We can’t move fish off the water in a livewell and I fish a lot at night, so my usual routine is to take them out of the livewell and put them in a cooler with ice when I’m done fishing. Once I get home I put some of the ice in a bucket, put in the fish and top it off with ice and put it into my garage refrigerator which is barely above freezing. The ice on the bottom keeps them out of the melt water and the ice on top keeps them from drying out. Then I fillet them when I have time the following day.
“You know the thing about a crappie…..he’s got black eyes, lifeless eyes…like a dolls eyes.”Damion Kidd LIKED above post
Here’s what I started using this year in my kayak. When fishing salt water, I felt a little uneasy about sharks and a stringer, so I purchased an AO soft sided cooler and these ice packs. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They are super convenient, last longer than ice in my cooler, and refreeze quickly. I was using them inside a protective bag but have since started using a large, empty, dog food bag. I fold the top of the bag down over the ice packs on either side. It keeps the ice packs in place and makes cleaning the cooler easier. I just rinse out the bag. The cooler fits right behind my seat, and with the fish in the dog bag, I don’t have to worry about my water bottles getting slimed.
"G", Damion Kidd LIKED above post
I use 2 of the x-large ones and 2 small blocks on the bottom. The x-large come in a 3 pack. You add water to the bag, squeeze out the excess air, put the top on and freeze. I now have 2 sizes and use them in all my coolers. I also got the plastic liners to protect them from possible fin punctures.
SuperDave336 LIKED above postDamion Kidd thanked you for this post