Finding a home for boneless fish filets is seldom a problem but disposing of fish carcasses can be a challenge. Most of us do not live on the water where it is easy to feed the crabs.
On a recent fishing expedition, Randy Guy gathered up all the striped bass backbones left over from the filleting process.
He explained that he blackens the meat on the backbone and scrapes the cooked meat off with a fork. Frugal Randy gets all the meat off the bones with virtually no waste.
This is actually a very good trick but what do we do with all those panfish carcasses that a
This cycle of recycling makes for very consistent fish catches.
Although you can buy electric chum grinders through the Internet, most of the best motorized grinders (no hand cranking for me) are built by serious fishermen. The basic chum grinder starts with a #32 Chop Rite or equivalent size and brand grinder that is powered by a gas or electric motor.
On the charter boats, an offset reduction gear gasoline powered Briggs and Stratton engine will often be seen turning the #32 grinder. This rig is way overpowered but it will rip through a bushel of alewives in no time at all.
The reduction gear slows down the RPMs which is necessary from a safety perspective. Personally, I prefer electric motors to turn my own grinder. The smell of gasoline exhaust is enough to steer me to non-polluting electricity for spinning the chum grinder screw head. The tough choice is whether to use 110 volt AC or 12 volt DC.
A quarter horse AC motor equipped with a reduction drive that has an output between 30 to 60 RPM can be connected to the chum grinder with a Lovejoy coupling. The tapered shaft on the chum grinder must be turned down to a consistent diameter on a lathe to fit the coupling. This work can be best done by a machine shop who will also have the Lovejoy or similar couplings.
Through-bolt the motor and grinder to a 2×10
My favorite design is a 12 volt DC motor no less than 1/6 Hp run through a gear reduction and set to drive the grinder at the same slow r.p.m. as the AC motor would. A forward, off, reverse switch can easily be wired to the rig that is powered by a boat or car battery.
The grinding plate on the output side of the chum grinder should have 1/2 to 1 inch holes to make the chum flow easily without backing up. Obviously, knives, fingers, and any clothing or appendages must be kept away from the chum grinder hopper and cutting surfaces. Aretha Franklin said it best, “R E S P E C T”.
As I filet my fish, I flip the carcasses into the slow turning grinder which feeds the processed chum into empty half gallon fruit juice containers. These waxed cardboard boxes close easily and are conveniently stored in the freezer for the next fishing expedition.
It is remarkable how well this simple trick works. People will see you catching fish and anchor nearby. After about ten minutes of them watching you catch fish while they don’t get a bite, someone from the other boat is going to ask you what bait you are using.
Just tell him. “Pickled squid lips.”
Building your own chum grinder takes a little more effort than the average fisherman is willing to expend. That extra effort is why some people become fishermen who regularly demonstrate the difference between fishing and catching.
Then, of course, there are some of us who are just plain lucky.