How to keep fish in the heat without a refrigerator. How to save fish

01.07.2023 Desserts and cakes

How to save a fish if it is still alive

The easiest and most affordable way to keep a live fish is to wrap it in soaked burdock or nettle leaves and put it in a cool shade. With this method of storage, some fish species, for example, crucian carp, carp, and tench, can remain alive for up to two to three days. If the weather is hot, you can use a cage lowered into the water in a shady place to store live fish. However, it must be remembered that this method is suitable only for storing live fish, while “sleeping” fish cannot be stored in water, it will quickly deteriorate.

How to save a fish if it is already "asleep"

If the fish is large enough, it makes sense to first carefully gut it and remove the gills. Dried fish is shifted with nettles, put in a basket and put in the shade.

In cool weather (spring or autumn), the shelf life of fish is 1-2 days. Just hang it in a dry ventilated place. If you remove the gills from the fish and gut it, the shelf life of the fish can increase up to 4 days.

To preserve fish for 3 days, you can use the simplest natural preservatives: salt, sugar, vinegar. It is necessary to dissolve 1-2 teaspoons of sugar (with a slide) in half a liter of 9% vinegar, soak a cloth napkin with this solution and wrap the fish previously sprinkled with salt.

How to keep fish for a long time

If you are thinking about how to keep the fish even longer, you can apply a more complex method. First you need to gut the fish, remove all the insides and gills. It is especially necessary to carefully remove the gallbladder, try not to damage it, otherwise the spilled bile can spoil the taste of the fish. Then the head, spine and internal cavity of the fish are abundantly sprinkled with coarse salt. Outside, it is also necessary to salt the fish by rubbing salt against the scales. After that, put nettle or couch grass leaves into the abdominal cavity of the fish and put them in a basket, also shifting with nettle or couch grass.

You can salt and gutted fish. In this case, it should be washed well, placed in a salt solution and pressed with oppression. After a while, remove the fish from the brine, hang it in the air to let it dry. The time a fish spends in brine is determined by its size and how long the fish is stored, the larger the fish and the longer you want to keep it, the longer it should be in the brine.

In order to salt fish in large quantities, it is best to use small barrels. Previously, oak barrels were used for this purpose, now it is quite problematic, so it is quite possible to get by with modern food containers. These can be both barrels and plastic buckets with hermetically sealed lids, the main thing is that these containers do not react with saline. Before salting, the fish must be gutted, the gills removed and the scales removed. Then wipe each carcass dry (you should not wash the fish) and rub with coarse salt. Prepared carcasses are tightly placed in a container and the lid is tightly closed. After some time, the fish will "give juice" and will be in a natural brine. For better wetting of the whole fish with brine, the container should be turned over from time to time. Fish salted in this way can be stored for up to six months.

In order to wilt the fish, it must first be salted. This is done as follows: small fish are not gutted, but simply sprinkled with coarse salt, laid in several layers in glass, porcelain or enameled dishes, covered with a lid or simply an overturned plate. Put oppression on the lid and leave for several hours. After the fish is salted, it is dried with a napkin and hung out in a dry, shaded, preferably well-ventilated place. To protect against insects at first, the fish can be covered with gauze. It is better to hang the fish by the tail. To do this, you can use paper clips or wire hooks. Fish hung out for drying should not touch each other. The fish takes a long time to dry. The drier the dried fish is, the longer it can last. Large fish is prepared for salting differently, it must be gutted and rubbed with salt from the inside, and when hanging for drying, insert spacers from wooden sticks into the belly. If the fish is very large, then you can dry it not with whole carcasses, but with fillet plates.

There are two ways to smoke fish: hot and cold. The fundamental difference is in the smoke temperature and smoking time. Cold-smoked fish has a much longer shelf life than hot-smoked fish.

During hot smoking, the temperature of the smoke is very high, the fish is almost above the smoldering sawdust. With this method, the fish is partially baked, partially smoked. The consistency of the finished product is quite loose. Hot smoking time is from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on the size of the fish and the design of the smokehouse.

With cold smoking, the smoke temperature is much lower, about +40 degrees, but the density of the smoke must be very high. The time of cold smoking can be 3 - 7 days. With this process, the fish is partially dried, partially smoked. The consistency of the finished product is more elastic and dry.

There are a lot of designs of smokehouses for hot and cold smoking, these can be both stationary and folding camping smokehouses. It is now quite easy to find a smoker design that is right for you on the Internet.

Did you catch a fish? Great! A rich fish catch is a source of joy and pride for a fisherman. But in order for the caught fish to be eaten, it is worth knowing the ways that will help keep fish fresh. The issue of preserving the catch in the heat of fishing becomes especially relevant in the summer, when a few hours separate the fish caught from the reservoir from turning into food for maggots. Besides, it is believed that for spoiling trophies, the angler will be punished with pecking, which will be the longer, the more fish were killed. Therefore, if there is a chance of rotting a trophy or fishing is not a means of obtaining food for you, all caught fish must be removed from the hook, photographed and released.

