Discussion Board
Weighing fish during the trip
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 11/20/2008 08:28 AM
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singingreel
Joined: 03/06/2007
Posts: 557
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Weighing fish during the trip
I just noticed that the Intrepid fishing report stated that a fish taped-out at XXX weight.
I was surprised, does that mean they do not have a scale on board?
Do they use the tape to determine the jackpot or wait until they get back to the dock?
If they wait until their return, do they not gut the fish prior to placing in the RSW slammer?
How can the fish cool-down quickly enough if it is not gutted?
Wouldn't this negatively affect fish quality & taste, especially the big fish?? (>80#)
Since this operation markets itself on offering premier creature comforts and customer service, wouldn't that include the best fish handling possible to create the best product for the customer?
It appears to me that the best process for fish handling would begin by carefully placing the fish on the deck, then bleed, spike, wire, weigh on board and then gut and gill then into to the RSW. Carefully retrieving it out of the hold and placing it directly into the slush bins from 5 Star is also a factor to producing a superior product!
After experiencing this method on the Royal Star & American Angler, it is far superior at delivering the best quality results compared to any of the other six long range boats I have experienced.
The quality of the product is so critical to me that it is at least 60% of my selection process for fishing on a boat. Why kill fish that that do not taste as good as they can when I return?
Please, what does everyone else think?
Still not receiving consideration from any fishing-related business, (aka: "Pro-Staffer") so my opinion has yet to be bought or sold :)
This post edited by singingreel 11/20/2008
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 11/20/2008 09:48 AM
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Trouthead
Joined: 04/19/2007
Posts: 210
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re: Weighing fish during the trip
I don't know the Intrepid's way of dealing with fish, but I think most boats, if not all boats need to improve fish handling. Next trip I will brain, bleed and spine all of my fish. don't know if it would take extra tip to get them gutted, but I would like that also.
The days of quantity over quality will end in the future. I fly into SD, so the amount of fish I can take home is pretty limited. I took two (under 50 a piece) boxes of frozed fillets home this year. Excess and regular baggage fee was $90.00. One more box would have been an additional $100.00.
I love the sound of a big fish hitting the deck hard, but I am pretty sure that does not help the meat. More deck padding is needed, and I don't want to point fingers at my boat, cause most are the same, but RSW is only one step.
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11/20/2008 01:36 PM
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PescadorPete
Joined: 12/31/1999
Posts: 350
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re: Weighing fish during the trip
I was on a boat with no scale and they handled the fish RSW. It was the experience of the crew that gutting the fish reduces the weight by a certain percentage. So the deal was that when we got back to the dock, the JP fishes were weighed, the percentage added back and that was the 'official' weight. We all agreed up front that this would be the JP rules.
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11/20/2008 02:34 PM
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HD
Joined: 04/21/2007
Posts: 10241
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re: Weighing fish during the trip
it is virtually impossible to accurately weigh fish on a rocking boat. if you dislike the fish handling practices of the boats you ride, it's time to change boats. 
Attn: Dental Shoppers
You can advertise to every dentist in Calif. for $20.
Visit www.DentalTrader.com
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11/20/2008 02:40 PM
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REK
Joined: 06/05/2007
Posts: 928
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re: Weighing fish during the trip
Kind of early to do RSW on the Intrepid trip. Good for a week, 5 days? So far, what I'm reading, is the RS and AA do the most as to brain, spine, bleed, gill, gut. They should all do it!
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11/20/2008 03:40 PM
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wifi
Joined: 10/05/2008
Posts: 166
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re: Weighing fish during the trip
Not that I have ever had the need, but from what I read it is pretty typical to tape bigger fish to determine weight...
Anyhow I heard 7 day max on the RSW so most of the fish are frozen the first couple of days... (good ones to donate to people...)
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11/20/2008 03:46 PM
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StillInScrubs
Joined: 07/13/2005
Posts: 159
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re: Weighing fish during the trip
REK wrote:
Kind of early to do RSW on the Intrepid trip. Good for a week, 5 days?
Where does this information come from? All the reports I have read state that RSW fish are good for 14 days....this is coming fom the sashimi industry.
I will say that all of this is based upon gutting, gilling, and braining your fish. Not sure if parasite infestation increased after one week in fish not gutted. I know it is an issue in some species after 12-24 hours but not sure about tuna......
Son!
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11/20/2008 06:29 PM
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sactotuna
Joined: 03/30/2007
Posts: 1327
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re: Weighing fish during the trip
I believe they have a scale on the RP also now. That electronic scale is quite expensive and as you have noticed, not waterproof!
It's also somewhat time consuming. BUT I really like it too!
The other posts are right about weights back at the dock, as for handling the fish, well "there's Hertz and there's not exactly".
