Spearfishing – Tutorial – Kill a fish underwater – Clean and gut it
How do i kill a fish while Spearfishing?
If you do the gut and clean of the fish underwater you will save up a lot of time and dont mess around in your kitchen. In this Tutorial you will read and watch everything important of the maintenance of a caught fish.
To harass the fish as little as possible is another principle of spearfishing and fishing in general. If you caught a fish and did not hit it directly into the spine, it is necessary to kill the fish as fast as possible. For smaller fish, it is advisable to kill you while he is still hanging on the spear. It often happens that a fish breaks loose from its hands and escapes underwater in unapproachable caves or depths. The fish will most likely perish from his injury.
There are three good and quick ways to kill the fish quickly. Underwater it is not possible to hit the fish in the head to stun it, but over water you should always give it a strong blow between the eyes.
- Gills cut You stack the knife through the gill cover and cut through the gill matter. The fish dies quickly and bleeds. It is important that you cut through at least one whole gill arch, it just scratched the gills, it means a prolonged suffering for the fish
- Heart Strike This requires a sharp and sharp knife. You sting the fish in the middle between the pectoral fins, a little backwards. If you hit right, blood will come out immediately and the fish will die after a few seconds.
- Spine section The spine is cut short behind the head and the fish dies instantly. A subsequent gill cut ensures the bleeding of the fish.
General advice:
It is always advisable to wear good diving gloves as the breast and dorsal fins are very sharp and can cause infectious wounds (even poisonous in some fish). If this happens, the wound will try to express as much as possible as it will push any bacteria and contaminants out of the wound.
How to gut a fish
The gutting should be done as soon as possible after catching, as the fish spoils much faster. The best way to do it on the beach, then the fishy smell of the waste is unnecessary.
- fins Scissors are used to remove the dorsal fin of the fish. Also remove the belly and side fins, the head can be left on the fish or even removed. If you fry it in oil this will give a great spaghetti oil. If necessary, shorten the tail of the fish if it fits better in the pan or on the serving plates.
- scaling The scaling is a very important process, since forgotten dandruff burns when roasting or peel off during cooking and thus affect the taste. One uses a large knife, which is led obliquely against the shed direction. It greatly facilitates dandruff when you use the tail of the fish with a towel so it does not slip out of your hand.
- gutting The abdomen is cut from the intestinal opening to the sternum between the pectoral fins. Cut flat around the liver and bile (bitter) and not destroy the intestine. Carefully remove the innards. Parallel under the spine of the fish are the dark red kidneys, these are removed with the fingernail or the stem of a teaspoon from tail to head. If the fish has a black inner skin, so remove it, which improves the taste considerably (Goldstrieme, Sarpa salpa). Rinse the remaining blood of the fish with clear salt or fresh water and dab the fish dry with a paper towel.
Helpful tools
A fish scupper, made of stainless steel, easy to clean and helps enormously.
Fish scruber, stainless steal, silver, buyable here*
Who likes it a bit fancier: A fish scaler with knife and kidney spoon, ideal for being in the kitchen.
Fish scaler for scaling, dismantling & gutting 3 in 1, buyable here*
The knife section, my favourite diver knife
Omer Mini Laser Diver Knife – buyable here*
Here again described in detail: