How To Keep Fish To Eat 2025
Fuese54 reply :
What do you do after catching a fish to take it home and clean/eat it? Also how do you "bleed" a fish and does it make it taste better?
zachb34 reply :
I don't keep bass but for species I do keep I just throw them on ice and clean them at home.
tomustang reply :
For the amount of time you have to put in, you're better off buying grocery store fish
Fuese54 reply :
From the moment you catch them, what steps do you take to get the fish home to clean and eat?
kcdinkerz reply :
Just make sure to put them on ice, or keep alive on a stringer/livewell until your ready to fillet or clean them. Don't want your catch to spoil before you get home
kcdinkerz reply :
Why would he be better off buying fish from the store?
kcdinkerz reply :
On 7/24/2015 at 1:44 PM, Fuese54 said:What do you do after catching a fish to take it home and clean/eat it? Also how do you "bleed" a fish and does it make it taste better?
To bleed a fish you cut the tail off and hang it to bleed while it's alive. I'd much rather give them a quick knock on the head, and soak the fillets in salt water later.
scaleface reply :
I often have bass on a stringer when fishing from a john boat. They can be on there for hours and are in good shape when I'm done fishing even in the summer. The constant water flowing through the gills keep them oxygenated. I fillet them at the lake , throw the fillets in an empty ice bag and cooler , then rinse and put in the fridge too eat the next day . I love those slot limits .
Lund Explorer reply :
On 7/24/2015 at 1:44 PM, Fuese54 said:What do you do after catching a fish to take it home and clean/eat it? Also how do you "bleed" a fish and does it make it taste better?
Almost all of the fish I catch that are going to end up on the dinner table are put into a cooler with ice water. Putting them in a livewell or stringer is fine so long as they stay alive, but if any die before you leave, those fish are being stored at whatever the water's temperature happens to be. In the summer, that might not be that good. Another benefit to icing your fish is that most species are easier to fillet when they are somewhat stiff.
The only fish that I normally bleed out are large trout and salmon species. The easiest way I've found to do this is to cut between the lower gill plates. Note - make sure that this cut doesn't alter the fish's length if that is an issue where you're fishing.
In answer to your other post, I fillet all of the fish I plan to eat. Other than bluegills or yellow perch, the others are also skinned unless the rules require that a patch of skin is left intact to determine species (Think Ontario). When the skin stays on, I remove the scales first and then fillet. Everything else is filleted and then I remove the skin.
the reel ess reply :
I don't "bleed" them. I just try to either keep them alive or on ice until I get home. Stringer, livewell or cooler. You can leave them overnight on ice if it's too late. Then I fillet them and they go into a freezer bag and in the fridge. If, after a day I haven't used them, they go into the freezer.
My friend soaks them in a little brine overnight. But that's all I do.
wytstang reply :
On 7/24/2015 at 4:48 PM, kcdinkerz said:Why would he be better off buying fish from the store?
Some folks at uber sensitive about eating bass others feels buying your meal makes more sense. But nothing and I mean nothing compares to fresh food, ever. Caught and eaten with in hours taste amazing vs. frozen then defrosted and then eaten food.
the reel ess reply :
On 7/24/2015 at 2:01 PM, tomustang said:For the amount of time you have to put in, you're better off buying grocery store fish
Get an electric knife and get some practice with it. It'll go fast.
RAMBLER reply :
If you make a fishing trip to Florida, don't put your fish on a stringer. That's a buffet for the local alligator. Depending on how strong your stringer is, that can be quite a problem. And, yes, I see it often enough for it to be mentioned.
J Francho reply :
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.
NoLuck reply :
make sure you keep them alive, hit them on the head then gut them then fillet.
WIGuide reply :
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.
RoLo reply :
On 7/24/2015 at 2:01 PM, tomustang said:For the amount of time you have to put in, you're better off buying grocery store fish
Fresh-caught fish is the real deal, and well worth a few minutes of filleting time.
In order to inflate profit margins, a high percentage of store-bought fish is farmed-raised.
Many studies have found that farmed fish generally contain significantly less omega 3s
and have a higher inflammatory value. These bad boys are linked to diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.
Roger
Bob C reply :
I keep them happy in the live well and fillet them when I get home. Some go in the fryer and the ones that don't go in vacuum bag. Surprising how fresh the taste even months later. Any other way of freezing that I've tried had poor results.
tomustang reply :
On 7/24/2015 at 10:25 PM, RoLo said:Fresh-caught fish is the real deal, and well worth a few minutes of filleting time.
In order to inflate profit margins, a high percentage of store-bought fish is farmed-raised.
Many studies have found that farmed fish generally contain significantly less omega 3s
and have a higher inflammatory value. These bad boys are linked to diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.
Roger
Filleting is quick, finding the fish is what takes time.
I don't like dog food grade fed farm fish, that includes stocked trout. Wild fish could be even worse, look at the susky, pretty much bags of mercury swimming around with cancer sores on them.