Lastly, as for the accuracy of weighing on the boat, it's a wonderfully simple example of special relativity. The boats moving, the weighing apparatus is moving, and the fish is moving. As long as they are all in the same inertial framework (no substantial acceleration in the vertical) the weight will be the same as if the weighing were on dry land. Any physicists out there care to explain that better . . . please?
Human beings, who are unique in their ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their disinclination to do so.
This post edited by sactotuna 11/20/2008
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11/20/2008 07:07 PM
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Baja Dreamer
Moderator
Hunting Reports / Shooting Sports
Joined: 02/09/2004
Posts: 16176
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re: Weighing fish during the trip
PescadorPete wrote:
I was on a boat with no scale and they handled the fish RSW. It was the experience of the crew that gutting the fish reduces the weight by a certain percentage. So the deal was that when we got back to the dock, the JP fishes were weighed, the percentage added back and that was the 'official' weight. We all agreed up front that this would be the JP rules.
I NEVER would have agreed to that, particularly on a cow trip!
You take a 200 lb. tuna that hasn't fed recently and has an empty stomach, and put that against one of the same size that has spent a night gorging on big squid and you're talking maybe 20 - 30lbs. difference in weight!
As to the question that singingreel asked about taping the fish for the JP..........
Taping a fish will give a ball park weight inside the formula and subject to the fish being taped out correctly to start with. I am not aware of ANY boat that would even consider using the "taped weight" to determine the JP.
For a reference, do a search on how many times in the last 5 years we've seen big 300+ pound tuna come to the dock with a HUGE taped weight only to find out that they were substantialy lighter than the formula said they should be!
FISH HARD!
FISH AND HUNT HARD!
Chris
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11/20/2008 07:14 PM
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REK
Joined: 06/05/2007
Posts: 928
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re: Weighing fish during the trip
StillInScrubs wrote:
REK wrote:
Kind of early to do RSW on the Intrepid trip. Good for a week, 5 days?
Where does this information come from? All the reports I have read state that RSW fish are good for 14 days....this is coming fom the sashimi industry.
I will say that all of this is based upon gutting, gilling, and braining your fish. Not sure if parasite infestation increased after one week in fish not gutted. I know it is an issue in some species after 12-24 hours but not sure about tuna......
Info comes from skippers. Yeah, I too read about the longer time period as to RSW from the sashimi industry so I'm confused about this also. I just go with the flow.
I read somewhere that taping the largers is not exact accurate so I would think a scale would be better to settle JPs. A scale on the boat would be nice. Weigh, gill and gut, RSW. As for the fish swinging, I would think you could hold it from swinging and get a close readout, close enough to settle JPs anyway. I give the JP to the crew so I don't sweat it. I prefer gill and gut to JP money.
This post edited by REK 11/20/2008
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11/21/2008 07:06 AM
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poorfokz
Joined: 04/19/2007
Posts: 852
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re: Weighing fish during the trip
Limit wrote:
Then save the guts & weigh them at the dock too.
Limit (yourself)
On the Shogun in '05, they weighed the gills and guts of the big RSW fish and this was added to the weight back at the dock.
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11/21/2008 07:08 AM
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Trouthead
Joined: 04/19/2007
Posts: 210
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re: Weighing fish during the trip
If all big fish were gutted there would be no problem. Is there any conceivable reason to keep the guts in a cow, other than increasing the scale wieght?
On my last trip the deck hands put the seawater hose in the mouth of all big tuna (85 pound max on that trip), and an amazing amount of partially digested fish came out. If they forgotto do that to one fish, that one would be potentially heavier in the jackpot.
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11/21/2008 07:57 AM
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Baja Dreamer
Moderator
Hunting Reports / Shooting Sports
Joined: 02/09/2004
Posts: 16176
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re: Weighing fish during the trip
REK wrote:
I read somewhere that taping the largers is not exact accurate so I would think a scale would be better to settle JPs. A scale on the boat would be nice. Weigh, gill and gut, RSW. As for the fish swinging, I would think you could hold it from swinging and get a close readout, close enough to settle JPs anyway. I give the JP to the crew so I don't sweat it. I prefer gill and gut to JP money.
Tapping the big ones has never been an exact science, nor was it even meant to be. I also doubt that you could keep a big fish from swinging enough on anything but a glass calm day, to keep the motion from affecting the weight. Given that long range JP's are often several hundred dollars, and the winner can often be decided by a matter of ounces, I don't think this is going to work for most folks.
Heck, I've seen a couple of instances where a guy was DQ'd from the JP by the skipper for whatever reason, and it caused a bunch of controversy at the dock. What do you think will happen if there is any question concerning the actual weight?
FISH HARD!
FISH AND HUNT HARD!
Chris
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