• Welcome to the DeeperBlue.com Forums, the largest online community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing. To gain full access to the DeeperBlue.com Forums you must register for a free account. As a registered member you will be able to:

    • Join over 44,280+ fellow diving enthusiasts from around the world on this forum
    • Participate in and browse from over 516,210+ posts.
    • Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
    • Post your own photos or view from 7,441+ user submitted images.
    • All this and much more...

    You can gain access to all this absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!

Finishing a fish off with a knife

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.
I have just got to say this. I'm sorry for being rude but if you need a knife for the little fish in that first picture theres something wrong. It doesn't matter how hard that little thing fights you don't think you can do it by hand??? And i have never seen a fish like that so i don't know what they are capable of so... But it can't be that much!!
 

Fish in the UK are generally much smaller than Florida (apart from the 15 foot Mako/Basking shark this Summer!). The big ones were killed off (food source, herring, etc. overfished) decades ago; there used to be 900lb blue fin Tuna off Scarborough :waterwork.

How do you do it by hand -- fold the neck? [We usually bite the heads off the small ones if no knife is available ]
 
FeAr_ThE_SpEaR said:
i have never seen a fish like that so i don't know what they are capable of so... But it can't be that much!!
Click to expand...
Its a Coalfish, hard little buggers, so called because they eat coal found off the north coast of England. They have incredibly powerfull jaws and small but very sharp teeth, more than capable of removing a fair amount of skin even with gloves, you really need to be sure that the buggers are dead before you string them, you dont want one coming back from the dead and attacking you; a knife is the only way! And if you believe that you'll believe anything wink
 
Mr. X said:
[We usually bite the heads off the small ones if no knife is available ]
Click to expand...
rofl Im not diving with you! Do you ever get a snog? rofl
 
Braining pollack/coley is easy in the UK because they have soft heads. However, I'm still having difficulty in penetrating the skull of both grey mullet and bass.

I've tried up through the gills but either can't locate the brain this way or just come up against the hard underside of the skull. I don't want to push too hard, if the fish wriggles the knife would go through my hand.

I usually resort to surfacing and bashing their heads with the knife handle. Maybe I should carry a priest or something.
 
Jez, I have found that my new knife (stilleto shape) penetrates very easily, much better than my last one. I grip the gills with my thumb and fingers tightly, this stops the fish flappping about, then from inside the gills, aim at a point as far behind the eyes as they are apart, with the knife at 90 degrees to the body of the fish, push it in and then give it a side to side cut and its done, never fails to kill them. The trick is to have a good sharp knife or stringer/ice pick
 
This photo shows where to stab fish with a stringer or spearpoint to kill them.
Stick it in, wiggle it about a bit (ooer missus!) and the fish will stiffen and open its mouth. If you hold the fish by the gills there is no danger of stabbing yourself either!
cheers
dave
www.spearo.co.uk
 

Attachments

  • killbass small.jpg
    49.8 KB · Views: 263
A handy illustration Dave, thanks. Didn't see your post in time for my bass last night so I'll give it ago at the weekend (fish permitting of course!).
 
I always go in from the eye. Fish mouth facing you pinch the gills together or get inside them. Lay the knife on top of the eye. Push the eye it in a bit, then go back and up. Just as if you were to put your finger in the corner of your own eye, the eye goes in a bit and makes a space between the eye and the bone. It is a short and soft distance to the brain from there.
Good luck,
 
Hiya

PETA is watching you boys !
Click to expand...

All the more reason to learn how to despatch your quarry efficiently, with the minimum amount of suffering!!

Regards
miles
 
Yeah, I push the stringer Through its brain whilst the fish is still on the spear, so it can not escape, then, obviously I "release"the fish from the spear... :wave
 
ok ok dont sweat Peta
All they did to us was throw rocks in we just kept fishing lol
 
Sponge said:
PETA is watching you boys ! You know fish can feel pain too !!
Click to expand...

please tell me your kidding...I'll wait to retort until then. :duh
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…