what do I do once I catch it?

[gradall5200]

Hello Im new here and I found you guys while searching for some answers. My name is joel by the way and I live in illinois about an hour or so south of chicago. Anyway Im looking for an answer to what you guys will probablly think is a dumb question, but here goes. Once I catch a fish (crappie) that im planning on keeping to eat, should I keep it on a stringer, or kill it right away and put it on ice? is one better than the other? and If im going to ice them for a ride home should I gut them before the ride, and if not is it ok to just go ahead and fillet them without gutting. Also didint know if you guys had any advice on good filleting diagrams or suggestions im not very good at it. thanks for the help.-joel

[pwbuilding]

I Have Always Kept Them On The Stringer Till I Leave The Lake. Then Put Them On Ice Till You Get Home. Filet Them As Soon As You Get Home. It Is Very Easy But I Dont Know How To Explaine It. If You Search The Net On Cleaning Fish It Will Show You How. Good Luck & Keep Catching The Fish

[crappierascal]

WELCOME ABOARD from baytown texas. You'll find most of the info you'll ever need here.

I'll list in order the best ways IMO to keep'em after catching. If you have a boat with a livewell that would be number one. The longer that fish stays alive the better it will be when you get to cleaning them. If that is not available, then I grab a cooler and a bag of ice and throwem in there after the unhook. Another way, if I forget the cooler (or it blows out of the boat on the way to the lake and you don't see it fly out:o ), is to do like you said and put them on a stringer and then in the water. I have seen bank fishers just pullin them out when the bite is on and throw them on the ground just to get the hook back in the water that much faster. Eventually they'd put them in a cooler or other bucket.

After you get back to the place you're going to clean them gather up all the materials you need. Fillet knife, couple of large bowls and a double upped plastic grocery bag for trash. What I use is a 1x6 about 24" long clamped to the deck railing. I find that if I stand up straight without leaning over to clean fish that it really helps you out with back pains after the task is finished.

When you start filleting the fish, begin right behind the pectoral fin there behind the gill plate. Cut semi-perpindicular to the lay of the fish body just deep enough until you feel the back bone and continue this cut all the down to the belly of the fish. I like to try to cut out most of the meat right behind the head region, so it won't be a straight line behind the fin there. Once you have the first cut, turn your knife slightly on edge (almost flat against backbone) and begin to cut down the fish towards tail. This is the most difficult part and as they say in anything, practice makes perfect. Just remember to follow the backbone with your knife. The blade should go just above the anal fins on the belly side of the fish When you start to feel some hard spots just cut on through that. Those are the rib bones and you'll deal with them later. Now after you cut through the last rib bone follow backbone all the way down until the base of the tail, but don't cut through the tail. Gently flip the fillet over (hinges on part of tail that wasn't cut) to where the scales are on the bottom and the knife will be right at the base of the tail where you stopped cutting. Now run the knife along the bottom side of meat, along the skin. This is where the sharpness of your tolls pays off. You should easily be able to cut there and clean shave that skin right off. After you get through and have the chunk of fillet and rib section, all that is left is to derib the fillet. Simply cut around the rib cage and toss out.

I know that is alot of wording to describe the task. There are other ways to clean crappie and other fish as well, but for me, this is the easiest and fastest way I can do it. After you get some practice you'll be cleaning crappie like nobody's business.

After the job is done I clean any bone frags and blood stains out of the meat so its just that off white semi clear mouth watering piece o fish. A friend of mine taught me the next tip. I pack them in freezer bags and fill with water clean to the top. As you zipper it closed push down and there will be water come out of the top so there are no air pockets left in the bag. This will help with freezer burn problems if storing for extended period. Lay them flat on a (non-grated rack) surface in freezer. This will keep you from having to dethaw the bag and rack after it falls down in the cracks and freezes causing them to expand and stick in the cracks. All right that is everything I do after I catch them. Now I just gotta work on the other part (catching) so I can practice what I preach:rolleyes:

Good luck and great fishing,
rascal
Hope this helps gradall.

[gradall5200]

great info!! thanks a million guys. one other question should you put them in salt water before freezing or should there be a little salt in the water you freeze them in? either way thanks so much for the info guys I plan to do a lot more learning here.-joel

[CrappieHusker]

If you catch crappie out of good water, there is usually no need to add salt when you freeze them...especially when the water is cool. White bass, wipers, stripers or even channel catfish, and any other fish that may have any red meat in the fillet (after having tried you best to get all of the red meat out) are different. I like to take a container, add the fillets and water, ice cubes and then add salt. This will not only help to take that 'fishy' taste out of the fillet but will also help to firm up the meat!

Saw a very strange thing at a lake in Wisconsin once. This guy caught a mess of crappie. We also did very well but never saw him at the campground where the fishcleaning area was. He later told us that he liked to ice down his fish uncleaned, then when he got them home he would freeze them whole in batches of 5 or 6. Then when he wanted to eat some, he would thaw out enough for a meal, and then clean them! Don't try this at home!

[Mo'nBack]

Around here I use the livewell until it gets hot. They will die in a hot livewell and start to spoil before you get home. Icechest with ice is fine and you don't have to kill them before you put them in. If you are going to leave them in ice and clean them the next day, have plenty of ice in it and leave the plug pulled so the water will drain out as the ice melts. This keeps bacteria down and makes them cleaner. I take a gallon Ziplock bag and put about 10 good filleted fish in it and then put enough water in it to cover the fish real good. Squeeze out the air and seal up the bag. Lay it flat in the freezer and wiggle the fish around to spread them out good. No salt or anything other than water. When you thaw them out, they'll be so close to fresh that you can't tell the difference.

[gradall5200]

How about thawing them out? in a tub of water or just in the sink, sorry for all the questions Im just so thrilled to find so much info in one place this is great I wish I would of found this place a long time ago. thanks again and again.-joel

[crappiekid24]

Welcome from Chicago Western Burbs! I thaw them out in the fridge or under running water. Always keep them in the bag until completely thawed.

[turkeyfootnc]

Ditto all that everyone has mentioned. After I clean fish, I put the fillets in a bowl full of water and leave the bowl in the fridge overnight. Don't know if this really helps much but I've noticed it gets all of the blood out. I guess since I deer hunt and I ALWAYS soak deer meat, I've taken that approach to fish too.

[DENNIS BOWERS]

How about thawing them out? in a tub of water or just in the sink, sorry for all the questions Im just so thrilled to find so much info in one place this is great I wish I would of found this place a long time ago. thanks again and again.-joel

I just put mine in the sink.Also before freezing make sure you use a airtight bag!