In summer time, which is the best way keeping crappies fresh all day?
on ice?
in water even transporting home?
or just throw in cooler dry, then when hitting the road, icing down?
Thanks for the replys.
In summer time, which is the best way keeping crappies fresh all day?
on ice?
in water even transporting home?
or just throw in cooler dry, then when hitting the road, icing down?
Thanks for the replys.
I use frozen jugs. I like the 2 qt size that the different cranberry juices come in. The hotter it gets the more I put in the box. I keep several in the freezer so I can alternate them and let them freeze hard before reusing them.
I keep mine in aireated livewell till water te,ps get so hot they don't thrive in it . I like block ice or frozen jugs no water in cooler. Good idea to put crushed ice over them if you keep them over a few hours but keep water drained off .
when i keep them in the summer ....i use ice blocks i freeze like posted before and add a bit of water to the bottom of the ice chest .
then i typically ice them with crushed ice later when i am on the road home
Yep. I use cold drink bottles of all sizes in Igloo coolers. Works just fine and is economical. My boat don't have a livewell.Quote:
Originally Posted by Oregon slabman
Do you keep water in the coolers with the ice jugs also in them with the fish while fishing, then drain,the water for road trip on the way home? And I see some of you cover with crushed ice for road trip home too.
No water. Just bottles and fish. I also put my Iphone in the cooler (in a zip bag) cause it gets hot and will not work til it cools down. Coolers are handy.
I tend to fish from a base camp out of my RV so don't have the freezer space I did when I fished from the house. So, instead of jugs I put the fish on crushed ice but leave the drain valve open in the cooler so the water can run out into the bilge. I rarely use the livewells in the hot summer except for a short trip of an hour or less.
I just put them in a cooler on ice (cubed) Remember, crushed ice is better than cubed ice but it also melts faster :twocents
Why no water with the ice?
Water makes ice melt faster and if it's lake water it raises the temp of ice water.
I have a Wareagle 861. While I love the boat the ice coolers and live wells have poor if any insulation. On hot days I place ice blocks in live well. On on super hot days, I purchased a large soft cooler bag that people take frozen items from stores and cut open and lie in bottom live well. Place three blocks of ice. The lids of my live wells and side ice coolers I took sun windshield reflector screens and cut them up to fit inside the lids with the aluminum side glued to the lid. I've fished in the hottest of days and always have 1/3 of each block still remaining with the fish cold.
I purchased a soft side cooler that fits perfect in the ice cooler and place it in the cooler with one block of ice in it. Place drinks and lunch in it. The lid of the soft cooler is a zippered pocket where the iPad stays to keep cool. Have used this routine for two summers with no problem. The hard liner from the soft cooler fits perfect under the console for a trash can.
I use plactic containers to freeze the blocks of ice and pop ou the blocks. I stock pile the blocks in the freezer. Hope this helps.
I try to keep mine alive as much as possible. IfnI know it aint gonna happen I fill a cooler plum full of ice the night before and heavily salt the ice. The next day when fishing I bury fish in the ice. On the way home if needed I get more ice on em. Guarantee the fish are very fresh. I strive to keep fish in the best condition possible.
tough to find crushed ice
your fish will go bad if left in water for too longQuote:
Originally Posted by cevans
Livewell...
If they wont -survive the trip home, I fillet them up at the lake.
I don't use ice. Costs money and means another stop which equals time.
I use the 2qt containers also, but I do keep water in cooler, to spread the cold. Works great.
Fish begin to rot when they die. Ice just slows the rot process down. I ain't died yet from fish rot.
When fishing tournaments, it's mandatory to bring in live fish. I have insulated the lids of my livewells and I fill the livewells early in the morning and then switch to recirculate the rest of the day. I have made the mistake of pumping fresh water in and the ice goes away really fast. I don't go to the lengths that some people do and use bottled oxygen, but I do use a 12 volt bubbler that has two outlets. I also carry a cooler with frozen 2 liter bottles of ice. You have to keep the water cool, or the fish aren't able to absorb oxygen from the water. These aren't foolproof methods, but they seem to work well for me.
I have a livewell in the boat but they die pretty fast in it. So after I put a few in the livewell I also have a live wire basket that I tie a rope on and hang out on the side of the boat that keeps them in the water where they seem to live better than in the livewell. The only trouble I have with it is sometimes I crank up and take off and forget the basket on the side of the boat. This works good for me as I don't have to get up and go to the back of the boat to put the fish in the livewell while fishing also. I zip tied the bottom of the basket to keep the bottom door from coming open accidentally also.
Eagle Claw Collapsible Wire Fish Baskets : FishUSA
http://www.fishusa.com/assets/produc...ions/500-1.jpg
Quote:
Originally Posted by scrat
I use one of these baskets when using my Jon boat. Also use one when fishing around the dock. Handy tool. I got one that floats, and one that don't for the seasons. I also tied the bottom trap. Lost fish one time.
All good info, keep it coming!
I tied the bottom up too. After the first time I forgot to pick it up moving to another spot. Lost every fish in it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cane Pole
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
I put about 4" of water from the spigot at house and put 2 frozen 1.5 liter drink bottles of water in the ice chest. About half my specks will be alive when I get home.
I use live well but I watch the fish in case they die. I also carry a cooler with 1 gal. each of water and ice. If I have fish to clean I bleed out in live well then put on "empty"on the way to ramp. The live well will be empty of bloody water so I put fish in cooler and pour in the water from jug. I keep gal. jugs of ice and water in fridge at home. If fins don't poke holes in jugs I just put back in freezer. The ice jugs will have ice in the middle (usually) and cold water around the ice. I would rather refreeze like this, they refreeze real well without distorting and remain flat on the bottom. Milk jugs are plentiful for me but they are thin and leak easier. I have seen many put hot lake water in the cooler, but I like to start off with cold water.
I keep my fish alive in live well by filling with the lake water in the morning and adding melted ice water as needed during the day. I also use an aquarium aerator. To just keep them fresh, I use one bag of ice in the live well and plenty of frozen water jugs. I like to keep a little water on them thru out the day. Drain off later.
In the Summer mine go straight into an ice slurry fresh off the hook and cleaned when I get home with ice cold water. I want them getting cold from the inside out. They feelay easier when ice cold.
I had an oxygenator put in my live well years ago. I turn it on as soon as I get to the lake and fill up the live well. It's not necessary to add anything when water temps are low but when hot weather hits, I keep the recirculating pump working. After several fish, I continue to check until I see fish start struggling. Then I will take a floating fish basket and tie to the side of the boat and take a fillet knife and slash the gills to bleed them. Then I put them in the fish basket. Bleeding them really made a difference in how they tasted. (got that tip from an episode on In Fisherman) The fish will die quickly (more humanely) I then put them on top of ice in a cooler after draining the water.
This stiffens them up making them much easier to fillet at the end of the day. I had my floating fish basket open on one trip and and they were all floating on top of the water because they had already bled out.
When I keep fish, I usually take a cooler and buy 2 bags of ice at the store. I open one bag and pour it in the bottom of the cooler. I put the other bag in the cooler without opening it. I put the fish directly in the cooler when I catch them. The fish stay cold like that and when I'm done fishing, I open the second bag and spread the ice over the fish. That way, the fish have a layer of ice above and below. That works great as long as the layer if fish between the ice doesn't get too thick. I usually don't have that problem...lol I've noticed that the fish fillet easier if you let them get really cold first. I use a regular knife, not an electric one. I never got the hang of using the electric knife.