Best Way To Keep Your Catch

[Lasty]

What do poeple think is the best way to keep your catch. I have been using a keeper bag over the side but someone has suggested that a tub of water on the boat or an esky with ice slurry are better. What do you guys do?

[Guest danielinbyron]

ditto... i also have come to believe fish is best kept away from fresh water before being refrigerated.... that may mean a trip down the boat ramp at end of cleaning to re cover the catch in salt water... or if at home a final dunk into water with sea salt added.... this seems to stop more delicate flesh ie snapper from going white on the edges..

[caine]

I am the master of king fish ,tailor, salmon ,and bonito fatalities.

slide your finger into the gills till it comes out the other side then ripe out the neck.

now grab the head and bend it backwards till it snaps

then hold the fish by the tail with your left hand... and by the now bent backwards head.. with your right hand.

When the fish begins to squirt blood directly from its heart.

Proceed to shower your mate with a blood bath/

This is fun till he catches a tuna, then you are in for it.

Double hook ups can result 2 idiots dancing around the boat covered in blood.

oh after that is over ......then put your fish in a ice water slurry for safe keeping,

[domza]

In summer, i just put them in a foam fruit box, but from this year i will be making a ice slurry. Question: when bleeding any species of fish, do you let it stop bleed then throw it in the bucket of ice, or throw it in while its bleeding?

[FletcherG1991]

an ice slurry is supurb,

i bleed everything i bring into the boat except for flathead... this includes bream, snapper, mowies, sharks, tuna, whiting, trevs, kings, dollies, salmon and anything else similar in shape but i dont think flatties need it because they taste so damn good (duskies however taste like mud) .

i believe it is essential especially to bleed mowies, bream, trevs, kings, salmon, sharks, tuna and dollies or else they turn to mush and taste like shit.

a simple slash at the throat will work for most finned fish until you see blood spurting out.

for tuna slash the throat and slice vertically directly behind each pectorial fin, you will get a nice blood bath if you are successful, then gut and clean the fish ASAP

for sharks slash the throat or even remove the whole head and remove the fins if you can too for the best result, then gut and clean ASAP (for makos i suggest removing their head )

then place the fish in a kill box, ie. some sort of bin, esky, baby baths work well etc... (i hate those keeper nets because most people forget to bring them in when moving location ).

in summer a nice ice slurry made up of ice and sea water is supurb, in winter just sea water is fine.

hope this helps

CFD

i always thought it was just me who thought duskies tasted yuck..... can you get sand or other species in cowan or pittwater as i havn't found any flatti grounds offshore

[Guest danielinbyron]

In summer, i just put them in a foam fruit box, but from this year i will be making a ice slurry. Question: when bleeding any species of fish, do you let it stop bleed then throw it in the bucket of ice, or throw it in while its bleeding?

answer .... yes

[Little_Flatty]

For the furry animal lovers who like to eat fish just throwing the fish into an ice slurry knocks them out pretty quickly although this may put paid to plans of you bleeding it.

Though having said that, tho gory, bleeding done properly is quite quick and humane.

Edited September 10, 2006 by Little_Flatty

[Martin]

I follow a few simple guide lines

Bleed the fish as soon as caught and maybe hang it over the side of the boat in a bag for 10 minutes or place head down in the burley pot so the blood drains and washes out.

In an esky I keep some salt water and Ice so there is a slurry and keep the fish in it. This helps to keep the flesh firm

Once home I fillet the fish and again place the fillets in an ice slurry.

Then we cook and freeze the balance, depending how successful the day was.

Cheers

Martin

[Geoff]

What do poeple think is the best way to keep your catch. I have been using a keeper bag over the side but someone has suggested that a tub of water on the boat or an esky with ice slurry are better. What do you guys do?

Lasty Like the other guys , on ice or in a slurry. Keeper bags can be more trouble than they are worth.

Tying the bag off the side , getting the fish in the bag , then remembering to bring it in when motoring along.

If coming home & a long trip the bag can end up lying on the floor in the sun.

Bags have also been known to come untied & drift off into the depths

Geoff

[Lasty]

I know a couple of years ago at Sussex Inlet we lost a bag with 20 flatties in it!