Tactics to save fish while fishing in the heat of summer depends on how much and how often the angler has to move along the coast or on a boat in search of fish.

How to save fish - what to do with wounded animals

If the fish in the process of playing or during the removal from the hook was injured (deeply swallowed the bait and the hook damaged the internal organs or gills from which blood oozes), neither the cage, nor the cuckoo, nor special resuscitation measures will help the fish. Such an instance must be put to sleep with an accurate blow to the back of the head, wrapped in dry towel and place in a cool place away from direct sunlight. Alternatively, it worked well. voluminous basket with grass (preferably nettles), herbs should be twice as much as fish. Carcasses should not be in contact with each other. In both cases, relative coolness and ventilation are important. During transportation, carcasses must breathe, therefore the use of plastic bags is highly undesirable. If the angler came to fish by car, it makes sense to use insulated container with ice.

How to keep fish in a cage

When fishing with a float rod or feeder, all care for the caught fish in the absence of injuries can be entrusted stationary mesh cage, which will not hamper the movement of the fish. A wire cage is less preferable, in which the survival rate of fish is much lower - such cages are by definition not capacious, and the fish in them are severely injured.

So that the cage does not become a mass grave for fish, it should be placed in a quiet, shady place, at least a meter deep, but in no case near the surf. Here, from the constant movement of water in the bottom layers, the gills of the caught fish are clogged with silt and sand, and it will quickly fall asleep.

Especially large specimens should be kept separate from the rest of the catch. Preferably use a separate cookie for every giant. The pike, because of its sharp teeth, is always kept only on a hook with a metal clasp, and never in a cloth cage, from which it will quickly arrange an escape for itself and the rest of the captives.

If a fish in a cage floats upside down, it must be urgently removed and euthanized by stunning with a blow with a heavy object on the area of the head, which is located behind the eyes. In the water, sleeping fish will deteriorate even faster than in the sun, so you need to act decisively.

How to save fish on a fishing trip

If fans of the float and feeder can spend all their fishing on the edge of one river pool, then spinners and fly fishers who run more than one kilometer a day cannot fully use the cage.

In hot weather, the catch-and-release principle is especially relevant. If the fish are caught for pleasure and do not plan to taste, the capture is followed by a short photo session, mandatory resuscitation and release of the trophy back into the reservoir. on the kukan, which is tied to coastal vegetation right at the place of capture. The place for binding the kukan is chosen according to the same criteria as for the cage.

On the way back, the fish is removed from the kukan, stunned, wrapped in a dry towel or covered with nettles so that the carcasses do not touch each other.

How to save your catch when fishing from a boat

The cage is appropriate only when fishing on a float and feeder, when the movement of the fisherman across the reservoir is minimized.

If, however, fishing is carried out from the side of the boat by spinning (casting or onto the track), when caught, the fish is either immediately euthanized, or put on a special kukan with a rubber shock absorber, which is securely attached to the sides of the boat and does not interfere with moving around the pond on oars (but not under a motor!).

In this regard, a special kukan design proposed by Russian enthusiast Nikolai Scheinikov for inflatable boats:

to the bow end (a rope about one and a half meters long) is attached through a carabiner (or loop to loop) a piece of rubber shock absorber connected to the hole for the stern end. The ratio of the length of the rope and rubber is selected directly on the pond. Steel fasteners on short laces are preferably kept ready in a vest pocket.

Fish planted on such a hooker does not interfere with rowing or fighting. Pike, zander and large perch are pierced with a metal clasp in the lower jaw. Such piercing does not interfere with the operation of the gill covers. Moreover, sitting on such a hooker, the pike can start hunting again if the hooker is placed near the shore.

How to save your catch when fishing (on a stationary kukan)

If anglers are camping for a few days, experience using stationary kukan on a rubber shock absorber, which differs little from the design of the donkey, only instead of fishing line a strong nylon cord with a diameter of 5-7 mm is used. On such a trophy, neither gulls, nor crows, nor curious passers-by are afraid of trophies. You can also not be afraid of the breaking wave: the fish is far from the shore in the bottom part of the water.

During long stops killed and gutted fish can be stored in a special pit in a shady place near the spring. The entrails and gills are removed from the fish, wiped outside and inside with nettles and placed at the bottom of the pit lined with plastic wrap. After gutting, the fish should never be washed. In the pit, the carcasses are laid in rows, separating each layer with nettles. To protect against flies from above, the pit is covered with grass.

Before laying in the pit, the fish can be slightly salted, but in this case the juice will begin to stand out, and the meat will lose some of its properties.

How to save fish - Signs of fish spoilage

It is better to refrain from eating fish if at least one of the conditions described below is observed:

the gills are white, and there is an unpleasant odor;
the scales have become dull and easily separated from the carcass;
the meat is loose and easily separated from the bones;
there was a distention of the abdominal cavity (fish).

