My girlfriend picked up some sushi making kit recently and I went on one of my internet hunts to make sure I know what the heck I'm doing before starting. One thing leads to another and I'm watching videos of tuna being bled out on youtube

I see some people bleed every kind of fish and swear by it, but I've never done so with these inshore fish. What are your thoughts?

I would not use any fish I caught for sushi, to my knowledge, all commercial grade fish is flash frozen to kill anything the fish may be carrying. That being said, the only fish I bleed is Bluefish if I am keeping them while surf fishing.

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ADIDAF
All Day I Dream About Fishing!
Malibu eXtreme
Hobie Pro Angler
Sigma Chi-yaker

I don't plan on using any fish I catch for sushi I was just reading about bleeding fish and was wondering if anyone does it to their redfish, flounder, etc and if they notice a difference in taste when cooking.

To properly prepare a fish in the field, you must first obtain a deba (a type of Japanese fish knife that I really like), 3' of 0.022 stainless leader wire and a Polar Bear cooler filled with ice and water.

Lay the fish on it side, head facing right, and stroke it gently four times to help it relax. If you are relaxed the fish will be relaxed.

Take your deba and put the point under and behind the gills right next to the spinal cord and push in, severing the spinal cord and blood vessels. Push down on the back of the knife with your hand until the blade just starts to make a mark in the bottom of the gill area and hold that position for 14 seconds. This step is important because it helps control convulsions and helps the fish to continue breathing on its own.

Now cut through the spine at the tail, making sure to severe everything without actually removing the tail (removing the tail makes scaling more difficult)

Take the leader wire and ram-rod it up the spinal cord from the rear. After 11 seconds take out the needle, and immediately put the fish into the Polar Bear cooler bag filled with ice and water. You want to keep the body straight, but bend out the cut tail and gill part to allow for free bleeding. The needle is important because it ensures that the muscle don’t know they are dead. After the fish is bled out, keep it iced for 21 hours to allow rigor mortis to resolve and reduce the premature loss of adenosine triphosphate thus insuring firmer textured flesh.

Or you can bonk it on the head, put it on ice and fry it when you get home like I do.

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"For when sleeping I dream of big fish and strong fights."

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Hobie Pro Angler 12