keeping fish

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: keeping fish

can you eat a dead fish, If it has only been dead for about 30 minutes to an hour? Do they start to go bad like a dead crab, I know you are not supposed to eat a dead crab. But i think dead fish are of if they are cold. anyone know?

When we go fishing on my boat I usually grab a couple of bags of ice. I kill fish and then ice them in a cooler if we are going all day. They are always fine.

Unless it's in the sun and hot out, a fish that you kill in the boat and then clean and prepare is OK for quite some time- several hours. But then you should clean and cook / ice asap. Ever been to a commercial fish dock? Two hours out of water in my boat is nowhere as gross as that.

When I fish with my buddy, we livewell the fish. He has a 18' Nitro with a livewell pump that runs for 30 seconds every five minutes. It pumps in lake water, and that oxygenates the tank. Excess water simply flows out the overflow drain. We have had very active fish after driving home with them in the well. Once a 22" walleye would chase our hand every time we tried to grab him. Never any problems other than that even after being off the water for two hours as the tank has an aerator too.

 

[xxturbowesxx]

Re: keeping fish

I keep whatever I can legally keep and want.I love fish and id rather catch and eat that buy at the grocery store from thailand. I have a livewell and if I fish in freshwater I use it but if I fish the saltwater flats I use it as a cooler. It has more to do with fish size than anything else.. A 34" cobia doesnt do well in a small livewell.