frozen fish

[Burnham]

so, well i dont keep fish hardly ever, but last weekend i kept a few. i decided to do hwk and then i would fillet them. somehow, dont ask me how, but today i moved the bucket and realized i forgot to fillet them!! i feel kinda guilty, its a couple crappies and sunnies. i am very against wanton wasted and feel bad, they were in the non heated(and very cold) garage the WHOLE time though, so isnt it the same as keeping them in the freezer? if i thawed, filleted them and ate them immeaditaly it would be fine then right? they have been frozen solid for the whole week. just hopin that they are ok to eat and if they arent i feel really bad

[OnAFly]

I've left fish in a bucket to freeze overnight before and thawed/filleted them the next day. They were fine.

[andrew chadwick]

they will be totaly fine.

[RebelSS]

x3. I used to freeze them in milk cartons of water.

[shnelson]

I just did the same thing, except my excuse was being lazy! I also figured with the sub zero temps we've been having they would be just fine in the garage till I had time to get to them.

Finally filleted them last night, fillets seemed just fine and are now in the freezer waiting to be cooked up this weekend.

If you don't see me around the forums next week, you'll know not to eat yours

[Will]

Totally fine, i have done it several times. The only downside is they get very slimey

[TopWalker]

just soak them in cold water for 10 minutes and they will thaw enough to filet with no issues

[Burnham]

oofta, good to know. thanks

[herefish101]

SUPER SLIME! but totaly fine.

[hdspringer]

I did the same thing earlier this year. Got back from a URL trip and had my limit in a pail frozen solid as a rock, I meant to thaw them the next day and clean them but once I got home and unpacked I got busy with the kids, house, etc and forgot about them until a week later. I thawed them out a cleaned them and they were very slimy but the fillets are just fine.

[PiedmontAngler]

I have heard that soaking the slimy fish in apple cider vinegar for 10-15 mins substantially reduces the slime. Haven't tried it myself, but I have some frozen fish in vacuum bags to try it on.

[minnbowhunter]

I have a friend that toss's the fish on the ice to freeze, picks them up and puts them in a bag and they go right into the freezer that way. When he is going to eat them he pulls what he wants out of the freezer, thaws them out and cleans them. He's been doing it that way for years, never tried it myself.

[wplatehunter]

I have a friend that toss's the fish on the ice to freeze, picks them up and puts them in a bag and they go right into the freezer that way. When he is going to eat them he pulls what he wants out of the freezer, thaws them out and cleans them. He's been doing it that way for years, never tried it myself. [/quo

Wow. Thats a little different, but sounds like it works.

[walter33]

Those fish are fine. What you dont wanna do is thaw them, fillet them and re-freeze them. If my fish freeze on the ice and i dont plan on eating them that night then thats how they stay. In the freezer untill i eat them.

[blackdog1101]

Thse fish are fine. What you dont wanna do is thaw them, fillet them and re-freeze them.

Why? I do it all the time, and have for years. I can tell no difference between this way, and eating them right after filleting them. I always let my fish freeze solid, because I don't like it when a semi-frozen fish comes back to life in the sink.