How to keep fish fresh - ways to keep your catch while fishing in the summer heat

There are three ways to save your catch. Following them does not require special skills and means - it is enough to competently use natural resources and take a responsible attitude to the observance of simple rules.

how to save fish - freezing

The most common way to preserve your catch while fishing is by refrigeration and freezing. To do this, use ice without sharp edges. Fresh fish is covered with clean cubes, then wrapped in a dense cloth. Thus, it is possible to extend the taste and nutritional qualities of the catch for at least a week. Good freezers can keep fish fresh for up to six months. Thawing and re-freezing is highly discouraged, as this greatly spoils the appearance and taste of the catch.

Fish should not be salted before freezing. For long-term storage, it is better to use thick paper or plastic bags to avoid freezing in ice.

The optimum storage temperature is minus 1 degree Celsius. For quick freezing, you can set the temperature to minus 15 degrees. It is also worth knowing that lean fish is stored in the freezer longer than oily.

If it is necessary to transport freshly caught fish a short distance, a damp cloth is used instead of ice. To do this, the carcasses are wrapped with cotton or linen heavily moistened in cold water. In addition, nettle leaves and alder branches are put there - for aroma. Periodically, it is necessary to check the degree of moisture content of the fabric, since along with the evaporation of water, taste qualities also disappear.

how to save fish - drying

In hot weather, you can preserve the taste with drying the catch in the sun. The action of drying is based on the fact that freshly caught fish is covered with mucus, and under the influence of the sun's rays it turns into a dense protective shell, protecting the carcass from penetration of bacteria inside. A dense "case" of dried mucus will allow you to deliver the river catch home almost fresh.

Before the start of drying, the gills are removed from the fish, in some cases the entrails must also be removed.. They do this without opening the abdomen, pulling out everything superfluous through the mouth. There is no need to completely gut the carcass. Scales should also not be touched - it will help the product stay fresh longer.

Gill wings are tightly fixed to prevent penetration of bacteria. In no case should you wash: a humid environment accelerates decay and provokes the onset of decomposition of fat and proteins, fish should be kept away from dampness.

To dry the entire surface, prepared carcasses are laid out in a row in a place brightly lit by the sun. After a few minutes, turn them over to the other side. Large species of fish should dry the back and stomach separately. You need to dry it until it is completely dry. It is important to ensure that the fish carcasses do not overheat and do not come into contact with each other.

Upon completion of drying, the fish is removed in the shade and covered with gauze or other thin cloth, to protect it from insects. Then the carcasses are placed in a special bag or backpack, adding spruce branches there - it will add fragrantness and make the taste even more pleasant. At home, dried fish should be transferred to a container with cold water and left in it for 3-5 minutes. This time is enough for it to get wet and take on its original form.

how to save fish - weathering

In cloudy weather, instead of drying, one has to use such a method of preserving fish as weathering. For this fresh the catch is laid out in an open place and shifted with nettles, branches of bird cherry, sedge or alder. To preserve the catch, natural materials such as peeled garlic cloves, grated horseradish or onions are also widely used. A wet cloth soaked in vinegar can also be a salvation. In critical cases, ordinary table salt helps out.

In such an important matter as the preservation of the catch, dishes also play an important role.:

Containers for storage and transport must be clean and large enough for the fish to lie freely in them.
When using ice, it is worth taking dishes with holes to ensure the drainage of the formed liquid.
Plastic bags can only be used for short-term transportation of fish. Alder or nettle leaves should also be added to them - this will keep the freshness of the catch for a longer period.
Styrofoam boxes are great for winter fishing. The box is best used once, or thoroughly cleaned after each use.

If on winter fishing the question is “how to save fish?” disappears automatically, then in the summer it is, on the contrary, one of the most important in the entire fishing process. This is especially true in hot summer weather, when the fish - if you do not take action - deteriorates very quickly, because of which you can easily lose a precious catch.

They require additional equipment for their implementation - a portable or stationary smokehouse.
Rather, they are not related to methods of extending the shelf life of the catch, but to its final preparation.

In this article, I will talk about how to save fish when fishing with a minimum of fixtures and means, and the complete absence of a refrigerator.

Cunning people in the history of fishing have developed a lot of tricks to help delay the moment of spoilage of fish as much as possible, or even completely eliminate it. However, before proceeding to their description, it would be useful to clarify - why does fish spoil at all? And what processes take place in it?

A bit of theory: the biochemistry of fish spoilage

It is quite obvious that while the fish is alive, it will not deteriorate, because the metabolism and the immune system are still working in it. In a dead fish, all this is disturbed, from which two spoilage factors immediately come into play - bacteria And enzymes. If everything is clear with the first ones - they “attack” the fish from the external environment, then the second ones are the active chemicals of the fish body contained both in the digestive system and in the blood. That is why the insides of the fish, as well as its circulatory system (including the gills), deteriorate in the first place. It has also been noticed that fish with an accelerated metabolism (, trout and other predators) deteriorate faster.

The ambient temperature acts as a catalyst in this case. The higher it is, the faster the bacteria multiply, and the faster the chemical reactions with the participation of enzymes.

