Atleast till the next morning if on good ice

 

X2 on what morrowtucky said.

 

yep... Long as you have a good cooler and it holds the ice… I've fished most of the day and come home and still some ice was still in the cooler… I just threw on another bag of ice and Did not fillet them till the next morning

 

Thanks for the info. I’m new at catching eyes and filleting them. The wife won’t eat if they are fishy. But I have a tug addiction for bass. So I hate to waste the opportunity when on Erie.

 

Just bleed them out and keep them in a good cooler with plenty of ice. They clean easier when frozen as well. You could take that cooler home and fillet them the next morning as long as it will keep the ice frozen.

 

Keep in mind everyone is saying ICE. If you're using bags of ice make sure you are getting the water/slime in the bottom of the cooler drained off.

If I'm going to keep fish iced down until the next morning I like to use 2 liter bottles filled with water and frozen. Once we have our limits pull all the bottles on top of the fish to really chill them down. Once off the water I'll pull everything out, put the frozen 2 liters on the bottom and then layer fish and ice on top of that.

Keeps from melting your new ice right off that bat, and keeps your fish from sitting in the bottom of the cooler soaking in an ice/water/slime bath. I personally would never ice down fish over night in a cooler that didn't have a drain valve either, I like to keep it cracked open and keep all of that water off of the fish until they are cleaned.

 

What's wrong with having fish sitting in some ice cold water on the fish,they live in water.How would that damage the filets?

 

My personal preference and experience is that the fish are in MUCH better shape sitting on cold frozen ice than coming out of an ice slurry for 24 hours.

Do what you want, to each their own. Just giving the OP my opinion and preference for keeping fish over night before cleaning them.

 

They'll last forever as long as they're kept cold or on ice.

 

X2! That’s how all the “commericial fish” in the grocery stores got there(shellfish too)! Those weren’t just caught and flown-in to the stores…

 

Living a few hundred miles away, most of my tips to Erie are Thurs-Sun. We'll generally clean a batch Friday, but a few times I have kept on ice what we catch Thursday, and clean them Sunday evening, no problem. Just have to make sure they are really, really well iced.

 

What's wrong with having fish sitting insome ice cold water on the fish,they live in water.How would that damage the filets?ece

I always thought that after a fish dies its cells no longer can repell water and starts to absorb it Part of the decay process

 

Here's what a professional fish cleaner in Lorain told me years ago.....and I've found it to be true over time:
So long as you keep the walleye on ice (well iced, mind you) you have four days to clean them without having any issues.

 

I often leave them well iced overnight and clean the next day. I also bleed my fish soon as the are caught.


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I’ve iced fish for a day or two before cleaning with no problems. But I’m in the Colonel’s corner on the water. I get home and drain the water add more ice. I crack the drain if possible or I’ll periodically drain them in a bucket. Once they’re cold the ice stays pretty well.
it may not hurt the meat- but the thought of the fish laying in spooge water and regurgitated bait kinda kills my enthusiasm. Haha

 

If you want to help keep fish cold, ice them well, then put a good layer of newspaper on top.

 

you can catch eye of the rocks 5pm in 70 degre ,put the fish on stringer cut troat and leave on the rocks til 4 am,never put in water if you put them in lake water before you go home ,they will turn white,they start decomposing in water .,they will stay perfect on the rocks or on the ice.
go home and put the bucket with eyes to frige,you can clean them 3 days later,they are perfect.
cleaning them 4 days later ,the meat is perfect only littel softer.

when you fish 5 days on boat
catch,cut troat put on stringer and drop in lake on cleats for 10 minutes,when you have time ,put them on ice in cooler.
clean after every day,put filets in zip lock and put them on ice.
when you filet fish do not wash the filet,put them in zip lock bag on ice.
when you go home wash them and freeze them,vacum or water in zip lock.
you can take them out 10 years later and they are like fresh fish.

supermarket never can come close to the quality of your fish.

fresh fish in supermarket mean 7 to 14 days old.

when canada comercials set gill net out and we have bad storm for 4 days,they are not going out to take fish from net,they go after 4 days pick the fish and put them on ice,bring them to shore ship them.

that is like i catch fish put her on stringer,put her in water go home,come back 4 days later take fish home and filet them.

when i catch fish and i filet them,
there is somting wrong with my fish,
they do not smell like fish.

