keeping caught fish fresh

[bulldogs195461]

whats the best way to keep the fish you catch,fresh from estuaries like flaties,bream etc.how long say would they stay ok if you store them in the water,or would you put on some ice till you got them home etc,or perhaps fillet first.

[JarrydA]

I always just chuck in the esky with ice. Lasts the trip fine.

[daveylad]

esky with ice and a bucket full of salt water to make a slurry, keeps freezing for hours.

[shortie]

whats the best way to keep the fish you catch,fresh from estuaries like flaties,bream etc.how long say would they stay ok if you store them in the water,or would you put on some ice till you got them home etc,or perhaps fillet first.

Never fillet onboard. YOu can be done for having undersized fish. Gut and scale yes fillet no.

bung in an ice and salt slurry.most people wont/dont gut immediately but i believe its the best way. And i bleed all fish imediately if possible. not absolutely nescessary but its what i do.

[bootyinblue]

Killed on board and then gutted and put in to an ice slurry. I don't use salt in the water unless out ovoenight os so.

And as Shortie said, don't fillet till on shore and not returning the fish a boat on the water.

[aussie123]

whats the best way to keep the fish you catch,fresh from estuaries like flaties,bream etc.how long say would they stay ok if you store them in the water,or would you put on some ice till you got them home etc,or perhaps fillet first.

Never fillet onboard. YOu can be done for having undersized fish. Gut and scale yes fillet no.

bung in an ice and salt slurry.most people wont/dont gut immediately but i believe its the best way. And i bleed all fish imediately if possible. not absolutely nescessary but its what i do.

You can fillet fish on board the boat but there is regulations in place.

All Coral Reef Fin Fish must have a min fillet length of 40cm.

Most other fish there is no min length on the fillet.This is one part of the law that makes no sense in regards to min sizes as you can fillet a just under fish and get away with it.

All fillets MUST have the skin left on them for identification purposes.

[bootyinblue]

A just under fish will produce a just under fillet which would open you up to liability I am sure....

[aussie123]

A just under fish will produce a just under fillet which would open you up to liability I am sure....

Under current regulations there is no regulated fillet size unless it is a species within the CRFF

[Old Scaley]

Gutting and bleeding before you put them on ice is great, but I would not scale unless you plan to fillet or eat them whole that day. I find the fish don't stay as fresh without their scales left on. Also recommend that if you are gutting and bleeding to make sure that your slurry and esky are as clean as possible as the cut areas may allow bacteria to access the flesh, whereas a whole fish is sealed.

[Miegs]

I used to do a fair bit of wading for flathead and I would just put them in a catch bag I had over my shoulder. They stayed alive in there until it was time to go home, so were nice and fresh. They didn't really stress out in there or anything like that. The only issue was when their barbs would come into contact with my legs...

[kmcrosby78]

Another tip that a mate showed me and works well is when surf fishing for tailor, salmon, etc bury them in the sand (at winter time). They stay way cooler than in a bucket of salt water. Just either leave a fin exposed or make sure you know exactly where you buried them.

[tugger]

I through all my fish into an salt water ice slurry and you can leave them in there for up to 2 full days before needing to fillet like has been said before i don't gut them because you can introduce bacteria into the fish and my fish have always been sensational table fair, the longer you leave them in the slurry the firmer they will get and it helps with the filleting later

[bootyinblue]

A just under fish will produce a just under fillet which would open you up to liability I am sure....

Under current regulations there is no regulated fillet size unless it is a species within the CRFF

But surely Lance you cant be in possession of a stack of flathead fillets which are 20cm in length and come from an undersized fish which was in your possession before killing them.

[daveylad]

Another tip that a mate showed me and works well is when surf fishing for tailor, salmon, etc bury them in the sand (at winter time). They stay way cooler than in a bucket of salt water. Just either leave a fin exposed or make sure you know exactly where you buried them.

Is this one of yours?

[bulldogs195461]

brilliant pic,gave me a bloody good laugh

[kmcrosby78]

I don't catch fish that big unfortunately ......

[aussie123]

A just under fish will produce a just under fillet which would open you up to liability I am sure....

Under current regulations there is no regulated fillet size unless it is a species within the CRFF

But surely Lance you cant be in possession of a stack of flathead fillets which are 20cm in length and come from an undersized fish which was in your possession before killing them.

It is one of the mistakes in fisheries legislation or a Loop Hole if you want to look at it that way.

The law does state though that it is illegal to remove the skin and scales off the fish and all fillets must be kept in a group and not separated so they can be counted if checked by an officer.

If the possession limit is 10 fish you are only allowed 20 fillets per person.

The filleting laws only refer to CRFF species in QLD plus 1 or 2 other northern species.

I might shoot them an email and get a clarification on it but I am near 100% sure it is correct.

[tugger]

That is correct Lance on fish other that coral reef fin fish as well as you can take the skin off for immediate consumption

[tugger]

Don't see how you could tell if its just under to start with this would make it hard for fisheries and probably needs the rule looked at

A just under fish will produce a just under fillet which would open you up to liability I am sure....