PDA

View Full Version : Ice fishing to eat- your method of cleaning?


Ken07AOVette
12-07-2012, 03:36 PM
I am thinking rather than having to wait for the fish to thaw and come out of rigor I might just take my knife and clean it at the lake on the tailgate. It's hard to stop fishing while the sun is shining, but I hate cleaning after freezing and a long drive.

What is your preferred method?

Dakota369
12-07-2012, 03:41 PM
I am thinking rather than having to wait for the fish to thaw and come out of rigor I might just take my knife and clean it at the lake on the tailgate. It's hard to stop fishing while the sun is shining, but I hate cleaning after freezing and a long drive.

What is your preferred method?

Ken
Have you ever tried one of the electric fillet knives? They are really slick, and even when a bit frozen have no problem cutting......... of course if hard frozen to -20, then you may have an issue. Usually when I get home they aren't that frozen yet so I have no issue.

:)

Freedom55
12-07-2012, 03:49 PM
I keep any winter fish in water so they don't freeze. If I end up with food for the freezer, I don't want to try frozen/thawed/frozen/thawed lunch.

Cleaning at the lake is a must. The coyotes and crows love that stuff.

L.O.S.T.Arrow
12-07-2012, 03:56 PM
:) Yikes ...dont mention eatin fish I just got slammed here for showing a pic of an eater...

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=157618&page=2


Neil

HunterDave
12-07-2012, 04:02 PM
What are you catching/cleaning? Trout only take a minute to remove the guts. There's a neat little trick to clean perch that someone posted a video of last year from youtube that works great. I think that it was called "5 second perch cleaning" or something to that effect.

EZM
12-07-2012, 04:20 PM
Trout / Whitefish = gut, gill and rinse right away ...........takes 20-30 seconds a fish ........ then warm up your hands ...... lol.

Perch / walleye / pike - Filleting in the cold is a pain, and, with size restrictions for some species, it makes it impractical. I usually gut, gill and rinse these too then fillet at home.

Ken07AOVette
12-07-2012, 04:21 PM
:) Yikes ...dont mention eatin fish I just got slammed here for showing a pic of an eater...

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=157618&page=2


Neil

Oh, true....:)

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb267/KbxSrx/3.jpg

EZM
12-07-2012, 04:41 PM
Did you release that one? lol ....

I looked at that thread from the Salmon Saver, what was he expecting to see from this forum? I had a good laugh.

I think people don't realize most of us will harvest fish and game YET we can be ethical stewards of our resources ....... why does sustainable harvest need to be a contradictory term?

The above picture is why filleting a frozen fish is tough .........

Ken07AOVette
12-07-2012, 04:45 PM
Did you release that one? lol ....

I looked at that thread from the Salmon Saver, what was he expecting to see from this forum? I had a good laugh.

I think people don't realize most of us will harvest fish and game YET we can be ethical stewards of our resources ....... why does sustainable harvest need to be a contradictory term?

The above picture is why filleting a frozen fish is tough .........

You bet I did, down the white chute 8-12 hours later. :sHa_sarcasticlol: This one was a summer fish, very easy to clean.

SonnyCovin
12-07-2012, 04:47 PM
First of all after you catch your fish bleed it by cutting the gills. secondly place the fish in the snow and cover them with more snow and they will NOT freeze. Thirdly fillet your fish with a filleting knife when the fishing slows up, and that should take you about a minute per fish. Just a short break to stretch your legs. tight lines Sonny Covin You can Google that name.

Ken07AOVette
12-07-2012, 05:24 PM
First of all after you catch your fish bleed it by cutting the gills. secondly place the fish in the snow and cover them with more snow and they will NOT freeze. Thirdly fillet your fish with a filleting knife when the fishing slows up, and that should take you about a minute per fish. Just a short break to stretch your legs. tight lines Sonny Covin You can Google that name.

