Pointers on keeping catch fresh???

[woody74]

Hi guy's, having always been a catch and release fisherman, was after some tips, so to speak on keeping fish caught for eating fresh. Take the oldest boy's down the gold coast once a month and since we have fish for tea once on the weekend though why not bring home some whiting . We are land based so would have to have a eski I suppose with ice? Any tips and help would be great guy's. CHEERS Woody

[Marlin_Mike]

esky with ice slurry I find sea water best for the slurry.

cheers

[scottar]

As above. Saltwater ice slurry. Just make sure your esky cant leak in your car boot. Lessons learned from practicle experience. LOL

[Lucky_Phill]

As above.... salt water ice slurry is the best.

And for the car boot, keep a spray bottle of " Vanilla Fresh " handy should any leaks occur.

cheers LP

[woody74]

Cheers for that fella's, so gut the fish, keep in the slurry. Could you drain out the water for transport, or best to leave till we get home? Two and a half hours drive home from the coast.

[scottar]

I don't bother gutting as I fillet everything but if gutting is your thing the sooner the better. I leave the fish in the slurry until I am ready to fillet. These days the esky travels inside one of those big plastic storage containers with a lid to act as a bund should any water slosh out through the lid of the esky.

[Lucky_Phill]

Yep.. I don't touch the fish with a knife until I am ready to fillet them.

There is a science theory about bacteria transfer, hence why we don't gut, gill our fish. I don't even bleed my reef fish. I do bleed Pelagics like Tailor, Mackerel and Mahi Mahi though.

LP

[sharkymark2]

If you put them into a descaler bag and tow it behind the boat all you will have to do is fillet and you have the perfect fillet with the tasty skin left on.

[Noelm]

Even though I have never used one, and people swear by them, towing fish in a bag to get banged around to remove the sales doesn't sound like a big hit to me! How you look after your catch is entirely dependant on how long you have to keep them, a couple of hours, some ice covering them is fine, longer periods, then a slurry might be a better option. If you are land based and have to carry you esky and transport it in the boot, a few gallons of salt water certainly adds to the weight you have to carry, not to mention having it splashing around inside your car.

[lethal098]

He is land based, so he wont be towing the scaler bag behind a boat

Like everyone else said, ice slurry be the best best, i dont always use salt water, i usually just add some rock salt to fresh water if i dont have access to nice clean salt water,