crappie fillet keeping and freezing?

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Originally Posted by crappie75

I have read somewhere that you should not soak fillets, just keep them on ice, but don't let them lay in the melted water. I always soaked in salt water because it takes a lot of the blood and oil out of it, or at least that's what i've been taught. .

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Try it both ways and see for yourself.
I don't soak mine. :D

something i was shown from a guide in kentucky....take your fillets and shake as much water out of them just after you have cleaned your fish...i run them under running water to get most of the blood off...then tightly roll them in sarran wrap....then you can put your "bundles" of fillets in a ziploc bag....this works good up to 6 months in the freezer and i've never had any trouble doing this....keeps the big bags of frozen fillets from taking up space in the freezer

Clean em, wash em, cover them with water in a ziploc bag. Thaw in sink at room temp always worked best for me.

A lot of people soak catfish to lessen the flavor and make it milder,
That's what is done for strong tasting fish.
It works, that's what soaking does, removes/lessens the flavor.
Let it sit long enough in water and it'll turn to mush.
I can't think of any reason to do that to crappie.
There's just not very much flavor to start with.
I think they taste much better without soaking.
they also are better when fresh, cleaning them while alive is the best,
the meat is more pink and firmer.
They loose that when stored on ice.
Fish meat starts deteriorating right away once cleaned.
If you're going to keep it for more than a few days
before eating, the quicker it's frozen the better.