How do you tell the sex of a fish??!!

[Raincatcher]

I have some burning questions for you gals and guys out there who obviously fish more than I do and have more experience as a result.

1) How do you tell the difference between the spring fish and the fall fish,other than the time of year?

2) How do you tell the sex of a fish by just looking at it?

3) What is the proper way to bleed a fish?

4) Is it okay to clean your fish on the riverbank,what do you do with the innards?

 

[joesnuffy]

I don't have all the answers but here's a start

2) A male steelhead will start getting the "hooked beak" and a female will not. (not sure about the fresher fish you have over there but that's how you tell after the fish have swam over 500 miles)

3)Bonk the fish to knock it out. slice the gills on one side adn let bleed

4) I don't think that it is legal to clean a fish on the water in Oregon..... not 100% on this one.

 

[tnffishman]

1. It's different with salmon and steel, I can't usually tell with steel but salmon is usually easy. The males will get hooked jaws and hens typically won't at all. A good tell for all fish is the fat bellies in the females

2. I can't tell the difference between spring and fall chinook besides the condition they are in at what time of year

3. I usually slice the gills on both sides, but I have seen people do one side, and some people rip the gills with their hands

4. I think it's actually against the law to clean the fish at the river and leave the guts, but if you bag them up or something it's ok

 

[JeannaJigs]

salmon and steelhead hens, are usually fatter (but not always) and have a more blunt rounded face.

 

[Mad dog]

I have some burning questions for you gals and guys out there who obviously fish more than I do and have more experience as a result.

1) How do you tell the difference between the spring fish and the fall fish,other than the time of year?

2) How do you tell the sex of a fish by just looking at it?

3) What is the proper way to bleed a fish?

4) Is it okay to clean your fish on the riverbank,what do you do with the innards?

Spring fish enter the river system in the spring and fall fish enter the system in the fall! :lol: On river systems that have a spring and a fall chinook run might have straggler spring chinook and early fall fish that overlap during the run. Typically a wild chinook is legal to harvest after aug. 1st because they are mostly wild fall fish. My son saw 3 bright wild chinook in the viewing window at Winchester dam just 2 days ago, the Odfw considers these as spring chinook until the end of september but fall chinook have been entering the Umpqua since the end of July. With almost no chinook movement on the North for a month, then all of a sudden bright wild chinook show up....Fall fish for sure!

Hen Salmon and Steelhead tend to have a smaller bullet shaped head, smaller mouth and bottom jaw, and tend to stay a brighter color for longer than the Bucks. A hooked jaw, larger size and color would be characteristics of a buck. Body shape is a good indicator. Fresh summer steelhead are difficult fish to sex, Winter steelhead not so much.

I bleed fish by cutting the gill rakers with a knife or fish skinning shears, if on the bank hold the fish head down and let the heart pump the blood out of the fish, a lot of the time blood will spray out with pressure while holding the fish this way, quick and efficient. If I am in the boat I simply leave the fish in the water in the net while it bleeds out. Never bonk a fish until it is bled, if you stop the heart it defeats the purpose.

I always clean my fish at home, I don't think it is illeagal as long as you don't dispose of fish parts in the waterway.

 

[joesnuffy]

Never bonk a fish until it is bled, if you stop the heart it defeats the purpose.

If the fish is bled out then it is already dead.......no need to bonk.

A proper bonk knocks the fish out (so it stops flipping out) and doesn't kill it. The bleeding out is was kills it.

Kinda cruel and unusual if you think about it.

 

[Thuggin4Life]

I have some burning questions for you gals and guys out there who obviously fish more than I do and have more experience as a result.

1) How do you tell the difference between the spring fish and the fall fish,other than the time of year?

2) How do you tell the sex of a fish by just looking at it?

3) What is the proper way to bleed a fish?

4) Is it okay to clean your fish on the riverbank,what do you do with the innards?

1. well it has to do with time of the year. in a system with both runs the darker fish will be the older season.
2. by looking at the head. females have smaller rounded heads.
3.light bonk and rip the gills out(may require safety glasses).
4.no not ok. well kinda ok but you can't leave a trace that you did it and have to discard the remains in a garbage not the body of water or the bushes.(dont get me started on how dumb this is) I just clean them at home and bag and freeze the leftovers for crab bait.

 

[Thuggin4Life]

If the fish is bled out then it is already dead.......no need to bonk.

A proper bonk knocks the fish out (so it stops flipping out) and doesn't kill it. The bleeding out is was kills it.

Kinda cruel and unusual if you think about it.

just gotta make sure you dont over bonk it. i always lightly bonk it to stun it and they still flop around just not as much.

 

[Mad dog]

If the fish is bled out then it is already dead.......no need to bonk.

A proper bonk knocks the fish out (so it stops flipping out) and doesn't kill it. The bleeding out is was kills it.

Kinda cruel and unusual if you think about it.

A proper bonk? Cruel and unusual? :think:

It's a fish, get over it.

 

[joesnuffy]

A proper bonk? Cruel and unusual? :think:

It's a fish, get over it.

Is that what the alien invaders are going to say about us? "It's just a human!"

 

[Throbbit _Shane]

I think we'll make great pets for the aliens!!!

 

[fishtales]

I’m more worried about the meat spoiling going than I am about how it dies. Yesterday I drained the cooler and dumped the ice (leaving the fish in the drive way first). Well I got busy putting stuff away and cleaning up that I forgot the fish was sitting there for about 45 min in the shade. Think it is still good? It still felt cool to the touch.

 

[Hawk]

I think we'll make great pets for the aliens!!!

The Aliens already have earthlings in their Zoo's.

hahahaha
:lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

[GDBrown]

Has this thread been HiJacked?

 

[Mad dog]

Is that what the alien invaders are going to say about us? "It's just a human!"

Wow!!! You are out there! :think:

No one bleeds or bonks panfish or bottom fish, is this cruel or inhumane? Just throw'em in the bucket! :clap: Do you also worry about the Mental anguish that you cause a fish that you catch and release? :lol:

I believe Raincatchers question was "What is the proper way to bleed a fish", first and foremost getting the blood away from the meat of Salmon in particular if you want to preserve the quality.

 

[Thuggin4Life]

I’m more worried about the meat spoiling going than I am about how it dies. Yesterday I drained the cooler and dumped the ice (leaving the fish in the drive way first). Well I got busy putting stuff away and cleaning up that I forgot the fish was sitting there for about 45 min in the shade. Think it is still good? It still felt cool to the touch.

yeah still good we have had more damage to meat than that and it still was good.

 

[OnTheFly]

Going by the title of the thread, and I may get the Super Zapper for this but, I'm going to guess: lift the tails?

 

[Mad dog]

Going by the title of the thread, and I may get the Super Zapper for this but, I'm going to guess: lift the tails?

He,he,he:lol::lol::lol: I wanted to say the same sort of thing!

 

[bigfootfish]

It's much simpler than any of you have imagined. Look for the bar code under the left gill slit, scan it and there you go. Doesn't work for wild fish though.:lol::lol::lol::dance::naughty:ray::think:

BFF

 

[clownfish1]

Ock ma lewers out a ma mouth. This BFF is a funny one!:lol: