09/17/2026
Article by Mike Borovic
To Bleed or Not to Bleed
I guarantee someone will tell you it’s critical to bleed your fish because it “tastes better.”
And you and I both know there’s a guy uploading a video right now with a brand-new fillet knife and a YouTube education telling everyone within earshot that if you don’t bleed your Walleye, you’re basically serving roadkill.
Meanwhile, old Cleetus is on the dock — counting out limits of Pickerel for Sunday’s Church Fry — muttering, “bullsh*t.”
So, who’s right and who’s wrong?
I’ve fished across Canada and the United States for decades. I’ve eaten fish on tailgates, docks, camp stoves, and kitchen tables with folks from every walk of life. Including people who’ve forgotten more about fishing than most internet experts have ever known.
As a teenager chasing Walleye, Perch, and Bluegills, most of what I caught came home for dinner. Back then, there wasn’t talk of “selective harvest” or “catch and release”.
And we never bled a single fish.
Dad didn’t bleed them. Grandpa didn’t bleed them. I didn’t bleed them. And nobody complained. We just rinsed our fillets under cold running tap water and gave them an overnight soaking in the refrigerator.
The first time I saw fish being bled was offshore in saltwater. Down south, it’s a common practice — especially for dark-meat, heavy bloodline species like King Mackerel and Jacks. Those fish fight hard and long. During battles, large pelagic fish can build up lactic acid in their muscles, which can contribute to a stronger, metallic flavor if not handled properly. Bleeding them immediately makes sense.
So how does that relate to Walleye and other species back home?
While it is true that big fish can experience lactic acid buildup during long fights but the largest Walleye on the planet isn’t pulling drag for an hour. It’s not building up enough acid to turn the fillet into battery fluid. And the trace amount of blood in a Yellow Perch isn’t enough to taint its sweetness.
What I think has happened is simple: bleeding has become social media trendy— at least in part because of our food culture which has an emphasis toward presentation.
It photographs better.
It looks cleaner.
It feels more “chef-y.”
The Lateral Line
And that brings us to something that actually matters.
If you want better-tasting walleye, focus on the mudline, which is actually an organ.
That darkish red meat surrounding the lateral line — along with the darker layer between the flesh and the skin — is what impacts flavor far more than whether the fish was bled. It’s stronger, oilier, and more pronounced in larger fish. Leave it in, and you’ll be tasting it.
Remove it.
Most experienced Walleye anglers’ zipper their fillets for this exact reason. Not only does it take out that brown sh*t, but it also removes the pin bones, leaving you with a clean, bone-free fillet if done properly.
Bleeding does give you whiter meat while reducing the mess on the fillet board. There’s nothing wrong with doing it for aesthetics or personal preference. You can remove most of the blood from fillets by washing them anyway, and even more so after soaking them in water over night in the refrigerator. This will also firm up the flesh.
But here’s the real question:
If I plated two pieces of fried walleye — one bled, one not — could you honestly tell the difference?
Or would you just guess? You do have a 50% chance!
Because in my experience, proper care matters far more than bleeding ever will.
Dispatch it quickly.
Keep it cool.
Clean it properly.
Trim it correctly.
Bleeding isn’t wrong. It’s just not the magic some folks make it out to be.
Now… pass the tartar sauce please.