 

I use a 3 gal. trash can with a bag liner and put it in a chest freezer, It last me 3 days when hot 4 days when cool. I have not bought a bag of ice in 4 yrs. Being block ice it last longer with limit melting.my cooler holds 2 at a time.

 

I fish everyday lake erie is fishable from middle of May to the end of September. I cut their throats, throw them in alive well for 5-10 minutes. the cold water helps them bleed out more. I then take them out and put in cooler on ice. Even if you just Ice them for 30-60 minutes, they filet much nice. Having a cooler with a drain plug is a must. If the fish laying on the bottom are in a pool of water, the will get soggy & Mushy. We sometimes have had them on ice for 2 days, no issue. Have never let it go more than that. I know most don't have a live well. So you can double clasp them on a stringer, then cut their throats and throw them in the water for 5-10 minutes. Again, this helps them bleed out more, it slows down the coagulation of the blood. Also helps keep down the mess of dried blood in the cooler and all over the fish.

 

After you bleed them out and put them on ice make sure when you fillet them that you cut all the red meat out. You do that and they won’t taste fishy!

 

If you cut their throat and put them in live well or back in water on stringer for 5 mins, not much red left. Just skim the top and then zipper them and that removers the red line down the middle.

 

We remove all red meat. There is usually red meat on the bigger fish. If you remove it will not taste fishy. My wife doesn’t like the fishy taste either.

 

Not sure what you mean by that.

Commercial fishing operations best practices ice brine their catch to quickly cool it then store it packed in ice for up to a week or two without gutting them, then they are processed when they get back on land some even into sushi grade product. Granted, I think some saltwater species hold up a little better than walleye but still. A few days properly iced is nothing. Check out the Canadian walleye at the seafood counter at a fish market or big grocery store. Some of those fillets look pretty rough.

Just smell it...

you can catch eye of the rocks 5pm in 70 degre ,put the fish on stringer cut troat and leave on the rocks til 4 am,never put in water if you put them in lake water before you go home ,they will turn white,they start decomposing in water .,they will stay perfect on the rocks or on the ice.
go home and put the bucket with eyes to frige,you can clean them 3 days later,they are perfect.
cleaning them 4 days later ,the meat is perfect only littel softer.

when you fish 5 days on boat
catch,cut troat put on stringer and drop in lake on cleats for 10 minutes,when you have time ,put them on ice in cooler.
clean after every day,put filets in zip lock and put them on ice.
when you filet fish do not wash the filet,put them in zip lock bag on ice.
when you go home wash them and freeze them,vacum or water in zip lock.
you can take them out 10 years later and they are like fresh fish.

supermarket never can come close to the quality of your fish.

fresh fish in supermarket mean 7 to 14 days old.

when canada comercials set gill net out and we have bad storm for 4 days,they are not going out to take fish from net,they go after 4 days pick the fish and put them on ice,bring them to shore ship them.

that is like i catch fish put her on stringer,put her in water go home,come back 4 days later take fish home and filet them.

when i catch fish and i filet them,
there is somting wrong with my fish,
they do not smell like fish.

Pretty much sums it up.

We have access to some of the best eating fish. Take the time and effort to keep them as fresh as possible.

I've had the luxury to eat in great restaurants all over the US (the company was paying...). IMHO, not much beats or even matches fresh perch or walleye.

One of the meals I still talk about was some walleye cooked over a campfire after an evening of fishing. A guest brought some venison tenderloin. The best "Surf and Turf" I've had.

I have been on charters that I refused to take any fish home. Stiff and stinky, white eyes and white gills. Nowhere near enough ice in the coolers. Hot days. No thanks.