Intel on LJ bonita - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Fomen · 09-03-2015, 11:09 AM

I've always found this to be a problem with pelagic species of fish that get too warm after they have been killed. You can bleed them out, but you have to keep them COLD to prevent this from happening. This is tough on a kayak because you don't want to haul around a cooler with ice in it. It makes the kayak top heavy, and it takes up too much space (which is already at a premium on the small deck of the kayak). Kill bags work GREAT for overcoming this issue. They are large enough to hold just about anything you will catch locally on a kayak, and they are insulated very well. If you toss in a couple of ice blocks (like a couple of frozen 2 liter water bottles) you will be set for HOURS! Just bleed out your fish for a couple of minutes, toss it inside the bag, and zip it shut. The bag will also contain any residual blood that comes out (which has apparently been an issue lately with shark sightings), so you're not slowly leaking out a blood trail behind you. If you have an access hatch on your kayak, you can roll it up with the fish inside, and store it inside of the kayak making room on the deck. This is what I use, and it ABSOLUTELY helps in preventing the mush from occurring. Just my $.02

09-03-2015, 11:09 AM	#9
Fomen Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 40	Mushy fish I've always found this to be a problem with pelagic species of fish that get too warm after they have been killed. You can bleed them out, but you have to keep them COLD to prevent this from happening. This is tough on a kayak because you don't want to haul around a cooler with ice in it. It makes the kayak top heavy, and it takes up too much space (which is already at a premium on the small deck of the kayak). Kill bags work GREAT for overcoming this issue. They are large enough to hold just about anything you will catch locally on a kayak, and they are insulated very well. If you toss in a couple of ice blocks (like a couple of frozen 2 liter water bottles) you will be set for HOURS! Just bleed out your fish for a couple of minutes, toss it inside the bag, and zip it shut. The bag will also contain any residual blood that comes out (which has apparently been an issue lately with shark sightings), so you're not slowly leaking out a blood trail behind you. If you have an access hatch on your kayak, you can roll it up with the fish inside, and store it inside of the kayak making room on the deck. This is what I use, and it ABSOLUTELY helps in preventing the mush from occurring. Just my $.02