Guitarfish
6/7/2021 1:59:58 PMHi there, I've done a lot of multi-day trips over the years, some on Chelan (Stehekin). I also worked for several years in commercial fish processing.. First, make sure you are getting a really good bleed. A lot of guys just rip the gills, and while that works OK, it causes a blunt wound that actually clots pretty quickly, and doesn't always do the job perfectly. The best way to fully bleed a fish is to NOT club the fish so that the heart is pumping at 100% strength, and then make a clean slice across the jugular vein and carotid artery at the base of the throat, with a sharp knife. The fully pumping heart will spurt the blood out of that carotid artery hole at least a couple of feet (look out). Next thing, you definitely want the guts out of there. IMO the best thing to do is just filet them, but if you don't want to do that, definitely gut them. Then put the filets or gutted fish in a watertight bag (ziploc), squeeze the air out of it, and absolutely BURY it in the cooler ice. The bag should be completely covered in ice on all sides, and as it melts and that starts to not happen anymore after a few days, then it's time to run to town for more ice. Hope that helps, good luck, and thanks for the report.
