How do You store caught fish at sea?
- Thread starter TelStar26
- Start date
Sculpin
Well-Known Member
I have had two different ones on my boat and would not go without one ever again. We have been doing the bleeding, gutting, and icing thing for quite a few years now and I tell you the end product is awesome.
Here is the one I build last year and is the final product for this boat.
Works like a hot damn. Everything just falls out the two holes in the back and onto the swim platform. With the wave action etc. it all washes off by the time you make it back in.
Sculpin
Well-Known Member
We just bleed, gill, gut, scrape, and straight into an ice cold cooler with blocks and cubes or flaked salt ice if we can get it. ALWAY's drained constantly so they are not sitting in juicy slush. Put a rack in the bottom of your cooler to keep your fish up at least 2 inches out of the water and slime etc. Way better for the product in the end. Just my 2 bits from learning from commercial guys.
You can come to my salmon barbie Casper lol.
You can come to my salmon barbie Casper lol.
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Sculpin
Well-Known Member
You don't have to spend a ton of money either. I happen to own a welding shop and a raw aluminum boat so the mod's for me were easy.
There are products out there like this.
http://www.sportco.com/store/pc/Sea-Dog-Line-Coho-Fish-Cleaner-348p48052.htm
I have seen something similar a PNT.
Cheers,
John
There are products out there like this.
http://www.sportco.com/store/pc/Sea-Dog-Line-Coho-Fish-Cleaner-348p48052.htm
I have seen something similar a PNT.
Cheers,
John
the fog ducker
Well-Known Member
honestly..
most times rather than not , the seas and time do not allow for us to support a processing plant on board ,
im playin with my gear and trying ta keep everyone entertained , i wish i had yours guy's patience lol,
most of us on wcvi have large fish wells , self bailing , high pressure washdowns ,i immediately BLEED all fish , toss em into the well , hose them down every 15 mins or so ,keep em cool and clean, on a average temp day , my fish are usually still limp when i return to the dock . On those warmer august days ,or an overnighter , or if heading out for longer offshore day, definately a little ice onboard. typically the cool salt water flowing freely in the wells does the trick for me most times,,most of our outtings are 4-6 hrs max , no ones ever puked out my fish yet...
pretty standard for most of us at our cleaning table ,
cudos on u processors though , im eatin at ur house : )
fd
most times rather than not , the seas and time do not allow for us to support a processing plant on board ,
im playin with my gear and trying ta keep everyone entertained , i wish i had yours guy's patience lol,
most of us on wcvi have large fish wells , self bailing , high pressure washdowns ,i immediately BLEED all fish , toss em into the well , hose them down every 15 mins or so ,keep em cool and clean, on a average temp day , my fish are usually still limp when i return to the dock . On those warmer august days ,or an overnighter , or if heading out for longer offshore day, definately a little ice onboard. typically the cool salt water flowing freely in the wells does the trick for me most times,,most of our outtings are 4-6 hrs max , no ones ever puked out my fish yet...
pretty standard for most of us at our cleaning table ,
cudos on u processors though , im eatin at ur house : )
fd
Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
Hey Hook em' Hard
Nothing wrong with your system if you don't have space for a cooler, but I'd add a towel or a gunny sack---cover the fish with one of those, or anything absorbent, them dump water over them with your **** bucket every hour or so. The evaporation effect will help drop the temp and give you a reasonable fish when you get back to the dock
I go that route when fishing local and don't want to deal with a cooler---I bleed and clean them, then place them belly-up in a "V" shaped plastic cleaning rig that looks something like this:
then I cover the cleaning rig and the fish with a gunny sack and dump water on them---keeps them out of direct sun
If you at least cover them, and maybe call your water thing a "bucket", I wouldn't turn down an invite to your BBQ if you wait to clean them once you get to the cleaning station..
And the "clean within 5 minutes thing" ---blood and gills are what drag down quality. I was a commie troller in my younger years--if we got into a jag of fish and there wasn't time to gut them, the least we did was slit their throats after giving them a wood shampoo.
