Leaving Fish On the Deck (continued)

It's such an interesting discussion, with so many different facets -- I thought it'd be a good idea to continue it here, rather than in "dated fishing reports".

Regarding leaving fish out on the deck, even though I'm a responsible person who would always care for my catch, I have to be aware of the optics - how things look to others." Do neophyte fishermen see me leaving fish out and think that this is what you do with fish you don't want to take home?"

I think that the responsible, proper thing to do is to know what you want to do with a fish before you hook it. If you're king fishing and you're NOT planning on keeping it, then you can, 1) pre-arrange with another fisherman to let him have your fish if you catch one 2) make that offer after you hook up, but before the fish is gaffed 3) break the fish off if there are no takers. It might be a good idea to ask the person who wants the king if he has a cooler to put it in. You can also 4) net the fish and retrieve your plug/hook, then let the fish swim free by putting him back in the net and releasing it.

You can do this, whether the fish is a king, redfish, or big black drum. I think that it's never appropriate, ever, to just throw baitfish or "trash fish" on the deck of the pier. Whether it's hardhead catfish, rays, or remoras, these fish play an important role in the ecosystem, mostly keeping the Gulf waters clean.

I think that the pier needs to post the rule that fish are to be immediately put in coolers. That puts the onus on fishermen to figure out how to comply with a rule that would result in a fine if they don't comply. Personally, I'm not going to tell another fisherman what MY preferences are for him to do with HIS catch, unless he's breaking the rules. If the rule is that he HAS to put his fish in his cooler or throw it back (or give it to another fishermen) the problem is solved. The pier bait shop may sell more coolers as a result.

ChileRelleno brought up an interesting point about the lack of cleanliness of the cleaning station. I totally agree and I don't know the answer to this, short of pier personnel somehow regularly disinfecting the station (pretty sure they don't do this) and even then, maybe I should bring a cutting board to put my fish on when I clean them (I have one suitable for that purpose). I'm open to ideas since bringing fish carcasses home isn't a very good option for me.

We have a large wheeled cooler for our fish. We don't bring it out on the pier unless/until it is needed. Whoever catches the first king has to go get it :) We may have a few spanish laying around before we get the cooler but they will not lay there long enough to spoil.

I just blast the cleansing g station with the hose before I start filleting and don't skin the fillets so no meat touches the surface and of course all fillets get washed at home

fish i intend to use for sashimi or sushi only get cleaned at home in the kitchen

My fish usually go to the cooler after unhooking.
Funny story: last year I was catching spanish after spanish on live skrimps under a cork,(I had lost count) I noticed the ranger checking limits and began to wonder how many I had... I walked over and started counting... I got to 14 and saw more fins under the ice... I got nervous, as she walked over and started counting with me, thankfully the last 3 fish in my bucket were some hardtails for cut bait...

The only time I leave a fish out is if i'm waiting for it to die... eg: a bull red that is to large to place in my cooler alive. once the fish expires I filet it and place on ice.

I have zip tied a cutting board to a cooler and stack it on a second cooler on my cart I also carry 10% bleach mix to sanitize my own cutting surfaces.. As a nurse, I am WAY to paranoid of creepy crawly things that breed in the summer heat on decaying pieces of flesh.

I may start bringing bleach solution and cling wrap in my pier cart. Lay a few layers of wrap down on the community board.

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Originally Posted by will46r

I may start bringing bleach solution and cling wrap in my pier cart. Lay a few layers of wrap down on the community board.

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I thought of bleach, but the possibility exists of someone (besides me) getting his clothes ruined from coming in contact with bleach solution. You'd have to really hose down that area, the drainage isn't that great, and there are often other fishermen fishing within spray-range. Cling-wrap is a good idea if it would stick/lie flat against the filleting surface. I may experiment with it and bring the fish cutting board as a back-up in case cling-wrap doesn't work.

Cleaning tables at Piers have always been a concern for me, I keep in my cleaning kit a bottle of biodegradable soap, small bottle of 10% bleach H20 in a spray, and My Own cutting board.
I wash and spray the whole thing, then put my board on and clamp it with a couple of cheap C clamps..(I clean them with the rods &reels) My cutting board rides in the cart under the cooler till needed, The rest in my gear/tackle box.
My knife and other tools used get carefully cleaned at the end too.

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Originally Posted by eym_sirius

I thought of bleach, but the possibility exists of someone (besides me) getting his clothes ruined from coming in contact with bleach solution. You'd have to really hose down that area, the drainage isn't that great, and there are often other fishermen fishing within spray-range. Cling-wrap is a good idea if it would stick/lie flat against the filleting surface. I may experiment with it and bring the fish cutting board as a back-up in case cling-wrap doesn't work.

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Clothes bleaching didn't occure to me. I try to be careful when I rinse everything down. The cling wrap should stick. I may be dkwn this weekend so I can give a report lol

We haven't been to the new pier, we fish the surf and bays. But the descriptions of the cleaning stations are scary. Y'all need to tone it down, you are frightening some of us googans. 'sides, we grew up catching and cleaning fish at the creek and river. Cleaned fish on logs, rocks, ground, whatever was there, but the pier cleaning stations must be more "corrupted" than I want to know about. Not a pier fisher, but the reports on site, and a general informative posts are a pleasure, just to let y'all know.

