Hawkeye
06-25-2008, 07:10 PM
I have a question in regards to the fish you catch on 3/4 day trips (I am excluding 1/2 days or overnight and 2 or more day trips because 1/2 trips are relatively short although there maybe some concern about freshness here too and most overnight and 2 or more day trips offer refrigeration). So with summer in full swing, I am sure this scenario is pretty common to you. You score early in the morning and you proudly put your fish in the gunny sack and get back to fishing the rest of the day. I am sure from experience you all know how hot the weather can get out on the ocean from the light reflecting from the water and then the white deck reflecting the heat and light on your skin which all contribute in getting you hot and not to mention the nasty sun burn. Our bodies try to help us cool down via perspiration and a cold beer definitely helps but have you ever thought what the weather is doing to that fish you just caught early in the morning? The fish you just caught that early morning has been sitting there in the gunny sack on a hot weather and deck for several hours. After the end of the day when you look inside the gunny sack to examine the fish it doesn’t always look "fresh" and sometimes you wonder if it is even safe to consume.
I did figure out what to do on the car ride home back. The day before the fishing trip I freeze few medium blocks of ice in a plastic containers (the ice is little easier to pull out of the plastic). The day of the trip, I bring an ice box in the car and in a thick trash bag I put block of ice in it and leave the bag containing the ice blocks inside the icebox. Since the ice blocks are relatively a good size it melts slowly even in a hot weather inside a car so at the end of the day when I bring the catch back to my car, I have partially melted ice blocks surrounded by melted ice water, perfect for putting the fillet inside while driving back home.
But here is my dilemma, most 3/4 day boats will not let you carry an icebox on the boat so the only option of keeping the fish you catch "fresh" is frequently wetting them down and then at the end of the day when the deckhands clean the fish you cross your fingers that the fish you caught that early morning hasn't gone bad. Unfortunately even trying to wet it down frequently doesn't really help if the weather has been hot. I did think about getting a bag of crushed ice like you find in grocery store and dumping into the gunny sack but does anyone else have a good idea on how to keep the fish from going bad through the day?
I did figure out what to do on the car ride home back. The day before the fishing trip I freeze few medium blocks of ice in a plastic containers (the ice is little easier to pull out of the plastic). The day of the trip, I bring an ice box in the car and in a thick trash bag I put block of ice in it and leave the bag containing the ice blocks inside the icebox. Since the ice blocks are relatively a good size it melts slowly even in a hot weather inside a car so at the end of the day when I bring the catch back to my car, I have partially melted ice blocks surrounded by melted ice water, perfect for putting the fillet inside while driving back home.
But here is my dilemma, most 3/4 day boats will not let you carry an icebox on the boat so the only option of keeping the fish you catch "fresh" is frequently wetting them down and then at the end of the day when the deckhands clean the fish you cross your fingers that the fish you caught that early morning hasn't gone bad. Unfortunately even trying to wet it down frequently doesn't really help if the weather has been hot. I did think about getting a bag of crushed ice like you find in grocery store and dumping into the gunny sack but does anyone else have a good idea on how to keep the fish from going bad through the day?