The skipper was a nut-case about quality---this was back in the days when troll-caught springs were air-shipped to Parisian white-tablecloth eateries. If he found a blood spot in a fillet he'd start frothing at the mouth --- I learned about quality whether I wanted to hear about it or not and never forgot the lesson.
This summer, I plan on a couple of 10 day trips. It'll just be me, a small boat, a big cooler and a lot of ice ---I've learned if I don't do it right as soon as they come into the boat, nobody will come to my BBQ either after a ten day trip with no place to freeze my fish...
Nothing wrong with your system if you don't have space for a cooler, but I'd add a towel or a gunny sack---cover the fish with one of those, or anything absorbent, them dump water over them with your **** bucket every hour or so. The evaporation effect will help drop the temp and give you a reasonable fish when you get back to the dock
I go that route when fishing local and don't want to deal with a cooler---I bleed and clean them, then place them belly-up in a "V" shaped plastic cleaning rig that looks something like this:
then I cover the cleaning rig and the fish with a gunny sack and dump water on them---keeps them out of direct sun
If you at least cover them, and maybe call your water thing a "bucket", I wouldn't turn down an invite to your BBQ if you wait to clean them once you get to the cleaning station..
And the "clean within 5 minutes thing" ---blood and gills are what drag down quality. I was a commie troller in my younger years--if we got into a jag of fish and there wasn't time to gut them, the least we did was slit their throats after giving them a wood shampoo.
The skipper was a nut-case about quality---this was back in the days when troll-caught springs were air-shipped to Parisian white-tablecloth eateries. If he found a blood spot in a fillet he'd start frothing at the mouth --- I learned about quality whether I wanted to hear about it or not and never forgot the lesson.
This summer, I plan on a couple of 10 day trips. It'll just be me, a small boat, a big cooler and a lot of ice ---I've learned if I don't do it right as soon as they come into the boat, nobody will come to my BBQ either after a ten day trip with no place to freeze my fish...
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Charter Tofino
Well-Known Member
Same here. I don't know how you guys clean and process fish while out there. If its calm and fishing is slow then I can see it but otherwise it would be a mess. Props to you guys who do it. I personally haven't seen many guys do it.
Business Time
Member
I clean my fish back at the dock, but after all this talk I'm going to do a test next time out.
One the normal way and the other cleaned right after I bonk it. Then I will eat them both the same night. I'll let you know how it goes.
BT
One the normal way and the other cleaned right after I bonk it. Then I will eat them both the same night. I'll let you know how it goes.
BT
Sculpin
Well-Known Member
I used to be all about the getting ready, what are we going to throw at them today, the fish fighting (don't get me wrong about that one as that is why I still love fishing) etc. If we have three on the boat I am usually driving (all the fing time damn it). The other two are fishing. We catch a few and one of them starts cleaning them. The other one can man the rod's. If two go off cleaner guy can grab it.
I have had 4 on the boat with two guys fighting fish around cleaner guy with zero problems.
If it's lights out fishing well yeah we quickly slit the throat and throw them in the trough of the scuppers to bleed out (beauty part of a self bailing deck) and deal with them later.
It's all about the crew and getting organized. It's alot different then shooting a deer, elk, or moose which live on land. These thing's lived in the water and the whole chemistry is different and the bacteria etc. react's different if not processed properly and right away.
Cheers,
John
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GLG
Well-Known Member
Since you have used both styles, V trough and table top, can you give us the plus and minus of the two?
Looking to build something this year.
GLG
Sculpin
Well-Known Member
Fishing buddy (the one that does most of the cleaning who is an ex guide and ex commercial fisherman out of the WCVI) is bitching about the slight slope of the new one for filleting
. I have seen on here about folks that use that cupboard liner material to help keep the fish from sliding. I will try that this year just to keep him happy . The old one "V" model was strickly a gut show mostly.
