cleaning fish-how soon?

[SPARKYICE]

grampa always said don't let the sun set on uncleaned fish, and i seldom do.
sat., however, i was up at 4am, in the boat befor 7am, and we fished 12 hours to get our limit of 50 perch each.
by 10pm i still had 25 left to go, and as i was ruining the filets and poking my fingers and bleeding all over the place, i packed them in snow and finished them in the am.
they were all ok, with a few of them their eyes were getting cloudy, but i couldn't tell any difference in the filets.
SO- what are y'alls opinions on fish cleaning?
obviuosly, the sooner the better, but sometimes...
how long is too long?
any tricks to extend the time frame?
what if you just get the guts out and filet them later?
 



 

[Reel Wet Ride]

Keep 'em Cold, Keep 'em Fresh. Last time I checked, you buy whole fish at the market, Keeping fish on ice won't hurt them, but its not going to taste the same as a fish from the water to the pan in less than a few hours, Nothing is that good.

[BottomDweller]

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=39910.0
here's a thread i posted on this topic.  got a lot of good advice.  now i just insert knife through gills, cut through them and a big artery between them, and the fish bleeds out really well, making for perfect filets.  that's the way salmon fishermen in alaska do it before transporting thire catch.

[benjui567]

I have put them on ice before but I try not to leave them for more than a day

[Walltrout]

I agree with the previous posts to do it as soon as possible.  But this winter I had a week long trip on the ice.  We caught some monster 15+ pound pike. I was going to get one mounted so I did not filet it and just let it freeze whole.  Well about 10 days later I decided not to mount it and I fileted it up.  The filets were great.  I think because it was frozen the whole time. 

[Walltrout]

Walltrout....haven't seen any pics yet...wassup?

They are on the way.  Tonight hopefully.  Here is one for you. It was taken on a cell phone so the quality is bad but I have better ones at home.

[Walltrout]

Nice hat!

I like my hat!  It took a lot of cute little baby bunnies to make that hat.  A hat like that gets the chicks.  You are just jealous.

[Walltrout]

So that was why all those bikini babes were swarming you on the last all nighter for ling! It looked like a beer commercial out there!

Now you've got it!  Here are some pics from that trip.

[wyoutdoors]

Your grandpa was right. Here's a tip my grandpa taught me as a young'n on how to keep fish fresh...

1) Pull fish from ice

2) Hold fish cradled with belly side up while pinching the gills with one hand and firmly grasping the tail so it won't flap around.

3) Look towards the sky and verbally give thanks to the fish gods for delivering such a fine specimen and beauty to your hook and line and assure Him, that this sacrifice will go towards you and your family's sustenance and not for wanton waste.

4) With that taken care of, raise the belly of the fish near your lips.

5) Squeezing the gills and tail bend the fish slightly skyward.

6) With the fish bent in this manner, pressure will build up in the belly causing the anal vent to bulge somewhat.

7) Grasp this slight bulging of the anal vent with your front teeth (keeping your eyes open or shut is optional here), and quickly rip the anal vent which is pinched between your teeth toward the gills while snapping your head back and grunting like a caveman. This will remove the nasty stuff from the fish as well as keeping it fresh for filleting at a later time. Go ahead and pack the freshly field cleaned fish in the snow, or place directly in your cooler.

8) If your worried about appearing as a sissy in front of your buddies, who by now are slack-jawed and aghast at your new found fish cleaning skillz, go ahead and spit the fish turds back toward the hole while sucking your front teeth with a smacking sound then utter the following, "Hmmm... Shad... Anyone need a beer?"

~ G

[Walltrout]

Gamb00ler,

You sound like my kind of guy.  Never forget to worship the fish gods.  They can damn you to a lifetime of being skunked, snagged and sun  burnt. 

[Gambler]

Heeeyyyy, wait one minute!! Where did you get those pics of my wife???  She said she was going out of town on a business trip. Something seems fishy here!!!

[Walltrout]

Heeeyyyy, wait one minute!! Where did you get those pics of my wife???  She said she was going out of town on a business trip. Something seems fishy here!!!

It was all business I swear.  I left the money in an envelope on the night stand.   

[bucketbass]

i wouldnt put those in the snow bank them are the ones that get attention right away