Filleting Sturgeon

I've had a problem filleting sturgeon. I hope this is the right group
to ask this question.

In short, they seem to take a *really* long time to die and I hate
cutting into something that's still moving. The last time I tried
to clean one it had been out of the water an hour, had been gutted,
had the spinal cord removed, had no head, and it would still wiggle
around every time I put my blade into it.

Is there something I can do to avoid this problem? This is a
serious question and I'd appreciate any advice.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

"Reg" - wrote:

I've had a problem filleting sturgeon. I hope this is the right group
to ask this question.

In short, they seem to take a *really* long time to die and I hate
cutting into something that's still moving. The last time I tried
to clean one it had been out of the water an hour, had been gutted,
had the spinal cord removed, had no head, and it would still wiggle
around every time I put my blade into it.

Is there something I can do to avoid this problem? This is a
serious question and I'd appreciate any advice.

--
Reg

Personally, I would bleed the sucker right from the get go. I'm guessing that
you didn't kill it right off so it was still alive after an hour out of water.
You got to give it a little time for the twitching to quit after it's dead.
Keep in mind that sturgeon is an age old beast which doesn't run on brain
power, grin. So it takes a while for the body to know it's dead.
--
Crayfishing Made Easy!
http://www.terrybullard.com

Hi,

I had alway had steaked the sturgeon that
I had caught in the San Francisco Bay. But
I do believe in bleeding the fish before cleaning
it. I do this by removing about two or three of
gill rakes on each side of the head. After I hit
the head about two or three times to kill the fish.

Travis Norris wrote:

Hi,

I had alway had steaked the sturgeon that
I had caught in the San Francisco Bay. But
I do believe in bleeding the fish before cleaning
it. I do this by removing about two or three of
gill rakes on each side of the head. After I hit
the head about two or three times to kill the fish.


Thanks Travis. I think I'll try bleeding it. The anatomy
of this fish is a bit odd but I'll try removing the gills
like you say.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

Terry Bullard wrote:

Personally, I would bleed the sucker right from the get go. I'm guessing that
you didn't kill it right off so it was still alive after an hour out of water.
You got to give it a little time for the twitching to quit after it's dead.

The sequence looked something like this

1. The fishman slams Sturgeon in the head a good 6 or 7 times with
a mallet
2. Fishman guts the fish and hands it to me
3. I take it home and leave in fridge for 45 minutes
4. I take the head off. It's moving like crazy.
5. I pull the spinal cord out. Still dancin.
6. I fillet it. It's still noticably twitching.

I don't know what else to do frankly.

Keep in mind that sturgeon is an age old beast which doesn't run on brain
power, grin. So it takes a while for the body to know it's dead.

I think that's it. The thing is very primitive and shark-like.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

Reg wrote:


The sequence looked something like this

1. The fishman slams Sturgeon in the head a good 6 or 7 times with
a mallet
2. Fishman guts the fish and hands it to me
3. I take it home and leave in fridge for 45 minutes
4. I take the head off. It's moving like crazy.
5. I pull the spinal cord out. Still dancin.
6. I fillet it. It's still noticably twitching.

I don't know what else to do frankly.


The last thing is ,,,,,,
ignore the movement, it means nothing
--
Rodney Long,
Inventor of the Long Shot "WIGGLE" rig, SpecTastic Thread
Boomerang Fishing Pro. ,Stand Out Hooks ,Stand Out Lures,
Mojo's Rock Hopper & Rig Saver weights, Decoy Activator
and the EZKnot http://www.ezknot.com

Rodney wrote:

The last thing is ,,,,,,
ignore the movement, it means nothing

I agree. What causes problems is when all the movement makes
the fish a moving target when filleting it.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

Reg wrote:
Terry Bullard wrote:

Personally, I would bleed the sucker right from the get go. I'm
guessing that
you didn't kill it right off so it was still alive after an hour out
of water.
You got to give it a little time for the twitching to quit after it's
dead.


The sequence looked something like this

1. The fishman slams Sturgeon in the head a good 6 or 7 times with
a mallet
2. Fishman guts the fish and hands it to me
3. I take it home and leave in fridge for 45 minutes
4. I take the head off. It's moving like crazy.
5. I pull the spinal cord out. Still dancin.
6. I fillet it. It's still noticably twitching.

I don't know what else to do frankly.

Keep in mind that sturgeon is an age old beast which doesn't run on brain
power, grin. So it takes a while for the body to know it's dead.


I think that's it. The thing is very primitive and shark-like.


"Sharklike" is the key word here. When we catch Makos and other sharks
off the coast of San Diego, the ticket is this:
fillet it (yeah it'll twitch, so what) and let the fillets sit overnight
in the fridge before cooking. Like rattlesnakes, the muscles of
primitive fish like shark keep a'twitchen for a few hours. Settling in
the fridge overnight results in a far superior cooked product.

barbz

I think killing a sturgeon would be like killing a catfish. I found you can
leave catfish out in the hot sun all day come home, throw them in a pail of
water and they come back to life. But after a while they go belly up. The
catfish try to breath the oxygen in the pail of water, but its gone real
quick. I'm sure you could do the same for a sturgeon.
Robin Shortt
www.goodnightcampingequipment.com

"Reg" wrote in message
om...
I've had a problem filleting sturgeon. I hope this is the right group
to ask this question.

In short, they seem to take a *really* long time to die and I hate
cutting into something that's still moving. The last time I tried
to clean one it had been out of the water an hour, had been gutted,
had the spinal cord removed, had no head, and it would still wiggle
around every time I put my blade into it.

Is there something I can do to avoid this problem? This is a
serious question and I'd appreciate any advice.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com