Don't let the fish sleep

Many anglers, when installing a cage in the water, do not hesitate to throw it next to them. But in vain. The conditions in the cage may be such that the fish will not last long there. Therefore, the place where the cage will be placed, it is better to choose not anyhow, but:

shaded(and if possible so that the shadow was there throughout the day). If fishing is supposed to be long (more than one day) and such a place could not be found, it is better not to be lazy and make a shelter for the cage from the sun (for example, by stretching some fabric over it on pegs).
With constantly renewed water, but without a clear flow. In general, a cage in the current is another “way” to keep the fish alive.
WITH cold water. A key flows into a river or lake - a cage can be installed in this place. You can also dig a hole in the coastal area according to the size of the cage.

Of course, such an enhanced “life support system” will not be needed for tenacious fish like crucian carp, which calmly survives in a cage thrown into the water right at the place of fishing. However, for or trout it is necessary, and will allow them to stay alive for quite some time, despite the fact that many anglers believe that these fish do not live in the cage at all. Even how they live - tested on their own experience.

Of course, fish must be handled with care before being placed in the cage to minimize any injury to them. To extract a deep-seated hook, use an extractor, keep the fish not with bare hands, but with cloth gloves.

Don't let the fish go bad

The cage will be useful to periodically check for dead fish. And if it appears, then you need to do the following:

Airing the fish very noticeably increases its “shelf life”, which is why the fish prepared for storage not recommended to keep in closed containers or plastic bags. The universal way is a wide container covered with gauze on top. And you can wrap the fish in a cloth. In a bag, it will be stored only for a very short time.

How to preserve the taste of fish

Now a few words about the change in the taste of fish during storage. Everything is pretty simple here.

The less time passes from the moment when the fish fell asleep - until the moment it is salted, the tastier it will be.

However, it has been noticed that a dead fish is always slightly inferior in taste to the fish that was killed artificially.

If the fish in the cage is still alive, but swims on its side or belly up, it is better to remove it and pin it, or to tap it, after which it is gutted and salted.

Somewhere in the literature, I came across another piece of advice that allegedly allows you to better preserve the taste of the catch: the fish is still alive by one gill on a knot, then cuts are made at the tail feather on both sides - so that the blood drains. In my opinion, this is absolutely pointless, and in relation to the trophy, it is too inhumane.

conclusions

There is only one conclusion to be drawn from the foregoing: with due ingenuity and dexterity, it is quite possible to bring home a catch in an acceptable form even from many days of fishing. The main thing is to pay special attention to the fish and not be too lazy to mess with it, if necessary.

And what to do with the catch at home - any fisherman probably knows. You can cook all the fish at once, or you can freeze it.

Fishing brings a lot of positive emotions, especially when you can boast of a rich catch. The desire to get a lot of trophies poses an important task for the fisherman, how to keep the fish warm until they arrive home. Stale carcasses are unlikely to please the household, and it will be risky to eat them.

Probably, every fisherman will agree that it is sometimes easier to catch a fish than to keep it alive and fresh. In winter, this problem disappears by itself. In the summer, when the air temperature exceeds 30 0 C, you start to think what to do so that the fish you caught does not die.

First you need to figure out how to distinguish fresh fish from spoiled. Naturally, while she flutters and swims in a bucket, you don’t have to worry. If the movements stopped, then, most likely, bacteria and enzymes began their activity. The former attack from the environment, the latter destroy the insides of the fish. The main signs that the fish is rotten are as follows:

swollen belly in a large individual. In small ones, it can break;
the gills have lost their color vibrancy. In spoiled fish, they acquire a whitish or pinkish tint. May be covered with mucus;
the carcass does not restore its shape if you press it with your finger;
meat moves away from the bone;
eyes cloudy and sunken;
there is an ammonia smell;
the skin is easily torn.

When at least one symptom is present, this indicates that the fish is not suitable for food. What does it say about the freshness of the catch, which will not be scary to eat:

the scales are shiny and do not peel off;
eyes are bulging and transparent;
the smell from the carcass comes from a slightly cucumber;
gills bright red;
the body is elastic.

If you managed to save the fish, when you get home, you need to take immediate action. Review the catch again and sort as needed. Next, either cook it, or gut it and freeze it.

Effective ways to keep fish in the heat

An ideal option for summer fishing would be a car refrigerator. But not many people can afford such a luxury and not everyone comes to fishing by car. A simpler and more effective invention is a cage. Use it if you fish with a feeder, donk or float rod. It is a mesh of synthetic thread or metal wire.

Don't let the fish sleep

It is very important not to let the fish fall asleep. If at least one individual has lost its liveliness, it is isolated from the general mass. If you do not do this, you can lose the entire catch. The sleeping fish is taken out, cleaned and gutted. The main thing is not to wash the belly, the remnants are simply cleaned with a cloth. To save live fish, you need to choose one of the following places:

in the shadow. It is desirable that the sun's rays do not fall there throughout the day. If you plan to fish for more than one day, build a small canopy from improvised means;
in water with changing water. But you need to make sure that the current is not strong;
in cold water. A spring flows into any river, and if you are lucky enough to fish near it, then spring water will become an excellent refrigerator.

