fish scaling bag?
Submitted by Boppo on Mon, 2012-06-11 13:02
Have heard about a bag that you put small fish in (such as whiting) ,tow it behind your boat for a time and it will scale your fish.
Anyone used these bags and how good a job does it do?
chookc
Posts: 442
Date Joined: 07/01/10
Mate they do an awsome job on
Mate they do an awsome job on whiting.. 30 years ago we used to use one in the days when it was leagal to catch 300 or more in a trip... Put 50 or so in the bag and tow behind the boat so the bag rolls and bounces along in the boats wake takes about 2 minutes and there 'r e scaled to perfection..
tim-o
Posts: 4657
Date Joined: 24/05/11
Yes, been told of such, prob
Yes, been told of such, prob a coarse woven dive bag and toe it in the prop wash
I am, as I've said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary.
Boppo
Posts: 214
Date Joined: 08/03/09
Great! Sounds almost too good
Great! Sounds almost too good to be true. They don't harm the flesh I hope and where could I get one?
dkonig82
Posts: 2091
Date Joined: 06/07/10
Any word on whether they work
Any word on whether they work for big fish like snapper etc?
When asked by a non-fisherman 'how many fishing rods do you really need?' the correct answer is either:
n+1 (where n is the number of fishing rods you currently own); or
n-1 (where n is the number of fishing rods which would cause your significant other to dump you.
anypuddle
Posts: 597
Date Joined: 22/01/12
work great
use them on whiting, put 20 or so head first ( away from the boat) drive for a few mins with the bag bouncing around a little , perfect scaling job, doesnt damage the flesh, you can buy the bags at bcf ( if they are in stock haha)
Anywhere anytime
Tim
Posts: 2497
Date Joined: 26/09/06
Squid
Work great on Squid as well
Rick
Posts: 1115
Date Joined: 22/12/06
Rope
Just make sure the rope is in good nick. Nothing worse than seeing a bag of squid snap off and sink to the bottom.....
PGFC Member
Boppo
Posts: 214
Date Joined: 08/03/09
Great feedback guys
got our bag limit on plump sandies on saturday and sounds like that bag would have been quite handy.
Wicked site. So good to get little bits of info like that
Oceanside Tackle
Posts: 2803
Date Joined: 23/07/09
Scaling Bags
They are dynamite for Both Whitting and Squid, We stock them year around. For $13.50 its a cheap investment.
Dan, I wouldnt suggest them for larger demersal species E.G Snapper. The scales are too course in my opinion for the bag to scale them.
Cheers
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Percula
Posts: 274
Date Joined: 23/09/08
brilliant
they are awesome and you will wonder how you did without one
hlokk
Posts: 4292
Date Joined: 04/04/08
I've used them before to good
I've used them before to good success, but last time I went squidding they didnt seem to get cleaned as well as a time i've done it before. Did have the squid come out completely cleaned of ink when i managed to do it right, but the last time was still an inky mess cleaning them. Did it for quite a few minutes too. Might have to make sure they're facing the right way next time though.
So, when you're using them, what speed and what position do you put them? I've tried having them roll around the first prop wake, and also skipping on the surface, but I think I need to perfect my technique to make more effective use of the bag. Cant remember if I was going at a speed with wake around 8kn or a faster 15kn or so when I had it work well...
chookc
Posts: 442
Date Joined: 07/01/10
doesn't matter which way
doesn't matter which way youput the whiting in the bag but you need a decent speed and probably back on the 2nd wash were the bag can really bounce and roll around...
deepwater
Posts: 1921
Date Joined: 09/05/07
they work so good i used
they work so good i used mine for scalling my king wrasse for dhyfish bait ,they are excellent
jeff
Juneka
Posts: 222
Date Joined: 14/12/09
Scaling bags
I find that towing them at about 8-9 knots for 4-5 mins does a great job. I also chop off the heads and slit the belly, before putting the fish in the bag, and they come in gutted and scaled, ready for filleting.
Save the Whales! May as well - they won't fit in my catch bag!!!
Tomcat
Posts: 614
Date Joined: 24/02/11
Bags
We just use the red onion bags at veggi shop there free toss them after clean in a bin of coarse
Andy Mac
Posts: 4778
Date Joined: 03/02/06
Here are a few pics of it in action
I wrote an article on this a few years back. They work a treat and should be an essential piece of equipment on any boat.
Step 1 - put fish into inner bag (smaller mesh) and tie a knot in it then place that bag inside the green one (larger mesh)
Step 2 - Draw the rope so it closes the outer bag
Step 3 - put bag in water after tieing other end of rope to your boat
Step 4 - Get moving and up on a plane as quickly as you can otherwise the force of water (pulling the bag through the water rather than on top of it) can snap your rope and lose your fish. So get up on a plane QUICKLY!!!
Once up on a plane the bag should be bouncing just on the outside of your wake like this.
It should be around the 8 or 10 knot mark, just adjust your speed until it bounces on that edge, too fast and you will bash the crap out of them and too slow the bag starts to get pulled through the water rather than bouncing and the water pressure will break the rope.
After a few minutes pull it in and the fish should be completely scale free. We keep them in the bag for easeof removal back home where we can very quickly fillet them, keeping the heads as excellent dhuie and snapper bait.
Cheers
Andy Mac (Fishwrecked Reeltime Editor & Forum Moderator)
Youngest member of the Fishwrecked Old Farts Club
deepwater
Posts: 1921
Date Joined: 09/05/07
great stuff there
great stuff there Andy
jeff
fisharoo
Posts: 297
Date Joined: 02/07/11
Don't put flathead
They re awesome, threw in a flathead amongst the whiting into the bag. Next thing we saw was fish flying everywhere behind the boat. Flathead ripped the net to shreads
snappermiles
Posts: 2100
Date Joined: 05/11/10
nice explanation andy
i do exactly that but i also put a half hitch around the top of the bag incase you have to stop quickly! just stops the bag opening
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pale ale
Posts: 1755
Date Joined: 02/01/10
Be careful if your fish are
Be careful if your fish are borderline legal size. The rough treatment of the fish can damage the tail fins making your fish appear undersize
katsy85
Posts: 209
Date Joined: 13/02/12
ahhh very good point
ahhh very good point