# How do you store the fish that you catch before coming in?



## ghoot (Jan 24, 2013)

Do you keep them in the water and keep them alive somehow, or put them in an ice-chest, live well...or what?


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## Brad King (Sep 30, 2007)

I like to ice em down good. The colder the fish the easier it is to fillet!


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## Powerstroke 7.3 (May 3, 2009)

Cooler on the back of the yak. Don't like the idea of sharkbait hanging on the side...


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

Always gut the fish and keep them on ice never put or let the fish stand in water. Drain the ice chest of all melted water.


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## fishheadspin (Jun 9, 2008)

precisionpak yak cooler!


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

sealark said:


> Always gut the fish and keep them on ice never put or let the fish stand in water. Drain the ice chest of all melted water.


Why gut them?

You do it when they are still alive? Don't have a problem with that, just curious.


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## sweetyak (Jul 26, 2012)

fishheadspin said:


> precisionpak yak cooler!



+1 I love mine.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

johnf said:


> Why gut them?
> 
> You do it when they are still alive? Don't have a problem with that, just curious.


You gut most fish except trigger and Flounder because when a fish dies the stomach digestive fluids start to seep into the meat and will after time cause distasteful flavors and spoilage. Now if you clean them within a couple hours really there is no need to gut them. :thumbup::thumbup:


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## Flatspro (Oct 3, 2007)

I have a CFS fish bag or a cooler bag in front hatch. If no fish bag or cooler I will use a stringer in some situations.


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## Foulhook (Apr 26, 2010)

Careful, there are some species that must be landed whole.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

Gutting certain fish is required for commercial landings. Any fish can be gutted and they are still considered whole.


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## Matt Mcleod (Oct 3, 2007)

I like to put them in a ice and water slush. No white spots or patchy colored look, they get very cold and man do they look pretty at the dock!


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## Team Hobie (Oct 9, 2007)

In general you are not allowed to mutilate fish in any way until back on shore. That's in FL.


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## Drew Mixon (Oct 4, 2007)

i think most kayak anglers use a cooler, and usually a soft-sided cooler is easiest and most convenient. i've heard of guys using walmart cold grocery bags, but seriously i'm cheap but that's over the top. i read the reports about the kayak pack fish coolers mentioned earlier, but i've heard that the liner is easy to puncture. i dont know first hand, just what i've seen others report. there was a similar thread on the florida sportsman forum recently with those reports.
we have been using polar bear coolers for the last 2 years with great success. these are soft sided coolers made of cordura nylon and a liner that is like 75lb pressure puncture proof. the liner will pull inside out to wash and scrub. after two years of inshore fish, no holes in ours yet. micha has a 24 can size, which will easily hold a limit and then some, of redfish and trout and some flounder, with room for plenty of ice. heck, even the zipper is still in perfect shape after all that time in salt water. 
they are not 'cheap', with the 24 costing like 50 bucks, but with as awesome as ours have been, it's worth every cent.

matt, you ought to think about carrying them in the shop. they are awesome coolers.

cheers
drew


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## FLSalomon (Oct 3, 2007)

+1 on the Polar Bear coolers. Liner is tough, is easy to clean and well insulated. I have a 24 for fish and a 12 for for my drinks / lunch.


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## jjam (Dec 9, 2007)

Matt Mcleod said:


> I like to put them in a ice and water slush. No white spots or patchy colored look, they get very cold and man do they look pretty at the dock!


This, ^
3 blocks of ice with approx 7 gal of sea water in 150 qt cooler does a nice job.
Stiffs them up straight and cold, easy cleaning too.
Oh, and when FWC dips his hand in my cooler to ck our catch, it usually ends with a "dang that's cold" and on the way we go.


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## jim t (Sep 30, 2007)

A salt water "slurry" is colder than a fresh water "slurry" or a fish buried in a drained fresh water bucket of ice.

Whole, I'd think a salt water slurry is best. (Mostly ice, just a little salt water).

Filleted when the flesh is exposed, a fish wrapped in saran wrap on ice is better than directly on ice. Ice crystals will form on the surface of the fish if it is directly on ice. It'll still happen on saran wrap, but it will take longer. Wax paper is better for a fillet on ice.