Impressive! You are Sonny?

rocketron
12-07-2012, 06:07 PM
I am thinking rather than having to wait for the fish to thaw and come out of rigor I might just take my knife and clean it at the lake on the tailgate. It's hard to stop fishing while the sun is shining, but I hate cleaning after freezing and a long drive.

What is your preferred method?

keep them from freezing in a cooler and fillet them at home is my preferred meathod. Gut and gill them at the lake.

Ken07AOVette
12-07-2012, 06:17 PM
keep them from freezing in a cooler and fillet them at home is my preferred meathod. Gut and gill them at the lake.

The last brooks I have caught have been snot factories, I'm thinking I'm going to try lake filleting.

iliketrout
12-10-2012, 07:59 AM
Ken, I have a method that takes about 30 seconds for trout.

Flip the trout over, start cutting at the arse and cut all the way up past the gills. Cut deep enough to cut only the skin and belly flesh. Then flip the trout right side up and cut just behind the head and down just until you cut through the backbone, ensuring not to cut any further through any organs. After cutting through the backbone, grab onto the head and pull down. This should get the head and all of the guts to come out together. You'll be left with a headless and gutless fish, a quick rinse to clean it out and you're good to go. Can be done very quickly so you don't freeze your hands in between bites!

Ken07AOVette
12-10-2012, 10:06 AM
Ken, I have a method that takes about 30 seconds for trout.

Flip the trout over, start cutting at the arse and cut all the way up past the gills. Cut deep enough to cut only the skin and belly flesh. Then flip the trout right side up and cut just behind the head and down just until you cut through the backbone, ensuring not to cut any further through any organs. After cutting through the backbone, grab onto the head and pull down. This should get the head and all of the guts to come out together. You'll be left with a headless and gutless fish, a quick rinse to clean it out and you're good to go. Can be done very quickly so you don't freeze your hands in between bites!

I have done that, particularily when I was going to try smoking them, and I will with lakers and rainbows, but I like filetting the brookies. Thanks though, good to put that on the thread.

Geezle
12-10-2012, 11:01 AM
Ken, I have a method that takes about 30 seconds for trout.

Flip the trout over, start cutting at the arse and cut all the way up past the gills. Cut deep enough to cut only the skin and belly flesh. Then flip the trout right side up and cut just behind the head and down just until you cut through the backbone, ensuring not to cut any further through any organs. After cutting through the backbone, grab onto the head and pull down. This should get the head and all of the guts to come out together. You'll be left with a headless and gutless fish, a quick rinse to clean it out and you're good to go. Can be done very quickly so you don't freeze your hands in between bites!

This is the same way I deal with trout...except the only trout I've ever caught have been pathetic little pan fry sized stockers.

If I got something actually substantial I'd likely just fillet it.

Either way I definitely prefer to clean the slimy little buggers at the lake to minimize the mess...gives me something to do when the bite is slow too. And if the bite is slow, the best way to get some action is to be elbow deep in fish slime! :sHa_sarcasticlol:

iliketrout
12-10-2012, 11:15 AM
This is the same way I deal with trout...except the only trout I've ever caught have been pathetic little pan fry sized stockers.

If I got something actually substantial I'd likely just fillet it.

Either way I definitely prefer to clean the slimy little buggers at the lake to minimize the mess...gives me something to do when the bite is slow too. And if the bite is slow, the best way to get some action is to be elbow deep in fish slime! :sHa_sarcasticlol:

Yeah brookies are especially slimy it seems. I find that if you also cut off all of the fins you can leave a lot of the slime at the lake too.

Speckle55
12-10-2012, 07:19 PM
I leave the ribs on and gutless

David:)

todays supper
63921

Mudslide
12-10-2012, 07:43 PM
Throw em back down the hole. It's quick and easy. :)

cujo1969
12-10-2012, 09:41 PM
If there any size restrictions u cant fillet the fish until u get home. Just gut and bleed them.