RoLo reply :
On 7/24/2015 at 11:00 PM, tomustang said:Filleting is quick, finding the fish is what takes time.
I don't like dog food grade fed farm fish, that includes stocked trout. Wild fish could be even worse, look at the susky, pretty much bags of mercury swimming around with cancer sores on them.
If that were true, then store-bought fish that is not farm-raised, would be the same bags of mercury with cancer sores.
Roger
Neil McCauley reply :
I don't keep LM/SM bass, not in about 15 years anyway. Not sure why, I think I just value them more in the lake than on my plate.
I do keep pumpkinseed and rockbass which are absolutely teeming on my lake. I store them with a 15' length of #18 bankline as a stringer. http://oi58.tinypic.com/rbxldx.jpgCut a small slit in the bottom jaw, thread fish on the line, tie knot around the jaw and let them just hang out under the boat.
My rule of thumb is don't keep anything that you can't catch 10+ of in an hour. First off you might not catch enough to feed everyone, and second it probably means their population #s aren't very strong.
Did someone say grocery store fish? 
tomustang reply :
Could be. It all depends on the waters from which their plucked from.
the reel ess reply :
On 7/25/2015 at 2:59 AM, Neil McCauley said:I don't keep LM/SM bass, not in about 15 years anyway. Not sure why, I think I just value them more in the lake than on my plate.
I do keep pumpkinseed and rockbass which are absolutely teeming on my lake. I store them with a 15' length of #18 bankline as a stringer. http://oi58.tinypic.com/rbxldx.jpgCut a small slit in the bottom jaw, thread fish on the line, tie knot around the jaw and let them just hang out under the boat.
My rule of thumb is don't keep anything that you can't catch 10+ of in an hour. First off you might not catch enough to feed everyone, and second it probably means their population #s aren't very strong.
Did someone say grocery store fish?
So you keep 9 fish on a stringer and if you don't catch the 10th you throw them all back?
Lunker Addict reply :
I normally do not like to keep fish unless I have to. When I do have to I clean them immediately and put them on ice and fillet them once I get home.
Neil McCauley reply :
On 7/25/2015 at 7:10 AM, the reel ess said:So you keep 9 fish on a stringer and if you don't catch the 10th you throw them all back?
No, not really what I meant. I don't think I've ever kept 10 fish. Just 5 is fine for myself and wife. I don't start keeping them unless I'm already catching them at a good rate... a couple within a few mins for example. Don't need to actually get 10 in an hour.
Bluebasser86 reply :
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 reply :
On 7/25/2015 at 2:32 PM, Bluebasser86 said: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 reply :
On 7/25/2015 at 4:38 PM, scaleface said: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 reply :
On 7/25/2015 at 4:41 PM, Bluebasser86 said: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 reply :
On 7/24/2015 at 10:00 PM, WIGuide said: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 reply :
On 7/24/2015 at 8:30 PM, J Francho said: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 reply :
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 reply :
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 reply :
On 7/24/2015 at 8:57 PM, NoLuck said: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 reply :
On 7/25/2015 at 4:51 PM, scaleface said: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 reply :
what?On 7/24/2015 at 10:00 PM, WIGuide said: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.
J Francho reply :
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 reply :
On 7/25/2015 at 8:44 PM, bassh8er said: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 reply :
On 7/26/2015 at 11:53 AM, gardnerjigman said: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 reply :
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 reply :
On 7/25/2015 at 7:50 PM, RAMBLER said: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.
On 7/26/2015 at 1:59 PM, bassinOUT89 said: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 reply :
On 7/25/2015 at 4:38 PM, scaleface said:I do it all the time . The fish taste great.
Same here.
gardnerjigman reply :
On 7/27/2015 at 11:03 PM, J Francho said: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 reply :
i have never kept a bass to eat , never will . i do enjoy white sea bass though ....
hatrix reply :
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 reply :
On 7/26/2015 at 11:41 AM, gardnerjigman said: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 reply :
On 7/28/2015 at 5:08 AM, pgersumky said:i have never kept a bass to eat , never will . i do enjoy white sea bass though ....
My condolences.
Comcam reply :
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 reply :
On 7/28/2015 at 9:15 PM, Lund Explorer said:My condolences.
i practice catch and release 100 % of the time as far as bass go by my own choice ...
Lund Explorer reply :
On 7/30/2015 at 12:51 PM, pgersumky said: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.
J Francho reply :
I've eaten LMB on several occasions. My kids like it. I don't. I prefer walleye, perch. And pike for freshwater. I've had smallmouth, and when my uncle prepared it, it was delicious. He's passed, and I haven't had it since.
Big Bait Fishing reply :
On 7/30/2015 at 3:40 PM, Lund Explorer said: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.
i'm sure they are good eating , catch and release is what i do , period
scaleface reply :
If you fish lakes with slot limits , the managers want you to keep the small bass. Slots are designed to improve a fishery. They dont work without public participation.
nnbjkjk reply :
Either slit their throat or rip out the gills and leave them in a bucket of water for 10 minutes then put the fish on ice in a cooler.
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