Icing Fish

[Busterbrown]

What is the longest time you have kept fish on ice and still have them edible. Any tips or technics to have them last and keep well. I need to keep em for about 5 days.Thanks



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[ratherbefishing]

5 days is a long pull but I'd dry the flesh, place in a bag and BURY in salt ice.

Good Luck

 

[Peahead]

One of the commercial guys could tell you for sure but I know they are best packed in salt ice with the cavity well packed. I have heard a week is possible.

 

[Tsquared]

10 days was common when I used to commercial troll. Put a good 4 inches of COLD ice on the bottom of your cooler as you don't want the fish to touch the bottom of the cooler. Clean the fish well, head off if you want to save space. Put the fish on their backs nose to tail with some ice in each belly. Once you have done a layer, sprinkle ice on top of the layer so fish are covered (the odd bit of tail or fin sticking out is OK)then repeat until you get near the top of your cooler. Finish by a good inch or more of ice on top and you will be fine. Hopefully your cooler has a drain on it or you will have to drain and repack a few times. This is very simple but effective, if the fish are well drained and your ice is good, cold ice. Be glad you can do this in the comfort of your camp as opposed to a dimly lit fish hold knee deep in fish and ice!
T2

 

[Lipripper]

We used to have 10 plus day trips on the comm boat but there was a lot of ice.

Fill the belly and keep the melt off drained. The water will kill it.
BF has a good idea but if you ae freezing when you get home I would keep them round, and freeze them that way. Once you process them then freeze you will loose more to burn.
I keep my large springs whole and freeze, thaw, process, ...smoke. If you want it for table fare a vacuum sealer goes a long way

 

[Lipripper]

quote:Originally posted by Tsquared

Be glad you can do this in the comfort of your camp as opposed to a dimly lit fish hold knee deep in fish and ice!
T2

LOL those first couple days of a trip in the dungeon were killer werent they! . Clearing bins... too much ice to move. I miss those days and dont at the same time [8D]

 

[Tsquared]

quote:I miss those days and dont at the same time

My thoughts exactly, Lipripper! I don't think my old knees would take it anymore!
T2

 

[Pippen]

Have kept fish packed in ice in a cooler on the WCVI for almost a week. Packed in ice (as others have said...line the bottom of the cooler with a good layer of ice)....cavity as well; drain the water off them as it melts and they have been great eating fish. Keep the cooler out of the sun and in the coolest place you can find. I have bagged them in the past....and kept them in ice once they are cool, but just had some fish that sat packed in ice for close to a week in Kyuquot and cooked some up right when we got home and it was great. Packed the rest up and froze it but the "fresh/unfrozen" stuff packed in ice was great eating; not as good as right out of the water but tasted great to me. Had a piece of the packaged and frozen stuff the other night....from the same catch.....and it was great still. Again...not "fresh" tasting but no different than stuff that I had packaged and frozen right away in Tofino earlier in June.

As long as you are keeping them good and cold....they'll be good for a week in my experience and still be pretty fresh.

 

[lazyguy]

I take two coolers filled with ice. One for bevies etc and the other stays closed for fish only and both in shade as much as possible. As ice in fish cooler melts drain and top up from other cooler. Can grab beerz at same time

 

[phnapa]

Kinda depend on the ice u have, good flake ice, iced top and bottom , and belly iced you can get 10 days easy,

 

[Lipripper]

Yes should have clarified..... salted flake ice.... not reg cubes