07-19-2005, 06:51 PM
As a general rule I keep just about everything I catch. I don't keep smallies or LMB unless DWR recommends doing so on certain waters for population control. I don't fish for snot rockets if I deep hook one by mistake I'll keep it and eat it. I hate wasting fish more than I hate the taste of trout. I eat what I catch either the same day or the next day. I never freeze fresh fish (except carp for bait). If I have more than I can eat the next day I fire up the old smoker and then vacuum seal it and store it in the fridge... or I store the smoked fish in the freezer but usually it is eaten too fast to worry about freezing it.
The big problem with home freezers is the freezer doesn't freeze quickly enough to maintain the cell structure of the fresh fish so quality goes down fast (it's not spoiled obviously but the texture is just wrong). An alternative I saw on TV ("Good Eats" gotta love Alton Brown) is to use Dry Ice to instantly freeze the fish then vacuum seal it and you have the equivelent of flash freezing fish like they do on the commercial fishing boats. The Dry Ice thing is just too much trouble for me at this point. Unfortunately, I usually don't catch enough fish to make "too much fish" a problem. Fresh or fresh cooked is definitely better IMO.
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The big problem with home freezers is the freezer doesn't freeze quickly enough to maintain the cell structure of the fresh fish so quality goes down fast (it's not spoiled obviously but the texture is just wrong). An alternative I saw on TV ("Good Eats" gotta love Alton Brown) is to use Dry Ice to instantly freeze the fish then vacuum seal it and you have the equivelent of flash freezing fish like they do on the commercial fishing boats. The Dry Ice thing is just too much trouble for me at this point. Unfortunately, I usually don't catch enough fish to make "too much fish" a problem. Fresh or fresh cooked is definitely better IMO.
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