Catch Invited Home for Supper

How do you handle the fish that are coming home with you. Are there handling recommendations or things that shouldn't be done?

I generally ice them down in a cooler for the ride home when I can't clean them at the lake. (just like I would do the fillets if I did clean them at the lake)
I generally keep them alive in the livewell until I leave & stop and get a bag of ice & put it in the cooler, then take the fish out of the livewell and drop them in the cooler with the bagged ice. The one lake I do this at is 1.5hrs drive back home, and I've done it many times with no spoilage of the fish.

Fish I plan to keep go directly in to ice cubes in a cooler. One thing I would suggest NOT DOING is running a stinger through their gills and letting them sit at the surface while you fish for more.

In the boat in cooler weather the go in the livewell, then on ice when the boat goes on the trailer. Fishing from the bank they go in the cooler on ice

I've never put fish in a livewell, I don't even have one. If I plan to keep fish, they go directly in the cooler on ice. If I don't plan to clean them the same day or the next day, I'll drain the water and put another bag of ice on them. Never had any spoil.

I’ve kept em alive I. A good Livewell for a lot of hours but I also added fresh water every couple of hours til it started hitting the overflow. If you’re not able to do that use a frozen 2 liter to keep the water temp down. If time is a factor, ice them immediately and keep them on ice til filleted. I’ve never lost any

ice 'em down; also easier to filet

Just coming back to fishing after a long time away. I knew the way I handled fish to keep in my youth - stringer or basket - wasn't going to do it, anymore, so I read up on the subject and decided to try bleeding the fish right after capture (a quick snip with shears below where the gills nearly meet) and then immediately icing it down. The flesh from fish I've treated this way has had less color to it, and I do believe it's tasted better, too! Obviously it requires deciding right away whether you're going to keep a fish, though.

Gerry

I stop on the way to the lake and get ice. Usually have one bag at home saved from last trip and get one more. Fish go right into the cooler. Get home and leave them in the ice over night and filet the next morning. Fish are nice and firm then.

I seldom ice mine except in the hottest weather. Keep mine in livewell if they live OK . Try to fillet as soon as possible and ice down the fillets . Hate cleaning cold fish .