Handle dinner with care

slushy ice in the ice chest.

 

If you plan to bleed, then bleed them first before throwing them in the slushy ice. You don't really want them soaking in a bunch of blood. Best case scenario is definitely a cooler full of slushy ice. The basics are keep the fish as cold as possible, and don't let it get beat around.

My problem is that the majority of the time I am riding my bike to the fishing spot, and then carrying just a small tackle bag so that I can wade in the surf and move around to find the fish. I don't want to be lugging a cooler around. For that reason, once I decide to keep a fish, I have cut it's throat to kill and bleed it, then hopped on my bike immediately and rode the 5 minutes home. I'm thinking the solution would be to put a small cooler full of slushy ice on the beach and just make trips back and forth to it, then strap it on the bike. A fishing creel that I can carry would be nice, but that would be just too bulky, in addition to my tackle bag.

 

It really depends on the fish. If it's a mild fish like croaker, perch, etc there is no need to bleed them. Definitely bleed fish like Tuna, Yellows, bonito, and even halibut can benefit from it.

I have been cutting the throat of the surf fish I have caught just to dispatch them quickly and do a little bleeding. But once I decide to keep a fish, I'm home and filleting it within 10 minutes anyhow. Haven't brought out a cooler to stock the freezer or anything. Just taking one for lunch.

 

I've read that you should use saltwater to make the slushy ice. I can't remember why, maybe others here know if it makes a difference.

 

Salt water has a lower melting/freezing point than freshwater. It will make it colder, not by much, maybe 5 degrees f or so.

 

Thanks

 

I thought the reason why is the law of hypotonics. A saltwater fish is slightly saline in the flesh.. so the freshwater will want to penetrate the meat, making it more liquid at cooking.. with saltwater, this process is reduced.. personally I would say, a frozen one liter wrapped with a fish or two in a wet rag would work fine in any water proof container you choose

 

I have heard that too. I understand osmosis, but don't really know what it would do to the meat. Perhaps it would make it a little mushy?

Iced salt water is definitely colder than freshwater. That I can prove. And the colder you can keep the fish, the better.

Maybe it's a combination of both.

 

In the surf it’s a stringer, I try to keep them as cold as possible and dip them in the water often as I’m walking along. Then jam to the car where I have a small cooler.

If I am going for eaters from a pier or rocks and staying in the same spot I bring the 5 gallon with ice and make the slury right there. Bleed it out then toss it in.

Even mackerel taste good if you do them right.

 

Salt water has a lower freezing point for sure but I dont think putting ice in fresh vs salt water will have any effect on the temp of the water. That being said I think using sea water could be beneficial from a standpoint of not creating ingress or egress of water from the fish to preserve the consistancy of the flesh. When I keep a fish to bring home I normally put it in a damp bag in the shade. 90% of the time Im home and filleting it within an hour or so so its really not cricial for my situation. If I were on a pier in the sun I would use ice for sure...I dont bleed my stuff but then again I dont normally eat Macs or Bonita which really benefit from that...Im usually eating Corbina or Croaker

 

Ok I just went round and round with this question with my wife and I may be mistaken on the colder with salt water added .....We looked at a lot of science web sites and its kind of confusing...any top notch scientists out there care to weigh in?

 

Results EXACTLY AS I SUSPECTED: entirely inconclusive due to poor scientific research methodology and lax labratory standards......

 

I'm always up for a good Google challenge. LOL

 

I was trying to fit the pouring of salt directly on ice( winter roads) into this situation and I think the addition of salt makes the ice melt faster which in the short run would make the water colder faster but the ice would not last as long so Im still completely confused and probably will NOT SLEEP TONIGHT ......

 

PS Larry , who uses one ice cube? ..........lol

 

Frugal people. LOL

 

I believe that we are comparing two different theories here. Salt on the roads will melt the ice and it will just run off.
But from I get from the freshwater/saltwater theory is that the freshwater water will be colder in the whole glass and only the top layer of the saltwater will be colder therefore the ice cube will melt slower in saltwater because as it melts it's floating in colder water then it would be if floating in freshwater.
So I believe that ice cubes in saltwater would last longer in an ice chest.
Now I have to stop because my brain hurts.