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Cleaning fish riverside


corsara

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Don't get me wrong, I don't keep everything I catch, in fact I keep very little and I'm very selective.  So, say I catch a nice buck steelhead that is not too little, not too big, and I want to keep it for the bbq at home.  What are the laws about cleaning it riverside (lower Niagara)?  Is it frowned upon?   I know I should leave skin on the fillets in case it has to be identified by an officer, but really---can I fillet it there and what do I do with the carcass - do I throw it in the water as mother nature would probably like, or leave it on the shoreline (stink and attract animals?) , or bag it up and carry up with me (extra weight going uphill, almost defeats the purpose of cleaning riverside).

I don't want to be stepping on anyone's toes by doing something wrong.  Thanks in advance.

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Guest brookie slayer

Weight carrying uphill? How big is the fish? lol....bring it up and dispose of properly..keep the skunks possums gulls etc away from your fishing spot..just my opinion.

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....not much diff. than a released fish dying and sinking to the bottom ....

We cleaned up many fish at the French R. then tossed the guts on "Gull Rock"  . A few hrs. later there was only a blood stain remaining ....the gulls & vultures did a great job !   The bottom dwellers , like snapping turtles , crayfish & other fish took care of the H2O dinners  .

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1 minute ago, brookie slayer said:

Weight carrying uphill? How big is the fish? lol....bring it up and dispose of properly..keep the skunks possums gulls etc away from your fishing spot..just my opinion.

Ok, I'll come clean (pun?):  didn't really care about the weight carrying it up.  It's about my wife happiness, and mine.  It's the damn kitchen.  It's constant grief if I fail to clean the kitchen sink perfectly well after cleaning the fish, and what if some fish particle flew out somewhere in some place in the kitchen and we'll never know, and smell, and then freezer space for the carcass until next garbage day...it's just grief grief grief... by the time I'm done with the ordeal of cleaning said fish at home, I've usually completely lost my appetite.  That's the real problem I'm trying to solve here.

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When I clean pike in the basement on the freezer top ,  the strong scent fills the house (  furnace or a.c. fan)  . Cleaning them outside in warm temps. draws the yellow jackets . All the guts get wrapped in newspaper , put in the freezer , then the green bin on garbage day .

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Guest brookie slayer

I could be wrong but back in the day you had to dispose of guts etc at least 15 meters from shore.. also there's fish viruses and diseases to think about 

but considering its the lower Niagara I think they've seen it all.lol.

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19 minutes ago, fishingking said:

New wife that fishes lol!

 

Then who's going to take care of my kids while fishing?  Nah...fishing is my solo relax time.

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1 hour ago, brookie slayer said:

" there's fish viruses and diseases to think about 

but considering its the lower Niagara I think they've seen it all.lol."

Think sewage waste sites along the Great Lakes ....also manufacturing plants & paper mills , street garbage , etc etc .....

"Fish Guts" ... waste for some , food for others .  

.....turkey vultures cruising overhead yesterday .........Ms.Nature at "it's" finest .....;)

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I was  up north and had filleted a few walleye and kept skin on and put in cooler and threw carcasses in lake x and mnr pulled up few hours later check us out and seen the carcasses and pulled em out measured for slot size ( I always double triple check) they were of course fine and they tossed em back in the lake.. I asked if that was proper practice and the guy said it was ok.. 

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MNR regulations require skin to be on the fillets for identification.  There is a few pages or paragraphs in the regs on this ... 

If I wasn' on my phone I would attempt to locate the exact page.

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Would gutting and bleeding it down on the river but leaving the fish whole solve some of the issues? That way no guts to make a mess of the sink.  Fillet it quickly at home and then throw the carcass in the freezer. Solves about half the issues. 

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Toss the guts and carcass back in the water, far enough to not be seen. Anti fisher people will kick up a bigger stink than the fish if they see it on the shore. Perfectly legal to dispose of it back in the drink..........Mic drop..............................................Daniel

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Whenever I am up at north at my hunt and fish camp.  I always clean the fish on shore and then take the bucket of guts and take a boat trip to the center of the lake and dump the bucket contents over board.  I think its great food for everything that wants to eat it that lives in the water.  As for the Niagara River.  I say if you throw it out far enough away from the shore that people can't see it to raise a stink about it.  You will be fine.

When I am out fishing salmon on Lake O or Walleye on Erie.  I sometimes clean my fish out on the water before coming in.  No mess at home and no guts to worry about or stink up the house before garbage day.  the wife seems to like that.  But there occasions when I bring a lot of perch home and have to clean them there.  It is a bit of a pain with the wife.  Just thought I'd give my two cents.

 

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Great, thanks all! I like all of your suggestions!   Now please do give tips on easy trout filleting while outside and no access to a cleaning board!  :) 

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3 hours ago, Fishlivesmatter said:

So everyone complains about dumping salmon back in the water but ok with anyother fish?  Hypocrite?   Pretty sure its illegal.  

Haha never seen a guy brave enough to fillet Niagara River salmon. Pretty sure if he asked if it was OK to slit and release a trout the conversation would have went a different direction.

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On 2018-03-30 at 12:08 PM, corsara said:

Great, thanks all! I like all of your suggestions!   Now please do give tips on easy trout filleting while outside and no access to a cleaning board!  :) 

Shouldn't be too hard to find a suitable piece of driftwood if your fishing around the pool 

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3 hours ago, Fishlivesmatter said:

So everyone complains about dumping salmon back in the water but ok with anyother fish?  Hypocrite?   Pretty sure its illegal.  

What is illegal if you're not throwing away edible meat?

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