Frozen fish

[City boy]

I have about 100 fish caught yesterday and today that froze very quickly on the ice. How does everyone thaw them before cleaning?!?!

[wax_worm]

It is best never to let them freeze.  In cases where they do I bring the bucket in and set it in the bathtub or shower or put fish in sink.   I let them thaw slowly without pouring water on them. If you do use water use cold water.  Each freeze thaw cycle is going to make the meat less firm.

[ftwwalleye]

And don't just leave them in the sink without telling the wife. They freak out if you don't tell them and frozen fish come back to life and start flopping in the sink hours later...ha

[camshaft962]

And don't just leave them in the sink without telling the wife. They freak out if you don't tell them and frozen fish come back to life and start flopping in the sink hours later...ha

...and you may end up with a real mess on your hands and a very unhappy wife😬

[Steve Sr]

I add salt, and quite a bit, to the water thawing the fish.
It seems to cut the slime quite a bit and I feel it helps keep the bacteria down to a low roar since some will be there awhile while cleaning others.
That many I'd probably change out the water after a quarter or a third of them and start over with another batch and fresh salt water.

Just my 2 cents.

God Bless   Heading out tomorrow hoping for a long afternoon bit.....lol

[tater140]

When fishing if you try to keep them in a bucket that really helps keep them from freezing.  I agree with what others have said, I don't feel the quality of the fillet is as good when cleaning frozen fish.  If their frozen on the ice I typically just set them in some water in a bucket. 

Funny story about sinks...If you leave them in the sink with the water running don't get distracted and leave the water running with the sink plugged.  It wasn't fish but I was running water for something else a couple weeks back.  Got distracted and went down to the neighbors and was chatting guns and hunting with him.  Wife calls in a panic wanting to know where i'm at.  Turns out the sink was overflowing in the utility room.   The water ran into the ductwork and it looked like a sprinkler in the basement where the water was running out of the seams.

[crappieslayer37]

When fishing if you try to keep them in a bucket that really helps keep them from freezing.  I agree with what others have said, I don't feel the quality of the fillet is as good when cleaning frozen fish.  If their frozen on the ice I typically just set them in some water in a bucket. 

Funny story about sinks...If you leave them in the sink with the water running don't get distracted and leave the water running with the sink plugged.  It wasn't fish but I was running water for something else a couple weeks back.  Got distracted and went down to the neighbors and was chatting guns and hunting with him.  Wife calls in a panic wanting to know where i'm at.  Turns out the sink was overflowing in the utility room.   The water ran into the ductwork and it looked like a sprinkler in the basement where the water was running out of the seams.

ouch! Well at least you can laugh about it lol😂

[Jigmup]

I put mine in the fridge to thaw out. takes about 24 hours but that real slow thaw seems to keep the integrity of the  meat better.