Kayak Fishing: Five tips to keep your catch fresh

Kayak Fishing: five tips to keep your catch fresh



Introduction
When I go to parties, or cook dinner for friends and family, the number one comment I get is how fresh my catch taste.  Most people are not accustomed to eating fresh caught fish.  There is big difference in quality and people are blown away by it.

Here are my five tips to help keep your catch fresh!

Burlap and Kill Bag
The number one element that degrades fish is the heat and sun – hands down.  The UVA and UVB sun will immediately degrade the meat and start the rotting process.

Who wants to eat rotting sashimi?? Eww!

Burlap bags (potato bags) can be bought at local tackle stores for 1-2 dollars a piece. Soak the burlap bags in water, from the ocean or lake, and place it over the catch.  The bag will protect the catch from the harmful UVA and UVB rays.

Kill bags are also a great option. There are a lot of bag manufactures on the market such as:
•   Hobie
•   Reliable
•   Silver Horde KatchCooler II

All these work well, but I still prefer my burlap bag. It’s cheap and does the job.
I’m all about simplicity folks.

Bleed the Fish
Besides a burlap bag, I think bleeding fish is the second most important factor in keeping fish fresh. The decay process starts soon after a fish knows it’s going fish heaven to meet the fish gods.

There are a lot stress hormones in the blood that starts the decaying process and breaks down the meat. Put out the fish quickly and humanely, and then slit the gills to release the blood. Move quickly away from the murder scene. Who know what all the blood maybe drawing in!

Keep Fish Submerged
Keeping fish submerged under water can be a good alternative to the burlap bag. The idea, once again, is to keep the harmful UVA and UVB rays from cooking the catch and degrading the meat. 

This method does come with a caveat.  There are lots of hungry free loaders in the ocean, a.k.a, fur bags and sea lions. The aggressive ones will follow kayakers around and try to steal the catch!  Stay aware of what is around and under your Kayak before submerging any catch; unless you prefer eating salmon heads vs. whole salmon!


Read Full Article Here:
http://thelostanchovy.com/kayak-fishing-five-tips-to-keep-your-catch-fresh/


Tight Lines -- TLA

Nice post.

I wonder how many of you bleed your catches in sharky areas. 

I try not to think about sharks, but when I watch all that blood go pumping out of the fish into the ocean, I cant help but think that I could be attracting unwanted attention.

Nice post.

I wonder how many of you bleed your catches in sharky areas. 

I try not to think about sharks, but when I watch all that blood go pumping out of the fish into the ocean, I cant help but think that I could be attracting unwanted attention.

+1 (Nice Article)

Helpful for us that are fresh water as well (added bonus to fresh is no worries about the landlord or furbags)

Nice post.

I wonder how many of you bleed your catches in sharky areas. 

I try not to think about sharks, but when I watch all that blood go pumping out of the fish into the ocean, I cant help but think that I could be attracting unwanted attention.

I even bleed all my fish while I am diving. I would not worry about that.

Nice write up Keith. In my first year of salmon fishing I never thought possible I would have any salmon after season.
I was so lucky to limit out a lot of time, ended up with a lot of fillets. Fillets got freezer burned because I did not vacuum sealed them.
This is a must to have for any fishermen.

Nice post.

I wonder how many of you bleed your catches in sharky areas. 

I try not to think about sharks, but when I watch all that blood go pumping out of the fish into the ocean, I cant help but think that I could be attracting unwanted attention.

I even bleed all my fish while I am diving. I would not worry about that.

Nice write up Keith. In my first year of salmon fishing I never thought possible I would have any salmon after season.
I was so lucky to limit out a lot of time, ended up with a lot of fillets. Fillets got freezer burned because I did not vacuum sealed them.
This is a must to have for any fishermen.

Even vacuum sealing it can cause freezer burn if the plastic is not thick enough. I use min 3mm thick plastic bags(commercial status) and wrap it in foil. That gets the job done.--keith

great post, thanks.

Nice post.

I wonder how many of you bleed your catches in sharky areas. 

I try not to think about sharks, but when I watch all that blood go pumping out of the fish into the ocean, I cant help but think that I could be attracting unwanted attention.

It can be unnerving when you've been bleeding out several fish and a group of fisherman about 100 yards away get a drive-by - and you can hear that one guy screaming over the radio and across the water.

I wonder how many of you bleed your catches in sharky areas. 

Always. I look at it as a way to give my shark shield a workout...