Bring you own cutting board...... I do mine on the concrete/ wood deck.....slice the sides off the spanish and finish taking the meat off the skin at the condo....sometimes I do that at the pier too.....but a cutting board takes up very little space on a cart

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Originally Posted by ironman172

Bring you own cutting board...... I do mine on the concrete/ wood deck.....slice the sides off the spanish and finish taking the meat off the skin at the condo....sometimes I do that at the pier too.....but a cutting board takes up very little space on a cart

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You talked me into it. That's what I'm going to do.

I carry a bleach solution in a spray bottle and a scrub brush. My main problem is what is under the big cutting board and that ugly drain area that has moss growing in it. I have taken to mostly bringing my fillets home, too. The cats love the trimmings. I used to bring my own cutting board, and still have a nice one made of poplar, and I may start bringing it again. Those tables really need to be completely redesigned and simplified. The best cleaning station is the one over on the east side by the garbage can where you have to stretch out the hose to get to it.

I so appreciate the cleaning station, but between people cleaning their fish there, maybe (maybe not) rinsing/sanitizing the surface AND the specter of bird-poop, it's impossible for the filleting surface to stay clean/sanitary. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who recognizes this challenge.

I may be the bastard here I love to catch but can't eat. But I don't seam to have a problem giving them away. And I love the company of others who do.

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Originally Posted by coach

I may be the bastard here I love to catch but can't eat. But I don't seam to have a problem giving them away. And I love the company of others who do.

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You don't owe anyone an apology for that. I hunt a property in Tennessee that is overrun with does and are causing a lot of crop damage. I take way more than I can eat but there are lots of people who jump at the chance to get meat for their families. I have never seen anyone catch a "desirable" fish on the pier and no one want it.

I used the station last week and didn't even think about the nastiness of the surface until I read this. We ate our fish Saturday night and survived. That being said, next time I am bring one of those flexible cutting boards and sticking it in my chest. By flexible, I mean the ones that are maybe an 1/8' thick - not sure what they are made of.
Its a shame there's not a design to where you can rinse off the table and the little scraps get rinsed overboard.

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Originally Posted by Fish Head

I used the station last week and didn't even think about the nastiness of the surface until I read this. We ate our fish Saturday night and survived. That being said, next time I am bring one of those flexible cutting boards and sticking it in my chest. By flexible, I mean the ones that are maybe an 1/8' thick - not sure what they are made of.
Its a shame there's not a design to where you can rinse off the table and the little scraps get rinsed overboard.

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That is the way it is designed but the littles scraps and big redfish scales clog the drain holes and small drain pipe. I usually force water through them several times when I'm cleaning fish to keep it open. Sunlight and the chlorine residual in the supply water do a limited amount of disinfecting along with removal by the pressure of the water. MOST of the fish I clean stay skin side down and there is very little contact with the cutting board. I rinse every filet with water before bagging and then fill the bags with water and drain before putting them in the cooler. If I were cleaning it for sashimi or sushi I would take it back to the condo to clean it. Cooking it will kill anything biological that might have hitched a ride home with it. I don't remember ever leaving without cleaning the station I was using and MOST people do likewise.

Mark, I wish more folks did it the way you (and I) do it, but there is still a significant percentage who think their mother works there and will come along behind and clean up after them. She doesn't.

I really don't have a problem scrubbing the surface where I'm working, but underneath that big cutting board is a ton of crap that gets washed under and never gets flushed out. There are probably bacteria the size of lizards growing under there. The drain area at the back of the tables is terribly inefficient and allows stagnant water to pool there in the heat and we can expect mutant organisms to begin attacking tourists any day now. Green crap is growing there as we speak and needs to be scrubbed out---I'd do it, but then I'd have to buy a new scrub brush.

However, I consider all this to be an "inconvenience" rather than a "problem." A "problem" would have a name and tear up the pier. We can work together to overcome the "inconvenience".

As far as fish care, i keep it simple, small ones straight to the cooler, big ones cleaned and bagged immediately, but there are a few exceptions, i keep and eat jacks and bobos, but i bleed them out first, i find the nearest out of the way spot to do so and prop them up tail down with tail cut/broken, then rinse the spot off with nearest hose after, as for the cleaning tables, i've never really worried about them, if they are really nasty i have a rag to scrub them a bit, other wise a quick rinse of the hose and then rinse of the fillets before bagging, between freezing and cooking i've never had anybody get sick

Well said Mr. WIRE!!!

I wish everyone treated the pier as some of you. I've only been here for 5 or 6 years now but i've noticed alot of wear and tear and things caused by people that simply don't care, but at the same time, i've noticed (in my experiene) the pier is cleaner, there seems to be less bait mess and trash lying around. I attribute that to most of you taking to time to pick up after the ones that don't give a flip...