# Kill Box



## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

A kill box doesn't have to be anything special, just big enough to hold the biggest fish you catch.

First: Why a Kill box? If you want the whitest possible meat from the fish you catch, a kill box is the way to go. When a live fish is plunged into very cold water, blood is shunted to core organs in an attempt to keep them functioning. Blood will completely drain from muscle (meat) tissue into the brain, heart, liver, kidneys, etc. Even Mackerel and Amberjacks (yuck) get much whiter and taste much better. Fish die quickly and don't get beat up. The quicker you can get a fish cold, the better. 

Second: Fish shed much of their slime when they die fast. These fish look better at the market and keep longer. 

Third: You'll need 5 gallons of fish ice plus 5 gallons of saltwater. I never added rock salt but some folks do. Change water when it gets slimy and bloody. You should be able to retain most of the ice.

Forth: Gut your fish and transfer them to your main cooler. Cover them with ice. The fish should already be super cold so your fish box will need minimal ice. Drain water as the ice melts. I don't want my fish sitting in water.

With today's short limits we need to get everything we can out of every fish.


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## bamacpa (Nov 8, 2013)

Thanks for the tip! At what point do you do #4? In other words, how long can you keep your fish in the kill box before gutting and still have great quality fish? I really haven't got room on my 20' boat for both a kill box and a main cooler. Therefore, my main cooler is my kill box with a saltwater slurry.


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

Very good info, I am a firm believer in lots of ice.


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*Hey bammacpa*

With today's short limits you could probably do OK with 1-day trips. The object of the game is to chill/kill the fish ASAP. 

A few Snapper and a few Grouper would be fine. Several big AJs would be a totally different story. I almost never eat Amberjack but they are passable if you use a kill box. I've smelled ammonia in fish boxes loaded with big Amberjacks. You get that smell when the fish aren't cooled quick enough and begin to spoil.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

captken said:


> With today's short limits you could probably do OK with 1-day trips. The object of the game is to chill/kill the fish ASAP.
> 
> A few Snapper and a few Grouper would be fine. Several big AJs would be a totally different story. I almost never eat Amberjack but they are passable if you use a kill box. I've smelled ammonia in fish boxes loaded with big Amberjacks. You get that smell when the fish aren't cooled quick enough and begin to spoil.


Capt, you forgot about the most important thing about keeping fish fresh. Gutting them as soon as they are caught. Gut those Amberjack and I would bet there would be no amonia smell. Gut and rinse.


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

it's number 4.



> Forth: * Gut your fish and transfer them to your main cooler*. Cover them with ice. The fish should already be super cold so your fish box will need minimal ice. Drain water as the ice melts. I don't want my fish sitting in water.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

Boat-Dude said:


> it's number 4.


Should gut before any cooling. As soon as fish dies the digestive fluids start to be absorbed into flesh. Although I did miss the #4 and that way would work ok. But I always gut first.


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## Ocean Master (May 20, 2008)

I cut the gills on every fish as soon as its under control. Bleed them fast while they are alive. The heart will pump the blood out.


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