Skin side down (skin on) is better on ice for the same reason.

You want to get a fish as cold as possible, as quickly as possible, then worry about ice crystals forming on the flesh.

Jim


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## jim t (Sep 30, 2007)

By the way... want a quick cool off for yourself?

Soak a nice sized towel in a ice slurry for a few seconds. Then place it on your head, then around your neck.

You will GASP for a couple seconds.... then you'll thank me forever.

I learned this working with a couple, three, forum members doing good work in Gulfport after Katrina.

A Fireman's wife said "Close your eyes...", then applied the large towel on my head.

It was really almost orgasmic on a HOT August afternoon in Gulfport, MS after doing HARD work for a few hours.

Jim


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## lastcast (Oct 12, 2007)

jjam said:


> This, ^
> 3 blocks of ice with approx 7 gal of sea water in 150 qt cooler does a nice job.
> Stiffs them up straight and cold, easy cleaning too.
> Oh, and when FWC dips his hand in my cooler to ck our catch, it usually ends with a "dang that's cold" and on the way we go.


Jimmy I had to laugh. Try picturing a Kayak comming in with a 150 on it:notworthy:


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## grgrobards (Nov 15, 2011)

On the Malibu Stealth 14, if the fish isn't over 20", I often throw it in the live well until I see if I am going to catch enough to make a mess. I also carry a cooler in the tank well if I am sure I am going to keep them.

Greg


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## ditz (Apr 22, 2012)

I would think that gutting fish as you catch them would attract sharks. I believe I would like to keep sharks at a minimum while fishing out of a yak. Just mho.


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## brianBFD (Sep 17, 2012)

Polar Bear sells liners for all of their coolers. They are like super thick/strong ziplocks. I freeze water bottles, put them in the bottom of the cooler, then place my drinks on top of them (the frozen bottles aren't going to melt for you drink in a day). Then put the liner in. I put my fish in the liner and it keeps the slime off my sammiches and drinks and keeps me from having to clean out the cooler every time I use it.
The liners hold up real well, I've put sheepshead in one and it did not get punctured. I've heard of snapper and trigger fish being kept in them without being punctured too.


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## jasoncooperpcola (Jan 2, 2008)

I will look into the Polar Bear coolers before I purchase the Water trail fish bag. We do need a local dealer for stuff like this!


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## hoppinjon (Dec 28, 2012)

jim t said:


> By the way... want a quick cool off for yourself?
> 
> Soak a nice sized towel in a ice slurry for a few seconds. Then place it on your head, then around your neck.
> 
> ...


JimT

Try using FroggToggs Chilly Pads. We use these not just while fishing but out on the baseball filed, hiking or whenever it is just too dang hot out. Just by keeping them damp they keep you cool. they really work. I got mine at Walmart but they carry them at Academy as well... this is their Website


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## brianBFD (Sep 17, 2012)

jasoncooperpcola said:


> I will look into the Polar Bear coolers before I purchase the Water trail fish bag. We do need a local dealer for stuff like this!


 
Contact Polar Bear Coolers and ask for Leslie. Tell her Brian from Alabama told you to call. They are great folks and will bend over backwards to make you happy. Also ask about their custom logos. You can get you name, family crest or one of their prefab logos added.
888-438-7924


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## BlackJeep (Jun 13, 2010)

I have a 48 qt cooler on the back of my Hobie Outback. I usually bring a bag of ice with me and keep my bait separate in a narrow plastic ice tub inside the cooler.

I never gut fish even when I clean them. Sometimes I'll look what's in the stomach after I'm done working with the meat but that's the only time I need to handle the guts. There is simply no need to gut them unless you're cooking them whole. If you do it right, nothing makes its way into the meat and you don't waste meat.


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## jasoncooperpcola (Jan 2, 2008)

I have a 48 qt ice chest that will fit on the Mariner but I want that area for my livewell. I really like the Watertrail fish bags because they are made to fit on the bow of my Mariner. I could fit the Livewell and icechest on the back though


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## jasoncooperpcola (Jan 2, 2008)

Pensacola Kayak and Sail sells Polar Bear coolers.


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