a few questions (fish related)

[huzzsaba]

I will be travelling for a week and plan to do a lot of fishing. I will only have a cooler or 2 with me to keep my catch cool for the whole week. How much Ice do I need to keep the fish on so that they stay fresh till I reach home say 5 days after catching them? I was thinking of just dumping 2 bags a day. And is it ice on the fish or fish on the ice?

 

Second question is what is the best and quickest way to kill a fish? hit over the head or cut behind the gills?

 

Thanks

Edited July 14, 2015 by huzzsaba

[206]

A fishing partner showed me a technique where you slice the gills up, put the fish on a stringer or in the livewell.....It bleeds out and when you fillet it the meat has no blood threw it.

 

I'd just eat it and then catch more no need to ice it lol

[grimsbylander]

5 days in a cooler? I don't like keeping cooked fish in a frig for 5 days.

[aplumma]

The way fish markets keep their catch is remove the innards and the gills and place the ice under the catch and them a thin layer over the catch. The important part is not to let the fish sit in liquid. If you are not concerned on keeping the fish in the whole condition then fillet the fish and place in watertight baggies and then ice above and below to get it cold quickly. Just to know most fish markets will not go 5 days on ice so eat the first three days and then save for the last two will be a better plan. We have mandatory kill on snakeheads around here and I found a screwdriver thru the head behind the eyes is a fast kill method.

 

 

Art

[Roy]

Don't forget that there are possession limits.

[Gregoire]

And that possession limits mean how many fish in total that you can have on you, including stored. They do not apply daily. For example, is the possession limit for bass is 2 you can only catch 2 keep 2. You must consume the fish before you can keep any more.

[mr blizzard]

Like was said 5 days a bit to long, your last couple of days maybe ice them, the first 3 have and enjoy the shore dinners

 

The only way I would have fish after that time would be frozen or ones that were done up in mason jars

[John Bacon]

If you are not concerned on keeping the fish in the whole condition then fillet the fish and place in watertight baggies and then ice above and below to get it cold quickly.

 

Art

 

If you go the fillet route, don't forget to leave the skin on. Otherwise, you can be charged.

 

You need to wait until you are ready to consume the fish before removing the skin. A CO needs to be able to determine the quantity and species of fish that you are transporting.

[MrSimon]

This is what I did to keep a bunch of walleye fresh for three days in a cooler.

 

• Fillet the fish (leave some skin on)
• Rinse in clean water, pat dry with paper towels
• Store in gallon Ziploc freezer bags - only a few fillets per bag - you want it to lay flat - squeeze out the air
• Fill bottom half of cooler with ice
• Lay towel on top of ice
• Lay bags of fillets neatly on top of towel
• Lay a second towel on top of fish
• Put two or three freezer bags full of ice on top of second towel
• Close lid and don't open it

After three days the fish was nice and chilled, but not frozen, and still in excellent shape.

[BillM]

Keep fish for home on your last two days. I wouldn't keep anything (unless you plan on eating it there) before that.

[SirWhite]

As well if your driving around with fish make sure to leave a 1"x1" of the skin to show the COs

[huzzsaba]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

The reason I was thinking of bringing back is because we plan to go on a salmon and lake trout charter on the second day of the trip. I am not sure if we will be able to catch quality fish after from shore so hoping to bring some back. Who knows we may have better luck from share later in the trip. I do plan to stop at algonquin on the way back home so some nice splake would be awesome.

 

Thanks for the heads up on possession limits. I think I will have to upgrade my license to sport to get in that extra fish .

 

I will definitely be checking this thread while on the trip to keep your ideas in mind.

 

Most of the advice so far is about storing the fish. How about humanely ending the life of the fish? just cut behind the gill and let bleed out? I am more comfortable doing that than wacking it over the head or putting a screw driver through the brains.

 

Thanks

[aplumma]

screwdriver is very humane it is an instant kill the bleeding out of a fish is a much slower kill.With this said though the primitive nervous system of a fish it is not a big deal how you dispatch your catch.

 

 

Art

[manitoubass2]

Use blocks of ice, not cubes.