In the coastal zone, you can dig a small hole, the water below will be colder than on the surface. Such methods to support life are suitable for predators, and crucian carp can stay in a cage for a long time just next to the place of fishing.

Another important point lies in the cage itself. Iron products are not the most suitable option, because. the fish is able to damage itself on rough metal and then its lifespan will be significantly reduced.

For small things, a cage with small cells will be suitable. A small roach will stick its head into large holes in an attempt to escape and suffocate.

How to keep caught fish in the heat by cooling

The cold is the best way to save the fish without letting it rot in the heat. You can use special thermal bags or containers with cold accumulators inside. Linen or cotton cloth soaked in cold water helps well. Carcasses are wrapped in it and left in a dark place. From time to time you need to check the fabric. Dried moistened again.

The safety of the fish depends on what kind of cage it will be. Choose a spacious and long one in which the fish will swim freely without touching each other much. The length will allow it to sink to the very bottom, into colder water.

Large individuals are sorted, planted on a kukan and lowered to a depth. This is especially true for predators, so that they do not feast on a trifle before you. The device is a metal cable with several separate fasteners. Catfish, pike, carp and other large fish are hung on them by the lower lip. In this position, the fish remains fresh for up to 3 days even in summer.

A proven way to achieve temporary cooling is to dig a narrow hole, at least 1 meter deep. Its bottom is covered with reeds, a carcass wrapped in grass is placed on top and the weight is covered with dry grass and covered with soil. This simple old-fashioned way will allow the fish to stay fresh for 2-3 days.

How to keep fish on a fishing trip in the heat by drying and weathering

If you want to preserve the real taste of fish in hot weather, you can use the method of drying in the sun. Freshly caught fish is covered with mucus, which, under the influence of UV rays, dries up and turns into a kind of shell that protects the carcasses from penetration of bacteria inside. Thus, the catch can be delivered home almost fresh.

The drying process begins with the removal of the gills. Sometimes you have to remove the insides. They do this without ripping open the stomach, but pulling everything out through the mouth. There is no need to achieve perfect cleanliness, as well as touch the scales. This will help the product stay fresh longer. Tightly fixed gill wings prevent the penetration of bacteria. The fish is kept away from dampness and not even washed. Moisture contributes to the acceleration of decay and the decomposition of fat and proteins.

In order for the fish to dry completely and evenly, they are laid out in a row in a place brightly lit by the sun. After a few minutes, each carcass is turned over to the other side. For large individuals, the back and abdomen are dried separately. The turning procedure continues until the whole fish is completely dry. It is important to ensure that the carcasses do not overheat and are at some distance from each other.

After drying is completed, the fish is removed in the shade and covered with gauze to protect it from insects. At home, it is laid out in a container with cold water and left for 5 minutes. This is enough for the scales to get wet and the fish to return to its original form.

Another method to save the catch is weathering. Suitable for cloudy weather, when it is impossible to dry the fish in the sun. To do this, fresh carcasses are laid out in an open area and shifted with nettles, branches of bird cherry or sedge. The ideal option would be a special drying from a closed mesh. The fish laid out in it will become weathered in a few hours and become not so wet. When laying fish in drying, make sure that flies do not fly inside. The eggs laid by them will make the catch unsuitable for further consumption.

Rules for gutting fish

Unfortunately, even with all attempts to save the fish from death, some specimens, for example, silver bream, sabrefish, blue bream, manage to float up belly up. If life is still glimmering in the fish, then they kill it with a sharp blow to the head or a puncture. The fish can also “fall asleep” from damage. This happens if she swallowed the hook too deeply and it is not possible to get it out without damaging the insides. Perch has such abilities. In this case, they must be immediately pulled out of the total mass and cut, observing the following rules:

specimens over 1 kg must be bled. To do this, a deep incision is made along the spine near the tail from below. Stand the carcass tail down so that most of the blood is glass;
in large fish, the gills are removed immediately so that they do not begin to deteriorate and poison the rest of the meat. In the case of small fish and predators, the head is cut off;
the insides are removed, but the belly is not washed, but only wiped with a damp cloth;
the prepared fish is wrapped in grass with a low moisture content. For this, sedge or mature nettle is suitable.

If there is no grass nearby, burlap is suitable, in which the fish is wrapped and left in a shaded place.

How to preserve the caught fish in the summer heat with the help of preservatives

Live freshly caught fish must not be cleaned. The scales are a natural defense against bacteria and help prolong freshness. After gutting, the fish can be preserved. Natural preservatives are salt, vinegar, liquid smoke, pickle, nettle. When salting a large individual, do not forget to remove its gills. If the carcass is not gutted, then a saline solution must be injected into it with a syringe. Sprinkle generously with salt on top and place in a container. Each layer of fish must be completely immersed in salt. After the fish is covered and put under oppression.

In the case of using nettles, the gutted fish is stuffed with grass inside and put on top. Plants should be twice as large as the catch. They put it all in a hole or a container that is placed in the shade.

