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