mike
Whenever I gut a salmon the heart is still pumping even after it is no longer attached to the body. Tight lines
Posted by harukan
Yeah, the Aztecs had the same problem...Just about any creature's heart will continue to beat for a little while even after being severed from the nervous system--even humans. The Aztecs would slash open the chests of their human sacrifices and hold the still-beating heart up as an offering to the gods.
