I caught my first "keeper"!

I carry kitchen shears with me.  I find that they're easier to handle than a knife while on the water. I just cut across the gills (the more , the better) on each side of the fish, then dunk them over the side a few times because the blood congeals, and let them hang in the water for a minute or two to finish bleeding out.

Then whenever I feel the bite has slowed, I'll gut the rf with the shears while floating around. Just cut the bellies open and a couple of snips around the gills, and then just yank everything out.

BUT, this is usually dependent on where I fish. If there are sea lions about, I don't soak them long unless they're covered in burlap. OR, if I get that "uneasy feeling," I'll hold off on even bleeding them until I get closer to shore.... because sometimes blood in the water is not good.

I recall back when we first started ocean fishing, all the fish looked different. It took several trips to be able to ID the variety quickly. Even now, once in a while, I get stumped. I always take a pic, and the kids and I would research the fish ID, part of the fun! I have tossed back some fish I have not caught since, but I have the pic and the memory, minus the tacos.....

There you go - nice job

Awesome!

Awesome job!

Those tacos look great. Congrats!