Caring for your catch

Just a question regarding how the rest of you take care of your catch after a long day on the ice and what do you do with it until you get home?
It would be great if a person could clean it right on the spot and properly dispose of the remains, but, I think the law has other rules.
What does everyone do? I don’t like to let them freeze on the ride home and then try to thaw, clean and re-freeze them. I’m talking about panfish mainly.
Any comments or suggestions?
What has worked for some of you?

I always try to keep mine in water, I keep a bucket on the ice with water, or if it is really cold out, I put the bucket inside the shack! I hate cleaning frozen, or thawed out fish.

I have found this method to be the easiest…that way, I am cleaning fresh fish. And usually I cook them right after. I don’t keep many fish, but this is my favorite way to do it!

I only fish 12 miles or less from my house most are still alive when I get home. Guess a guy could clean them on the tailgate and put the remains in a bucket for futer disposal. Alot warmer in the kitchen though.

Lets see…12 miles must mean you are fishing Okobogi or Spirit Lake. Hows the fishing been down that way?
Thanks, Bill

SHHHHHHHHH Bill. Theres no fish here someones giving you false info Been slow on Spirit this year only 160 keeper eyes in my boat. 3 50″ skies a couple of my buddies managed nothing to write home about.

I prefer to keep them alive in water, but packing them in snow works well too. I will throw some snow in a bucket, put the fish in, and then cover it with another good layer. They get cold, but they don’t freeze.

snow/water mix in a 5 gal bucket kept in-side of the fish-trap Yukon. Keeps em cold, keeps em fresh, keeps em alive!

save a few water softener salt bags, they are tough enough so fins don’t poke through, they have a handle on them, and they will hold a limit of most any fish. when in the otter, i just keep it on the floor under my seat. when fishing out of the truck, just keep it on the floor on the passenger side or in the back seat if you have a 4 door. even now, living on the lake i still use the salt bags, no mess from the garage to the kitchen. set the bag in the sink and plug in the knife and cut fish.

If they are froze I thaw them if time permits or fillet them partially froze. Sometimes I put them in water to expedite but that makes so much more of a mess when cleaning them.

daily care is good. but how do you guys do the care of the fish, say if you are at upper Red or making a long haul to Mille Lacs from some where ? when you get there Friday but not leaving until Sunday morning some time?

thanks-
Broncs

Good question, what if you have a long haul ahead of you?

Does/has anyone tried icing them down and throwing rock salt on top to keep it even colder?

I have hauled elk back from Colorado and Idaho by icing them down, of course I have a deepfreeze I use as a giant cooler but I have never lost any meat. When I was a kid and fished Canada and Northern Mn every summer we fillet our fish and iced them in a cooler. Still alive so must work. Weeks worth of fish and don’t recall any spoiling.

I’m sure dry ice would work to I sent some elk meat to a buddy in MI one year packed in dry ice was still froze solid when he got it 3 days later. Not sure how easy dry ice is to get in most places though.

I just keep the fillets in ziplock in an old cooler packed with snow. like many have stated they don’t freeze through just stay ice cold.
Make sure you leave an 1″x1″ piece of skin on for identification.

well I am hoping that is somethign you can show me after the GTG. we are now almost 100% in. just waiting to hear back on next years schedule for the kids.

Broncs