How to bring fish home fresh

Fishing is over and now you have to bring the catch home. To do this, the bottom of the bag or backpack is covered with any young grass and put a few fish. From above cover them with another layer of grass and fish again. Thus, all caught carcasses are packed.

You can not transport caught fish in a bag. First, it can leak and the bag will leak. Secondly, in extreme heat, the fish can simply suffocate. Roach and perch do not react well to moving, so it is better to salt them immediately after the catch.

When going fishing, remember that greed does not lead anyone to good. Do not take more fish than you can carry. With a good bite, half can be released, and not let it die senselessly.

Fish storage for fishing

Caught a fish!

Usually the fishing place is located at some distance from the house and the refrigerator, therefore, the task of many fishermen is not only to catch a lot of big and tasty fish, but also to keep the catch fresh and edible.

By the time you get home with freshly caught fish, it is desirable that it be alive. The fish that got into the pan or into the ear alive (or was just alive until you were about to cook it) is considered the best and most delicious. But the delivery of live fish is not always possible for various reasons: because of the weather, the duration of fishing, the properties of the fish and the long way home. Therefore, there are different ways and methods of preserving the caught fish.

How to keep caught fish fresh

Why you need to quickly take the fish off the hook

Once you have caught your fish, you must carefully remove the hook so as not to injure the fish further. It will tremble and squirm in your hands, and you will hold it tightly so as not to drop it. The longer you press on the fish, the more likely it is to damage internal organs from pressure. And we need live and healthy fish. Therefore, the hook must be removed quickly and deftly.

Some types of fish - pike perch, roach, perch, chub, are still severely injured by hooks and leashes and can quickly die. Therefore, do not throw a badly injured fish into a bucket of water and wait until it dies. It is better to kill it immediately, gut it and store it in a cool place (for example, in a temporary refrigerator in the ground, a stream and other cold wet places), salted and shifted with nettles (for better preservation).

Where to put the caught fish

Simple ways of storing fish in buckets of wet grass or in cages lowered into ponds are suitable for fast come-and-catch-and-go fishing. More complex methods are necessary for highly perishable fish and for long, multi-day fishing.

How to make impromptu fish coolers for fishing

If the day is very hot (t above +20 C) or you plan to be fishing until the evening, then your catch may deteriorate faster. To keep your prey fresh for as long as possible, you need to keep your fish cool.

To do this, you can dig a hole (in a shady place) in the ground or in wet sand near the water and place containers with caught fish there. There is also a way of short-term storage of the catch in a cold spring, where the bag of fish will be constantly cooled by spring water. To do this, wrap the fish with nettles, put it in a plastic bag and tie it tightly so that water does not penetrate inside. Put a bag of fish below the spring, digging a small hole (recess) for it and pressing it with a stone so that the bag does not float away.

If there is no shovel and nothing to dig a hole with, but you find a shaded, damp place, and the fish begins to fall asleep, you need to gut it (remove the insides and gills, but leave the scales!), Lightly salt inside and stuff with nettles. Wrap nettles on top of each fish. Remember that each carcass must be well wrapped, isolated from other fish carcasses, so as not to exchange germs. When all the fish are packed, they can be wrapped in newspaper and stored in this shady place.

What to do if the fish fell asleep

It is important to regularly check the cage and other containers with live fish. If you find a dead or sleeping fish there, it must be immediately removed from the bucket or cage. Otherwise, the rest of the fish will also quickly deteriorate.

How to process fish for storage on summer fishing

If you have a big catch, but you are not going home yet, or you have noticed that the fish is quelled or has just fallen asleep (but is still quite suitable for food), the fish must be processed.

Before the fish is processed, it must be killed. There are different ways to kill a fish caught on a fishing trip. They depend on the size of the fish and your circumstances.

Remember the main thing - to take the life of our prey (food) should be the fastest and least painful.

How to kill a fish

I know that the problem of working with live fish torments not only fishermen, but also their wives, to whom this live catch falls into their hands. Cook fresh fish. which came to you while still alive is not a matter for the faint of heart and sentimental, but for some it is a real test.

If you are still fishing, then it is customary to immediately stun a large fish taken out of the water with a sharp and quick blow of an oar or stick on the head (on the upper part). Measure the applied effort, if the fish is small, then hitting it with a large oar is unreasonable and not good.

If the fish is small, then they either turn their head with lightning speed (bending it up, back to a crunch), or cut the abdominal aorta (it passes under the gills below, between the mouth and the fin).

When the aorta is cut, the fish is quickly bled, which gives the fish fillet a greater density, whiteness and a better taste and aesthetic appearance. And I think this way of killing fish is most suitable for brave housewives.

How not to kill a fish

It is forbidden peel off scales, remove skin from live fish.

It is forbidden throw fish in the air slowly suffocate without water.

And if you are not touched by fish suffering, then keep in mind that fish after such torment will not be tasty and will not bring you any benefit.