Ken07AOVette
12-10-2012, 10:57 PM
Throw em back down the hole. It's quick and easy. :)

But tough to eat that way

silverdoctor
12-10-2012, 11:02 PM
Don't know if this is off topic but on lake whitefish? Never targeted them but how do they taste?

I don't like perch at all, catch and release only on them.

bloopbloob
12-11-2012, 12:22 AM
If there any size restrictions u cant fillet the fish until u get home. Just gut and bleed them.

Not true... You must be able to identify the species and that it was of legal size. If you have a 60cm pike fillet with a skin patch, and the size limit is 63cm, no problems.

cujo1969
12-11-2012, 08:45 AM
i read it has it has to be kept whole this from the regs.
Carry a cooler and ice for storing whole fish for transport to your permanent residence.
• Leave the head, tail and skin attached to fish subject to size limits for accurate length measurements. Internal organs and gills can be removed to preserve quality.
• Fish that are not subject to size limits may be filleted, but enough skin should be left on each fillet for species identification purposes.
• Never transport fish in a solid frozen block.

EZM
12-11-2012, 09:10 AM
Not true... You must be able to identify the species and that it was of legal size. If you have a 60cm pike fillet with a skin patch, and the size limit is 63cm, no problems.

On a personal note - I agree with you ..... however ...... I ran into a CO, and we struck up a conversation about that (and other related topics), and I can tell you, to my surprise, that HE didn't see it that way.

He felt it was his duty to issue a citation if there was no evidence of length (even if it was obvious, like in your example) that the fish was of legal length. Meaning, you destroyed evidence of length.

If your fillet was 60cm - there is a good chance the tail and head would be longer than a combined 3cm .... lol ...

He would be required to issue a citation ....... the law is designed to protect undersized fish HOWEVER the law is written as "evidence of length and species" .........

Yeah ...... I know ....... lol

Jack&7
12-11-2012, 09:30 AM
I picked up a neat method from my cousin in Manitoba this past summer for doing boneless pike...but it goes one step further.

I have been doing boneless pike for a number of years and a few different ways, but my cousin swears that the 'brown' meat that runs the length of the fillet along the lateral line has an 'off' taste.

Personally, I don't get that, but regardless...

To deal with that strip of brown meat, he developed a new way of dealing with the fillet that leaves you with 5 nice boneless pieces from each fillet....and no brown.

Next time I bring a pike home, I will try to shoot a vid showing how it's done.

waterhawk
12-11-2012, 10:48 AM
I picked up a neat method from my cousin in Manitoba this past summer for doing boneless pike...but it goes one step further.

I have been doing boneless pike for a number of years and a few different ways, but my cousin swears that the 'brown' meat that runs the length of the fillet along the lateral line has an 'off' taste.

Personally, I don't get that, but regardless...

To deal with that strip of brown meat, he developed a new way of dealing with the fillet that leaves you with 5 nice boneless pieces from each fillet....and no brown.

Next time I bring a pike home, I will try to shoot a vid showing how it's done.

I think the brown meat you are talking about is the main blood vein that runs down the lateral line on each fillet of a jack fish. There are some that believe the vein has a strong fish taste. It probably can be dealt with by bleeding the fish. I deal with it by pulling the fillet apart and removing the vein before cooking. To do this, hold the skinned fillet by the tail end by pinching it on each side to the fillet. Pull the fillet apart down the lateral line. The vein will stay on one side of the fillet. Pinch the vein at the top of the fillet and strip it away.

aulrich
12-11-2012, 11:42 AM
Don't know if this is off topic but on lake whitefish? Never targeted them but how do they taste?

I don't like perch at all, catch and release only on them.

So far I have had them baked and smoked, preffer them smoked, but smoked fish is like candy in my house. They are an oily fish and maybe a little blan I have been thinking about cedar planking them like salmon. They also might work well in a fish burger.

A fun fish to catch.