How do you keep kept fish?

[mdmakaira410]

not that this will probably be a problem for a while but hopefully in the future i would like to keep a fish every so often. how do you keep your fish fresh if you plan on staying on the water for a while? i was thinking something like an insulated bag kept in the hull like an offshore tuna canyon bag. do they make something like that for smaller fish?

[MetroMan]

In the rear storage well I have a collapsible cooler that I use for fish storage. The lid is secured by velcro, but it also has a velcro hatch on the top that I use to throw fish in.

Bass Pro sells sealed, reusable freezer packs to keep the catch cool. Less hassle than ice. Just freeze em before your trip, and throw 'em in the cooler. I plan on using this instead of ice next season

[DOGFISH]

Yes, they do make those type bags, except smaller. A general answer to your question is to always keep fish on ice. However, in a kayak that is not always possible. I seem to never have the room. It is rare that I keep a fish. On occasion, I do have the taste for some fresh fish. I love fish on the grill. After, the meet and greet, I brought a fish home a cooked it on the grill and it was great.

Some of the kayak fishers on the forum use stringers or game hooks to keep fish in the water. That is ok if the water is cold, even if the fish is alive. I personally don't like dragging things along side the kayak. In the summer, I have a cooler, which I have adapted for the kayak cargo compartment behind the seat. I keep fish in that, on ice. I have also just put the fish in a plastic bag below inside the kayak, in cool weather. It is well known that fish tastes best when it is kept as cold as possible after being caught. If that is possible that is best. However, given all the equipment on the kayak, ice may not always be possible. I use frozen water bottles in my cooler for my drinks. Sometimes I will use those in the plastic bag to keep the fish as cold a possible.

All in all, sometimes the stringer or game hook thing may be the best, at least this time of year.


PS: I just saw the last post, I have an Ice Mule also. They work great. Along with the water bottles they do work well.

Of course, don't lett Metro Man fool you, there is only room for Dos Equis in that cooler.

[ictalurus]

I use a "freezer tote" made by California Innovations that I picked up at Sam's Club.






It's big enough to hold 16lbs of ice, three bluefish between 16-24" and a couple stripers in the 18-20" range, which is the most I've ever had in it. I'm not sure the company still makes that size, though. I've seen slightly smaller ones at BJ's. I still see the one I have on eBay every now and then. The only downside is that they almost always have a lot of dark color on them, which heats up in the summer. I usually throw a wet towel over top of it and let evaporative cooling do its thing. 16lbs of ice lasts for at least 4hrs of fishing time in the summer heat, but I usually fish in the evenings as it's cooling off.

Anyway, I keep it folded up between my seat and my milk crate on my Outback.

If I'm just fishing for white and yellow perch in the winter, I'll just use a personal soft cooler with some ice packs.

[MetroMan]

Mine is made by California Innovations too. Got it from a Sears outlet center. They make some decent soft coolers

[Grilled]

I use california inovations bag too. I picked them up at Kmart for about $12. Then i just use a couple ice packs or a frozen water bottle.

[DOGFISH]

They are nice bags. I'll have to keep my eyes open for those. Space savers.

[Redfish12]

I have a Harris Teeter cooler bag that I use. I put two long 1 liter frozen water bottles and maybe a few 20oz bottles if it's really hot. Goes in the rod pod and it can hold 2 summer rock or a mess of hardhead/spot/perch pretty easily.

If it's a big fish I used to put it on my game clip and keep it alive... Learned that lesson, 27" and a 33/34" fish bent it straight this summer and I lost both fish!!!! At least they were alive and took off though... Crushed me! Next year I'll bleed them and throw them on ice if I keep them. It's been so cold lately at night that I just throw them on a stringer or in the tankwell and I don't worry about it

[mmanolis2001]

I took Redfish's advice and picked up a genuine Harris Teeter insulated bag as well. Works great and is cheap.