How To Keep Fish To Eat

[Bluebasser86]

The faster you can get them on ice the better they will taste. Leaving them in the livewell or dragging them around on a stringer stresses the fish and causes acid to build up in the fillets. 

[scaleface]

The faster you can get them on ice the better they will taste. Leaving them in the livewell or dragging them around on a stringer stresses the fish and causes acid to build up in the fillets. 

I do it all the time  . The fish taste great. 

[Bluebasser86]

I do it all the time  . The fish taste great. 

Lots of people do, doesn't mean it doesn't effect the taste of the fish. That acid build up is the main cause of the "fishyness", puts a lot of people off to the taste of fish. 

 

It really doesn't matter to me, it all taste nasty regardless of how it's handled/prepared 

[scaleface]

Lots of people do, doesn't mean it doesn't effect the taste of the fish. That acid build up is the main cause of the "fishyness", puts a lot of people off to the taste of fish. 

 

It really doesn't matter to me, it all taste nasty regardless of how it's handled/prepared 

With all due respect , I believe you are wrong . Maybe if the bass are in and out of the water a lot , but as long as they are left in it , they have no fishy taste. I dislike the fishy taste too and the bass I fillet dont have that taste   .

[RAMBLER]

It's easiest to keep them alive in the livewell. That's now against the law here so you are supposed to put them on ice.

Is there a common sense reason for that or is it just more political people control?

[bassh8er]

Up here, if you cut their tail off, you'll have trouble with the DEC. Altering the length is not kosher. If you want to bleed them, you sever the artery behind the gill plate. Look up gilling trout or salmon. Otherwise, and ice chest works fine. So does letting them go.

Awesome passive aggressive post, as usual.

I try and put mine on ice right away and only use the livewell if I don't feel like cleaning out the cooler.

[nosdog2]

Livewell > filet board > ziplock with a little lemon juice > freezer or fryer for me.  I love fresh fish.

 

 

I don't bleed the species I catch.

[bassr95]

Keep your catch alive by whatever method you prefer, fillet, thoroughly wash all the blood out of the fillets , store the fillets in saltwater in the fridge. They will be fine for a day or two until you get around to cooking them. 

[gardnerjigman]

make sure you keep them alive, hit them on the head then gut them then fillet.

You gut and fillet? What's the point in gutting it? I also don't understand the de-scaling/skinning if filleting. Am I from another planet or are y'all wasting time...????

Steps:

1) catch fish

2) keep fish alive or put on ice (as long as the gills are pink I'll clean it)

3) get electric fillet knife

4) lay fish down on flat surface an cut in behind gills straight down until you near center of fish. Twist wrist while knife is still cutting so the blades run down the length of the fish using top fins as a line. Cut until you get 1/2" from base of tail.

5) using knife flip the fillet you just cut over (tail peice is still attached) so that scale side is down and meat side is up. Run knife at an angle from tail to end of fillet. This removes the skin and scales.

6) make a V cut around rib bones to remove.

7) chunk as desired.

8) flip fish and repeat.

All that is done extremely quick. I can clean a basket of fish before my wife can peel the bag of potatoes.

[gardnerjigman]

With all due respect , I believe you are wrong . Maybe if the bass are in and out of the water a lot , but as long as they are left in it , they have no fishy taste. I dislike the fishy taste too and the bass I fillet dont have that taste .

He is most definetly not wrong. It happens with all living creatures.

If they are under stress or poor accommodations before they die, they release acids as blue said. The acid is absorbed by the meat, which causes the meat to break down.

I'll use cattle for example, considering my family has decades of experience. Break a cows leg, let her deal with it for a day, then put her down, cut up and eat. What you will get is tough, twangy meat that also lasts about half the time it should.

Now, walk up to ol bessy just fat and happy chewing her cud, pop her behind the ear with a 357 and cut her up. Massive difference I promise.

[bassinOUT89]

It's easiest to keep them alive in the livewell. That's now against the law here so you are supposed to put them on ice.

what?

[J Francho]

Gardnerjigman, on some fish, gutting greatly saves time. Large trout and salmon, for instance. It's easier to simply cut right through the ribs, and fillet them after you've got the steak off the back bone. Also with trout hens, you probably want to get the skein or loose eggs to cure and use as bait later. You can't contaminate them with tap water, or they go bad.