 

And follow the other advice, lots given here.

 

Two bags of ice in a cooler does not last long.

[BillM]

Quick knife through the spine near the back fo the head is quick and painless,

[SirCranksalot]

In 5 days fish change from food to fertilizer!

[bigbuck]

More than 2 days, uh uh for fresh fish, it will not be good any more. Never mind the posession limits. Enjoy fresh fish daily and bring enough home for a feed or two and call itba great trip.

[mike rousseau]

Filleted I only keep fish for 3 days MAX...

[MrSimon]

It also depends on what kind of cooler you have. A good high quality cooler can hold ice for four or five days if you do it right, but it always helps to drain out the water and add fresh ice once a day. Keeping the fish dry is important. If it gets wet, or comes in direct contact with the ice ... things get nasty.

 

I tend to agree that three days or less is best ... but 5 days is doable if you take all the right precautions.

[fishindevil]

Here is an awesome tip: get some empty folgers coffee containers or similar brand even margarine containers fill them up with water freeze them solid before your trip !!! And put them in the bottom of your cooler !!! They will last for a few days and still be frozen solid !!!! They work awesome just make sure they are all the same size and lay fish on them and cover with a bag or 2 of ice and it's amazing how cold things will stay !!!! Been doing it for years and you can use them over & over !!!! I just went camping last week for 4 days and it was hot out and 2 of them were still half frozen when I came back home !!!!!! It's simple and soooooooo. Effective The bigger the cooler the more of the containers you can use Just a tip you will wonder why you never did it before !!!! Lol

[Old Ironmaker]

My simple answer to question 1 is no. After 5 days fish is no longer fresh in the fridge let alone a cooler. If you go on a charter and you are counting your fish before you leave the dock has always been a skunk sentence for me. Counting fish before they hatch. Once you have caught enough fish for 2 days release the rest. The fish Gods will reward you some day. And you won't be liable for a charge by a CO for letting game fish spoil. Follow the good advice for icing fish and dump the water out constantly. I know you won't have access to a freezer but when we went into the bush we would freeze large and small soda bottles similar to what fishindevil suggests and lay a few on the bottom, smaller ones with in the belly cavities of the fish and more on top. Fresh ice on top daily but for no more than 3 days. I like the pop bottles because water won't get into the cooler because it's totally sealed. After 3 days that fish is not fresh unless buried in ice and in a refrigerated vehicle like the commercial guys use to get the fish to market. A manager at Fortino's told me never to buy fish after Wednesday. Deliveries on Monday were likely caught 24 to 48 hours prior. So Thursday they are not fresh. The eyeballs must be bright and clear, the gills deep red, and the fish should not smell fishy.

 

You can also buy a Yeti cooler that claims to keep food fresh in the cooler for 5 or more days. I have seen some for $1000.00 USD.

 

Good luck and enjoy.

[creditmaster]

find the blue spot inside and behind the gills then puncture this spot the let the fish bleed out then cut of the head and then gut it and scrape the back vein clean

DONE

[huzzsaba]

Thanks for all the wonderful tips. I am leaving early tomorrow morning and should be able to get fishing Monday morning. I will keep you guys posted. I will probably just keep a few for dinner and release the rest. On the way back I will be stopping at Algonquin so whatever I catch there will come back home with me. at themost that will stay in te cooler overnight so I think I should be good with lots of bagged ice.

 

Thanks

[misfish]

Thanks for all the wonderful tips. I am leaving early tomorrow morning and should be able to get fishing Monday morning. I will keep you guys posted. I will probably just keep a few for dinner and release the rest. On the way back I will be stopping at Algonquin so whatever I catch there will come back home with me. at themost that will stay in te cooler overnight so I think I should be good with lots of bagged ice.

 

Thanks

 

 

Have a great and safe trip.

 

Dont forget pics.

[G.mech]

Quick knife through the spine near the back fo the head is quick and painless,

 

I think I will pass this tip along to my wife; I caught her creeping around in the dark house with a shovel the other night...... I knew I shouldn't have let her increase that life insurance policy.

Edited July 21, 2015 by G.mech