How to prepare fish for processing and storage in nature

Whole, not gutted fish must be shaken off or washed from dirt, sand, mud and other debris. Small fish (up to 200 g) in cool weather can be salt ungutted, larger fish is still needed gut. In extreme heat, any fish must be freed from the insides. And specimens weighing from 500 g (especially wide-backed ones) must also plast.

How to gut a fish (remove the insides)

To gut the fish, you need to slightly cut the head of the fish from below (as if separating it from the body) so that the tip of the knife can penetrate into the abdominal cavity.

Insert a knife into the resulting hole and cut the fish along the abdomen, that is, open it with a longitudinal incision to the anus.

Gutting the fish should be done carefully so as not to touch the thin film covering the layer of fat on the abdomen.

Cleaning the fish not from the head, but from the tail is dangerous because you can touch the intestines and contaminate the insides of the fish with its contents.

Is it possible to wash gutted fish while fishing

Gutted fish should not be washed, in this way you will only spread the bacteria. You just need to shake off the excess from the gutted fish and blot dry with a clean cloth or thick paper towels (have you seen these on the shelves in stores, next to toilet paper rolls?).

Fresh gutted fish is ready for further processing!

The technology of laying fish for salting

After gutting, cut the fish along the spine and cut off both the left and right side of the fish right along with the ribs from the spine. You will get 2 halves of fish on the ribs and a backbone (which will be thrown out).

How to keep flies and wasps away from fish

A basket, bucket or box with fish can be covered with stinging nettles or bird cherry branches. The smell of bird cherry will help drive away flies and wasps from fish that love to flock to the fishy smell.

What to store the fish catch on fast fishing

If you come to fish for a few hours or for a day and the fishing place is close to home, it will not be difficult to save the catch. In a short time, with proper storage, your fish will be fresh and lively until it reaches the kitchen. To properly preserve the fish, it must be sorted by type and size.

How to keep small fish in cages

Every little thing is usually put into ordinary wire or thread cages and lowered into the water somewhere under a bush or next to grass thickets that cast a shadow on the water. It is cooler there and the fish are not so hot.

How to store large fish for fishing

Large fish (such as bream or ide) should be placed in larger wicker cages or other traps (they are made of wire, thread, vines) and immersed to the bottom, where the current is good. The fish will not get out of the cage, but it will be able to stay in the water, because this fish dungeon is perforated and the water circulates freely in it.

How to keep predatory fish alive when fishing

To store active fish and aggressive predators, there is a special fishing device - kukan.

What is a kukan

Kukan is a device for keeping fish in water, when the fish is strung on a fishing line or rope in such a way that it cannot swim away, and the end of the kukan is fixed on the shore.

How to make a kukan from improvised materials with your own hands

For a kukan, you will need a long, very strong fishing line and 1 or 2 sticks. One end of the fishing line must be tied to a coastal tree or any peg, and the other end of the fishing line must be tied to a solid stick (to the middle). For a medium-sized fish, you need a stick 6-8 cm long.

The stick at the end of the kukan must be passed under the fish gills. In this way, the fish is strung on a fishing line, and the stick, after being threaded, rises across and does not allow the fish to swim away.

If you bought a kukan in a fishing store. then, as a rule, a purchased kukan is a fish carabiner attached to a leash (thick fishing line or other rope), the reverse side of which clings to something stable on the shore (to easily remove strung fish from the water later). And a bunch of fish on a loop also sinks to a depth where there is a current so that the fish can move and stay alive longer.

The loop of a purchased kukan, according to the principle of operation, is similar to an earring clasp or a key chain. The edge of the kukan's loop is passed under the gills or clings to the lower lip of a predatory fish (but this is not very reliable, the fish may escape). Then the loop snaps into the lock. A successful fisherman gradually gathers a whole bunch of such fish on his kukan.

How to store live carp, crucian carp, rotan or tench

These types of fish are well stored without water, in wet grass. Put a handful of wet (very wet) grass in a bucket or basket, throw fish on it. In such conditions, these species of fish can live 2-3 days.

How to dry fish

It is necessary to dry the fish for fast fishing in hot and dry weather. You will get a semi-finished fish product, which at home should be soaked for a few minutes in cool water. That is, let it eat again to be saturated with moisture and then cook according to the recipe.

To dry the fish, the entrails and gills must be removed. Scales do not need to be removed, they remain on the fish as a package that protects against hostile microorganisms.

The fish is dried in the sun until it stops sweating and its surface is dry to the touch. Dried fish should be put in some kind of rag bag, paper or basket, preferably with ventilation. In a plastic bag, the fish semi-finished product will be like in a thermos and the greenhouse effect will turn it from dried into rotten fish.

What fish spoils quickly and what to do

Fish is a highly perishable product and most varieties of fish are difficult to keep alive until cooked. How to understand that the fish is rotten in its appearance:

Signs of rotten fish

The eyes are cloudy, dull and spoiled.

The gills are slimy, dirty gray or brown (in fresh bira the gills are dark red, without mucus).

The carcass of the fish is slimy (on the scales there is muddy mucus and the fish smells bad).

