Dispatching Fish with Alcohol

[Jd1]

This is probably a bit of an odd question for this audience since 3/4 of boat life seems to center on drinking but here goes ....
I don't drink, never acquired a taste for alcohol and intensely dislike even minute amounts. Is there any kind of transmission of alcohol to the meat of the fish if it is dispatched with alcohol?
A related question: Since I don't carry booze of any kind on board, will Isopropyl alcohol do the job without striking me blind (since it is poisonous for drinking purposes)?
Thanks in advance.

[zeehag]

i dont bother with alcohol before cleaning a live fish. is unnecessary. just clean it. save the rubbing alcohol for would care .

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Jd1

This is probably a bit of an odd question for this audience since 3/4 of boat life seems to center on drinking but here goes ....
I don't drink, never acquired a taste for alcohol and intensely dislike even minute amounts. Is there any kind of transmission of alcohol to the meat of the fish if it is dispatched with alcohol?
A related question: Since I don't carry booze of any kind on board, will Isopropyl alcohol do the job without striking me blind (since it is poisonous for drinking purposes)?
Thanks in advance.

a. Absorption, not transmission. It is not infectious.

b. Clean and wash the fish before cooking. Then cook. Alcohol does not stay in cooked foods.

c. Keep a pint of gin on board solely for this purpose. I won't tease you. Don't be a dork and use a toxic product simply because you dislike drinking. I seriously doubt you will like the taste of IPA better.

d. Or simply club them like the rest of us.

[sck5]

I dont drink but I keep a couple of airplane size bottles of the cheapest liquor the store will sell on board for this purpose (right now its pomegranate flavored rum for 90 cents a bottle). The advantage of the cheap airplane bottles is that they are made of cheap plastic and can be inserted right in the gills where you can simply squeeze them and squirt the booze right where it needs to be. No contamination of the meat at all that I could ever detect.

[Jd1]

Originally Posted by thinwater

c. Keep a pint of gin on board solely for this purpose. I won't tease you. Don't be a dork and use a toxic product simply because you dislike drinking. I seriously doubt you will like the taste of IPA better.

Just a clarification:
I have Isopropyl alcohol on board anyway so it's a matter of using what I already have or buying different stuff and taking up more space.

[s/v 'Faith']

I use alcohol, it works very very fast and is much cleaner then clubbing the flopping fish.

Petty much anything seems to work, even that terrible Bombara rum from the TCI...

[daddle]

Use Ethyl Alcohol. It is easy to obtain in a variety of flavors. I use cheap vodka as nobody seems to drink it. The fish like it. Works spectacularly. Yes, a very slight amount will be in the flesh of the fish. Less than in a slightly overripe apple.

Using a poison is unwise. If you must denature the alcohol to prevent drinking in a weak moment, mix in something offensive but not poisonous. Fish oil? Garlic?

[Dennis.G]

Originally Posted by Jd1

...odd question for this audience since 3/4 of boat life seems to center on drinking ...

Ouch, that's brutal.

Thought is was just half of boat life.

[model 10]

Does warm beer work?

[Wench'sCaptain]

Originally Posted by Jd1

This is probably a bit of an odd question for this audience since 3/4 of boat life seems to center on drinking but here goes ....
I don't drink, never acquired a taste for alcohol and intensely dislike even minute amounts. Is there any kind of transmission of alcohol to the meat of the fish if it is dispatched with alcohol?
A related question: Since I don't carry booze of any kind on board, will Isopropyl alcohol do the job without striking me blind (since it is poisonous for drinking purposes)?
Thanks in advance.

I have use a hammer for over 40 years it works on all but the biggest of fish which will never get on the boat anyway. If it is that big I have a 12 ga Bang Stick for good measure.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Jd1

A related question: Since I don't carry booze of any kind on board, will Isopropyl alcohol do the job without striking me blind (since it is poisonous for drinking purposes)?
Thanks in advance.

No problem, we use it all the time.

Mark

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Wench'sCaptain

I have use a hammer for over 40 years it works on all but the biggest of fish which will never get on the boat anyway. If it is that big I have a 12 ga Bang Stick for good measure.

We used to use a billy, but quickly got tired of the boat looking like a mafia hit scene. Especially tuna - no way to bean them without lots of blood.

Mark

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Guy

Does warm beer work?

That's how almost all of the charter fisherman catch fish. Probably lots of the cruisers also. The fish don't care how cold your drink is...

Mark

[Wench'sCaptain]

Originally Posted by colemj

We used to use a billy, but quickly got tired of the boat looking like a mafia hit scene. Especially tuna - no way to bean them without lots of blood.

Mark

Cover their eyes with hand or towel that calms them then one to two strikes above the eyes their brain dead, it works. I should have mentioned it is a Ballpeen hammer the rounded side as it punctures the scull better with whole lots less blood. I was taught this method when fishing as a teenager. I should just admit I hate wasting a good beverage.

[mrohr]

Real sailors take a swig of rum and spit it in the fishes mouth.It does completely knock out the fish when it hits the gills. Also traditional is beating the fish with a winch handle which will make a god-awful mess, nor is it humane.
An additional benefit of the rum , besides the obvious, is that any crew will believe they they are sailing with J. Slocum incarnate.
I did fill a spray bottle one year with rubbing alcohol in an effort to conserve the rum but could never locate it when required..... always knew where the rum bottle was however.