How long can crappie live out of the water?

[TapOut64]

I've brought home crappie that I have had on ice for 5-6 hours and dang if some of them aren't still moving. I really hate to fillet live fish so I just wait them out. I'm always amazed at how long they can live on ice. Whats the norm here?

[PIGINTHEPIGPEN]

I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the temp. You will probably get a lot of different responses on this one. I may be in the minority here but, I prefer my fish to be alive when I clean them. Can't get any fresher than that.

[skiptomylu]

The faster you clean them the better they will be. At least that is how I like them done.

[Darryl Morris]

I also prefer my fish to be alive when I fillet them. Plus, if you will do that and then drop the fillets in ice cold water, it will give you a nice firm fillet that will cook up nice and flakey and not mushy.

[willsjwills]

dang, i been doing the wrong thing. i been putting them on ice.

KEEP YOUR POWDER DRY

[freeflow_23]

No livewell on my boat so my keepers go into a cooler with ice (frozen water bottles). I like cleaning fish that are a little cold but not frozen stiff. The ones on top are usually barely moving by the time I clean em.

[Baron Von Crappie]

I have caught coldwater crappies and was to tired to fillet them so I put them in a bucket with ice in the fridge and 24 hours later when time to do it, some were still moving!

[naildriver]

about 15 years ago i came in with a mess in the evening after dark and put them in the refridgerator in tupperware. they were filleted the next morning and were at least as good as filleted alive, possibly better. ive been doing it this way whenever i get a few at nite. now i also have a theory that the blood from the fish meat will go back into the organs as they die, resulting in a cleaner fillet and cleaning table-----less blood. also the fish is firmer when dead and cold. the most important thing tho. is to not let a dead fish get warm, i know it dont take long for a floater in the livewell to deteriorate if the water is over 40 degrees. of course, the warmer the water the faster the product goes bad.

[turkeyfootnc]

It depends on the air temp. This time of year they will live longer on ice than summer. I really don't like to clean any fish when they have frozen.

[Cane Pole]

Cold fish over nite on ice or in refrig with min water to cover fish. Cold fish easier to fillet than live fish and ain't near as bloody messy. Dead fishes don't flop around and fin the crap out of ya' either. haha....Dead eat good too...I never was much at eating them live.

To each his own here..........