Thread: Dead Crappie

Originally Posted by blairarnold

What's a Max Aire system?

Sorry, I had a typo there. It's Max Air (without the "e"). It's marketed by TH Marine.

TH Marine » Products » Max-Air™ Livewell Venturi

Originally Posted by JIG Gene-e

The gills gotta be red and the eyes clear. Anything with pink gills and foggy eyes is spoiled. Crappie can live in a mud hole, one of the toughest fish next to cats, but when temps get high they can spoil inside of a half hour. Ice in the livewell on the way home.

In spring I've had em jump out of a five gallon bucket after a half hour ride in the livewell.

I have always been told as long as the gills are pink they are fine. Been going off this for 20 years and never once had a problem. Even if you ice them down right when you catch them they will still turn pink within a day. I say EAT EM...

It would depend on how much fish I had in my freezer. No fish in freezer, light pink to stiff you eat.

Originally Posted by Quicksilver1958

Sorry, I had a typo there. It's Max Air (without the "e"). It's marketed by TH Marine.

TH Marine » Products » Max-Air™ Livewell Venturi

Thanks for the link.

I agree with you guys. Ice right away is best. I'm in Missouri, so I don't have water temps that are real high too much of the year. I just keep an eye on the livewells and hope not to see too many with that "faraway look" in theirs eyes. If they get laying in the bottom of the well for an hour, I just put it in the beer cooler. Kinda makes the top of the can taste a little funky, but I've gotten used to it. I don't like to clean them once they've gotten stiff. Good fishing, guys.

Originally Posted by Gansett

Was lucky enought to catch a mess today. Some died in the live well. They were dead for about six hours before I got home. I kept "cool" water in the livewell. I disposed of them. What do you think? Would you keep them? What is a "safe" time to keep and eat a dead crappie?

Rule of thumb Red to Pink good, almost white to white no good. During the summer I put my crappie straight to the iced down method, to keep from going bad.

If the gills are still red to pink, I clean. If they're white, I toss. However, I keep a cooler with ice in it, and if any in the livewell start getting that faraway look as mentioned or die, I put in the ice chest right then.

I can remember when I was a kid bringing fish back on a stringer in the trunk of the car on newspaper, and imagine the days when people walked a mile or more back from the fishing hole to get their fish home. We did clean them immediately on our return back then.

Live wells are fine in the Winter and Spring. How long would you store your meat and fish at 80 to 85 degrees or higher, that is what you are doing to your fish. Ice those fish man. Use your live well late fall, winter and spring. Good fishing.!