my rookie error. getting rid of fish guts right before a heat wave.

halibut guts stink while fresh!!  very barn-yardy.  haha

simply bagging it up and tossing it into my garbage bin,  maximum days from garbage pickup is UNWISE.  my neighbor left for 2 week vacation, which is LUCKY.  (he is sight impaired and I am always teasing him about his nose making up the difference - hahah).  the heat stewed it and the bag kinda got sliced up by the skeleton.  oh no!!  my side yard was uninhabitable:D. 

finally after garbage pickup, I had to hose the 1" of goo out of the bottom of my can.  I ended a neighborhood basketball game down the street...downwind.  I waved apologetically.   the black flies found utopia. 

next time?  dog park garbage can.  hahaha....just kidding.  cleaning station.  or something.   WOW!!!  I'll freeze it and save it for the morning of garbage pickup..

Haha been there done that!  Triple bag it now 

I’ve got a large section of my backyard that is not yet landscaped. Since it’s a potential garden area, I’ve been burying all carcasses, guts, etc…crab shells too. I bury it fairly deep so the critters don’t just dig it all up. No stink in the can, and better soil too.

I did however try to make fish fertilizer once in a 5 gallon bucket. Even with the specialty lid that could burp the gasses that are created, the seal broke when a critter tied to explore the contents. Holy hell, that stink was unreal. I had to dig a 3’ deep hole, use a  ton of baking soda, and it still stunk like hell for weeks.

I think my neighbors took it as a sign the gloves were off because shortly thereafter they started using fish and manure fertilizers in their veggie garden, it’s quite pungent too   

Freeze and dump in the surf next time you go out?

I’ve got a large section of my backyard that is not yet landscaped. Since it’s a potential garden area, I’ve been burying all carcasses, guts, etc…crab shells too. I bury it fairly deep so the critters don’t just dig it all up. No stink in the can, and better soil too.

I did however try to make fish fertilizer once in a 5 gallon bucket. Even with the specialty lid that could burp the gasses that are created, the seal broke when a critter tied to explore the contents. Holy hell, that stink was unreal. I had to dig a 3’ deep hole, use a  ton of baking soda, and it still stunk like hell for weeks.

I think my neighbors took it as a sign the gloves were off because shortly thereafter they started using fish and manure fertilizers in their veggie garden, it’s quite pungent too   

can't get better stuff for tomatoes and squash. Corn grows like mad too! I'll cut it up and spread it 8" down and plant it. DON'T do it to potatoes! Fish, chicken manure and good loose composted dirt in a plastic covered bed over winter will grow anything!

Fish cleaning stations exist for a reason…

I now freeze carcasses in the garage freezer until garbage night.

I now freeze carcasses in the garage freezer until garbage night.

This...

Fish cleaning stations exist for a reason…

Or this...

I've done it too - fish carcass after a few hot days in the garbage can make a pretty awful mess.

Been there, done that too! My cans are on the exposed west side of the house so they get a full dose of sun. I double bag now and always have a jug of cheap cat litter on hand. I add a inch or so to the bottom of the can right after pick up. Keeps the odor and goo down well if the bags spring a leak.

Trash pickup on Friday morning is definitely not ideal when you mostly go fishing on Saturday. Even double or triple bagging doesn’t quite do it when the weather is hot. I’ve put the bag o guts in my bike basket a few times and rode it to the dumpster by the nearest grocery store to avoid the stink situation.

I have to deal with this every year after my big crawfish boil.  Imagine the remnants of 200 lbs of crawfish in two green bins for 6 days in the sun.  The vultures are usually staring at the bins confused about why they can't reconcile the smell with their lack of viewable food.   

Trash pickup on Friday morning is definitely not ideal when you mostly go fishing on Saturday.

In the same boat. The worst. 😫

I either bury them, or if lazy, throw them out in the field. The crows and ravens make them disappear in no time. The circle of life. It feels wrong to throw a double bag of guts in the garbage. It doesn't just disappear. It is somewhere.
I also sometimes freeze them and throw them out in the water next time out.

I bag up the guts and walk them to the McDonald's dumpster down the street from my house! 🤫

I have a canal behind my house, and the Catfish swarm up on cue when I have fish scraps to dump.