[J Francho]

Awesome passive aggressive post, as usual.

I try and put mine on ice right away and only use the livewell if I don't feel like cleaning out the cooler.

I can assure you that with no means to check length on a restricted gamefish, any Econ officer will not be passive about issuing tickets.

[A-Jay]

He is most definetly not wrong. It happens with all living creatures.

If they are under stress or poor accommodations before they die, they release acids as blue said. The acid is absorbed by the meat, which causes the meat to break down.

I'll use cattle for example, considering my family has decades of experience. Break a cows leg, let her deal with it for a day, then put her down, cut up and eat. What you will get is tough, twangy meat that also lasts about half the time it should.

Now, walk up to ol bessy just fat and happy chewing her cud, pop her behind the ear with a 357 and cut her up. Massive difference I promise.

 

This one made my day - Thank you  

 

 

A-Jay

[Nice_Bass]

I also agree- livewell, filet board/electric knife, and then soak fillets in water with a pinch of salt for 12-24 hours to help draw the remaining blood out.

 

 

No that I think of the ole besse comparison however and relate it to hunting....a quickly dispatched animal does taste much better than a poorly hit one. 

that being said- I am not about to start bleeding out every fish on my boat to bring home...

[WIGuide]

Is there a common sense reason for that or is it just more political people control?

It's supposed to help control the spread of invasive species. They won't allow you to keep bait either unless it has been in a water source other than the lake so if you have one of the minnow buckets you put in the water, it must get dumped out at the end of the day if there are any remaining minnows.

 

what?

In the state of Wisconsin, it is no longer legal to transport live fish. Your livewell must be drained or in the process of draining when you leave the ramp. Pretty much a joke, because I'm not going to transport invasive species by keeping my fish alive until I'm home and then emptying the water into my yard.

[Neil McCauley]

I do it all the time . The fish taste great.

Same here.

[gardnerjigman]

Gardnerjigman, on some fish, gutting greatly saves time. Large trout and salmon, for instance. It's easier to simply cut right through the ribs, and fillet them after you've got the steak off the back bone. Also with trout hens, you probably want to get the skein or loose eggs to cure and use as bait later. You can't contaminate them with tap water, or they go bad.

Gotcha, makes sense. I've never dealth with those species. I get your point though.

[Big Bait Fishing]

i have never kept a bass to eat , never will . i do enjoy white sea bass though ....

[hatrix]

Use one of those disposable razor knifes that you can break pieces off as they get dull. They are flexible and and sharp. If the tip gets dull you can snap it off and have a fresh tip. The tip is really the most important when filleting fish with a rib cage you need to cut around.

[Lund Explorer]

You gut and fillet? What's the point in gutting it? I also don't understand the de-scaling/skinning if filleting. Am I from another planet or are y'all wasting time...????

Steps:

1) catch fish

2) keep fish alive or put on ice (as long as the gills are pink I'll clean it)

3) get electric fillet knife

4) lay fish down on flat surface an cut in behind gills straight down until you near center of fish. Twist wrist while knife is still cutting so the blades run down the length of the fish using top fins as a line. Cut until you get 1/2" from base of tail.

5) using knife flip the fillet you just cut over (tail peice is still attached) so that scale side is down and meat side is up. Run knife at an angle from tail to end of fillet. This removes the skin and scales.

6) make a V cut around rib bones to remove.

7) chunk as desired.

8) flip fish and repeat.

All that is done extremely quick. I can clean a basket of fish before my wife can peel the bag of potatoes.

 

Some us learned to eat bluegill / perch with the skin on   !

[Lund Explorer]

i have never kept a bass to eat , never will . i do enjoy white sea bass though ....

 

My condolences.

[Comcam]

Bass is yummy, I grew up eating it when I visited my grand parents . We keep them on a stringer, never had a live well

[Big Bait Fishing]

My condolences.

 

i practice catch and release 100 % of the time as far as bass go by my own choice ...

[Lund Explorer]

i practice catch and release 100 % of the time as far as bass go by my own choice ...

 

Whatever floats your boat.

 

Simply pointing out that most lakes in this country provide anglers with a renewable and nutritious food source.  Maybe someday you will have the chance to visit a place where you'll have the chance to see what so many others already know.  Properly taken care of and prepared, I think you would be pleasantly surprised.