how do you subdue an Octopus????

[Drewski Canuck]

We went out with a guide out of Moutcha Bay for Halibut. Jimbo was a master and we boated 5 Hali near the upper end of the size limit. We also brought up an Octopus that fought like you cannot imagine. When we got it to the top, the "arms" were about 3 ish foot long, and I would guess about 20 pounds. I have tasted Octopus done in teriyaki sauce and it is goooood!!!

Problem was, no one knew what to do with the Octopus and after a while we finally shook it off.

It inked a huge area so I am going to guess you deal with it in the water. How do you kill these things so you can safely bring it aboard, and then how do you handle it in the fish locker?

Drewski

 

[Tips Up]

You can wrestle it, stab it, beat it... and it will just stick to your boat and suffer.
Or
You can put a bucket near it on the bottom of the boat and it will climb in it like a cave. Lid on and in the freezer at home to kill.

Lesson I learned. LOL!

 

[hambone]

I'm no expert but Ive dealt with a few prawning... Dealing with them in the water would be nice but unless there's some way I've never seen they are just too fast and smart for it to be possible. My method is to flop it on the deck to slightly disorientate them and quickly behead it with a large sharp knife. If you aren't fast it will be on the move and if you try and hold it for too long it will wrap itself up in tentacles to protect itself.

 

[Big_Shank]

I've heard to kill them, you need to quickly grab a tentacle near their head, then with your other hand you grab the top of the head itself, then force the head down into itself and out through it's own mouth. Not sure if that's the correct way these days, it's just what I remember learning in school about the traditional fishing methods of some indigenous peoples. Seems like just taking the head off would be a quick an easy method though...

 

[spring fever]

Filleting knife between the eyes hits the brain-then put in a fishbox that drains. Incidentally-the really big ones are difficult to get the knife in there-they are very strong and they seem to know that your intentions aren't good!!LOL

 

[Derby]

We went out with a guide out of Moutcha Bay for Halibut. Jimbo was a master and we boated 5 Hali near the upper end of the size limit. We also brought up an Octopus that fought like you cannot imagine. When we got it to the top, the "arms" were about 3 ish foot long, and I would guess about 20 pounds. I have tasted Octopus done in teriyaki sauce and it is goooood!!!

Problem was, no one knew what to do with the Octopus and after a while we finally shook it off.

It inked a huge area so I am going to guess you deal with it in the water. How do you kill these things so you can safely bring it aboard, and then how do you handle it in the fish locker?

Drewski

LOL..was that your Octopus I was hearing about on the side channel last week ? Thursday I believe?

 

[Drewski Canuck]

Derby,

If it was offshore, and about 9ish o'clock, then yes. Done some crazy things before, but it was not my boat or I would likely have gaffed it and hauled it out. God knows what would have happened then.

Drewski

 

[Derby]

Yup... your guy was talking to Gibran.... sound like adventure..... now that's funny

 

[Aces]

Wrestle it and put it in a sleeper hold

 

[Big Green Machine]

Slap fight

 

[halimark]

Gaff in mantle, (head) then as each arm comes up swift chop with fillet knife close to body, when all 8 arms are cut they hang down. Then lift and place in cooler or garbage bag, no mess no fuss. Then you have some good skinned legs eating and body for great hali bait.

HM

 

[scott craven]

I always release them, I think they're cool animals.
supposed to be quite intelligent as well.

 

[Seafever]

Drewski....funny you should mention that because the other day while wifey and I were jigging we caught a rather large Octopus.

We did not bring it out of the water or aboard the boat.

We simply let it float on the surface while we noodled around trying to get the hook out.

At first it kept jetting water softly to propel itself downward. After doing this a few times it seemed to sense that it would have to wait until we freed it.

No black ink squirts or anything.

We freed it and off it went into the abyss.

They are astonishingly intelligent. Encountered many of them in my old diving days. They can be aggressive if they want to be......but in my experience they are more curious than anything else.

 

[Last Chance]

You take the head off, and stick the whole thing in the fish box. The rest of the octopus will keep moving for a while. I have done many.

 

[KV1]

I always release them, I think they're cool animals.
supposed to be quite intelligent as well.

Totally agree!

 

[trophywife]

bite them right between the eyes.... saw it done in mexico.. i tried it . it worked.

 

[Fixit]

put them in fresh water, takes the kick right outa them

 

[kowalski]

WOW.....Either there are a lot of divers on here or just a bunch of poachers....aren't octopus illeagal to take with ANY sharp pointed device?

 

[Fixit]

I am a diver, thanks for calling me a poacher you jerk
Btw most of my octo are caught in my prawn traps

 

[eroyd]

I recall a commercial seafood diver told me he somehow turned them inside out to subdue them.

Any animal that fights that hard to stay alive doesn't desrve to be mutilated and left to suffer.