After the catch?

Shotgun

Shotgun

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Feb 3, 2006
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I'm thinking about getting into fishing this year and although this may be putting the cart before the horse so to speak, what do you do with the fish once you've caught them? Assuming it's one you're keeping for food.
 
If I'm in the canoe, I'll put em on a stringer and tie that to my boat. Otherwise, a big plastic bucket with some water will do the trick. If you have a really long way to bring them home, maybe bring a cooler with ice and clean out the guts first? I've never transported fish for days at a time before, ha.
 
Thanks for the quick reply. Yeah my fishing would be a local (read 30 minute drive Max) lake or river to fill the freezer or out camping and then will be cooked within an hour. So is it best to keep them alive in the bucket or on a line?
 
I have kept them in a bucket with water, but I was told by a fellow fisherman, who was a doctor also, that it is best to keep them out of water as bacteria speads in the water as they die, and that is why fish are put in those straw creels. It made me think he is right.....
 
I started using a nylon mesh bag to keep the fish in. It came from Campmor I believe. I can fish a while then sort or measure the fish and return the non-keepers to the water uninjured.
 
I use a stringer , either a metal one with clips or a rope stringer.White bass dont keep well on a stringer , they demand to much o2. For them I try to throw them on ice if possible. When I was a kid I used a gunny sack for bullheads.

Within 30 minute drive max just use a stringer. Its cheap.
 
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Here in Texas they go in the ice chest.Then you can clean them when you get back home or your camp.
Or the next morning.They clean even better.
 
I put them on ice and clean at home. When surf fishing I use a large floating net till I get back to the truck and throw em on ice.
 
The key is to keep them cold, whether it's alive or dead in a bucket of COLD water or in an ice chest, just make sure they stay cold. I've ruined my share of trout fishing in the summer and keeping them on the stringer for a few hours in 70* water.
 
I carry 1 gallon Zip lock bags and keep a cooler with ice in the car. Zip up the fish, and put em on ice. Clean them when I get home.
 
I throw them on ice in a cooler. Clean them once I get home. Hasn't failed me yet.
 
Thanks for the replies. Think I'm going to just take my small cooler. When backpacking I think they'll prolly get eaten before they spoil. :D

Now to research how to catch them LOL.
 
dipbait said:
I use a stringer , either a metal one with clips or a rope stringer.White bass dont keep well on a stringer , they demand to much o2. For them I try to throw them on ice if possible. When I was a kid I used a gunny sack for bullheads.

Within 30 minute drive max just use a stringer. Its cheap.
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this or a cooler with ice. just gut, clean the inside out quickly and toss in cooler. it will keep much longer that way. guts spoil meat. end of story
 
we do 2 to 3 day trips when the salmon run on the fraser

especially for large fish gill/bleed the fish a couple minutes before gutting and get them on ice, they will keep just fine as long as there is sufficient ice and no direct sunlight on the coolers. Never had any off taste or spoilage storing salmon camping

as a sidenote just leave them in ice, tightly sealing in bags is a mistake as it spoils fish even in a cooler/refridgeration if left too long.

on my boat trout fishing I keep one of those 20litre low profile stackable coleman coolers and a couple of icepacks/.ice
3 guys in my family use these coolers now too. They have a rim around the top and is perfect for setting the net and fish on top to deal with instead of the bottom of the boat, a lot easier to clean and easier on the fish if your releasing.

I like eating fish too much to leave them glazed and sticky in a tub all day in the sun like I see some people, same for dragging them in the water if the surface water temp is in the high 60 or up. Might as well leave them sit in the sink all day at room temp

plan how to store your catch before you have to deal with it
 
we don't worry about ice or anything like that. were usually at a high mountain lake (far off the beaten path so there is no ice) so, if were not going to cook them right away, we just leave them in the water overnight. there fine. sometimes we may have to pick a few leeches off them in the morning before 'trout and eggs' its no big deal to us.
food keeps much longer than folks think. if you or anyone else are really worried about spoilage, just bring along some salt.
clean the fish, salt well inside and out then wrap in leaves, mud, bark or whatever is available. then keep in a cool shady area. it'll keep for quite sometime that way.
plus you have the added bonus of it already being 'seasoned'. we have used that here in the dead heat of summer and it works very well. just keep the direct sun off of it and you'll be fine.
we have eaten fish thats been out in the sun to long. its fine just a bit mussy, thats all...
 
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