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dmurph
Well-Known Member
I bleed mine right away, get the gear re set , and then gut them and throw them on ice in a giant cooler from cost co that stays on my swim grid. I wear disposable gloves now when cleaning so that if a rod goes off i can tear the gloves and have clean hands to fight the fish. Slime on the rod handles and reel is no good. I have also started to de scale the fish which makes for really nice tasting fish which lasts a long time, but makes a mess of the boat. All THE CLEANING REALLY MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE. Sculpin has one sweet set up there for cleaning, makes me wish I had a aluminum boat and welding ticket.
eastpoint
Active Member
Respect your catch.
I am totally with Sculpin on this.
In the past I would bleed fish and leave in fish box on transom until I was back at dock. One day I was watching a guide filleting some commercial sockeye. Dude points to belly meat and says these fish have cooked in heat. The meat was not red but a pinkish colour now and flaking apart. Very different from fresh red meet. It got me wondering about this. I did some research online and found something from Alaska dept of fish and game. It said fish can keep a long time if kept at 2 degrees C. like up to 7 days and still very fresh. Also said that as soon as meat warms up above 2C it starts to decay fast. Even 10C is way too warm. Lots of sporties and charters use a hold that is in the hull so they stay about water temp , which here is 10C typically. OK but not the best. Now I bleed as soon as gear is reset or even when tossing into bleeding box, then clean it in about 15 mins max. It all takes very little time and needs to be done anyway. Then into fish cooler that has ice and frozen jugs etc. Stuff the belly with ice too. THIS MAKE HUGE DIFFERENCE in MEAT QUALITY on warm days. I wouldn't think about doing it any other way now.
Frozen Jugs in freezer , no cost really. Put them back to freeze when done. A bag of ice or 2 will do until you hit the dock, if lots of fish or staying long then load up some more ice. Big jugs will stay frozen for a 3 days easy if you have a good cooler. Everybody likes big jugs right.
Works for me.
I am totally with Sculpin on this.
In the past I would bleed fish and leave in fish box on transom until I was back at dock. One day I was watching a guide filleting some commercial sockeye. Dude points to belly meat and says these fish have cooked in heat. The meat was not red but a pinkish colour now and flaking apart. Very different from fresh red meet. It got me wondering about this. I did some research online and found something from Alaska dept of fish and game. It said fish can keep a long time if kept at 2 degrees C. like up to 7 days and still very fresh. Also said that as soon as meat warms up above 2C it starts to decay fast. Even 10C is way too warm. Lots of sporties and charters use a hold that is in the hull so they stay about water temp , which here is 10C typically. OK but not the best. Now I bleed as soon as gear is reset or even when tossing into bleeding box, then clean it in about 15 mins max. It all takes very little time and needs to be done anyway. Then into fish cooler that has ice and frozen jugs etc. Stuff the belly with ice too. THIS MAKE HUGE DIFFERENCE in MEAT QUALITY on warm days. I wouldn't think about doing it any other way now.
Frozen Jugs in freezer , no cost really. Put them back to freeze when done. A bag of ice or 2 will do until you hit the dock, if lots of fish or staying long then load up some more ice. Big jugs will stay frozen for a 3 days easy if you have a good cooler. Everybody likes big jugs right.
Works for me.
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spring fever
Well-Known Member
We try and clean at sea-but man it can be tough when it is rough. One trick I use is to put artificial turf on the cleaning table-durable-much better than sacking or towels-stops the fish from sliding-very tough,cleans and stores well.
eastpoint
Active Member
Holmes,
Re cleaning jugs. Yep I do that and clean coolers with bleach or dish soap when I am done processing fish on shore. Then jugs back into freezer.
I bleed and clean fish inside bleeding box that I have built into the transom, all the blood gets washed overboard thru holes onto swim grid. Wash that out with sea water wash down once fish has been put on ice.
Eastpoint
Re cleaning jugs. Yep I do that and clean coolers with bleach or dish soap when I am done processing fish on shore. Then jugs back into freezer.
I bleed and clean fish inside bleeding box that I have built into the transom, all the blood gets washed overboard thru holes onto swim grid. Wash that out with sea water wash down once fish has been put on ice.
Eastpoint
GLG
Well-Known Member
Question .... would freezing kill the bacteria if left for a week?
GLG
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