When pressing on a rotten fish, dents remain (the body does not restore its shape).

Fishing is poorly stored and quickly deteriorates bleak, roach(black-bellied, black-bellied), dace and some other types of fish. The shelf life of such perishable river and lake fish depends on many conditions (weather, storage conditions, fish size) and is several hours. So keep an eye on your fish. If the fish began to fall asleep, immediately process it. Otherwise, it will rot.

Where does fish go bad the fastest?

If the sleeping fish lies in water (in the water of a reservoir or in a bucket of water, it doesn’t matter) or in cellophane (that is, in any container without air and ventilation), the catch will deteriorate even faster than just on wet grass in the air. Nettles are the best at keeping fish edible.

Delicious fresh fish

Fish storage for big fishing

If you go fishing for the weekend or your summer fishing trip lasts a week or more, you need to save your catch until you go home.

Bury the catch for conservation

To store the catch (until the end of fishing on the weekend), the fish should be abundantly sprinkled with salt and put in a plastic bag, tightly tied and buried in a deep hole dug in a shady and damp place in the ground or in damp sand on the shore. It is advisable to make a fish refrigerator closer to the water.

Fill the hole with earth or sand and mark the storage location with some kind of stick or other sign, so that later you don’t have to look for where you buried your fish.

Right before leaving fishing, remove the bag with fish from the hole, shake it off and put it without untying it in a backpack. This method of delivering fish home is suitable for those who, from the moment the fish was removed from the earthen refrigerator, go home no more than 2 hours.

Those who are waiting for a long journey should take the fish out of the bag and put it in a basket or wooden box (in a ventilated container), the bottom of which is lined with nettles, reeds, sedge or alder leaves. You can also sprinkle the grass with pieces of garlic, which releases phytoncides and prevents bacteria from multiplying.

And cover the fish with bird cherry branches on top. to keep flies and wasps away.

Dry fish salting for fishing

You can salt fish outdoors with dry salting only in cool weather, when the air temperature is below +20 degrees C. If it is cold now and you will be fishing for 5 days or a week, then you can save the fish by dry salting in a large container.

big fish can be salted with dry salting: wrap each fish in a natural cotton cloth and tie it with twine so that it does not turn around (not tight). And store in a cool place. Before salting, large fish must be cut (gutted) and rubbed with salt inside and out (rubbing salt both under the scales and under the gills). Such a large fish, salted in a rag, can be salted for 3-5 days.

Drying fish after dry salting

If you have a lot small fish(rudd, roach, scavengers, white-eye), it is salted all together, in containers. The term for salting small fish in small boxes or baskets under oppression will be 1.5-2 days if you want to dry it later (then after 1.5-2 days the fish should be washed in clean water and hung by the tail, drying to the state of roach will take another 4-5 days).

Salted fish is usually hung to dry in the sun and, if possible, near a fire, the smoke from which envelops the fish and drives away flies and has antiseptic properties. Experienced fishermen advise adding green willow branches with leaves to the fire so that there is more smoke and this smoke, in addition to disinfecting properties, gives the fish a golden color, a pleasant aroma of fire and smoked meat.

If you dry the fish not just in the sun, but by the fire, you can keep it in salt for a shorter amount of time (a day or even several hours), without oppression, just salt the whole fish abundantly - outside and inside.

For the night need to remove the fish, which you dry, in a clothes bag or in a newspaper and a backpack so that the night dew does not settle on the fish and soak it.

readiness dried fish is determined by complete drying and the appearance of salt crystals on the fish. If the fish has not dried out (did not dry out) in nature, dry it at home to the state of a ram.

Dry salting without drying

When cooking fish with dry salting, you can bring the salting to the end, then the fish will be salted in 5-10 days.

The timing of salting fish in nature may vary, depending on the size of the fish, the weather and the salting technology you have applied. In any case, you can look and taste the fish. So you know if she's ready.

Requirements for containers for salting fish in nature

It is necessary to salt the fish with dry salting in nature in containers that allow water to pass through, allowing it to flow out and evaporate. That is, the container for salting fish for fishing should be wooden or wicker from a vine - boxes (regular or small) and baskets. Plastic buckets and containers for dry salting are not suitable.

How to lay fish for dry salting

Cover the bottom of the basket or wooden box with a clean cotton rag or burlap. Put the prepared fish in a container in tight rows with a jack (head to tail), back down, belly up. Sprinkle each row of fish thickly with salt. Put large carcasses on the bottom, the smallest ones on top. Sprinkle the last row of fish generously with salt.

The approximate consumption of salt for salting fish is 2.5 kg (2 and a half packs) per 10 kg of fish.

Put a wooden or plywood cover on top of the fish, on which to put a heavy load (that is, the fish should be under oppression, a load of 4-5 kg). The salting pressure is used to remove air cavities and squeeze out excess moisture from the fish. Fish meat after salting under oppression becomes more dense and tasty.

And here's a cool video for you - how to clean fish using a Karcher car wash.

What else can you do with fish

With dry salting, you can also pickle tasty purchased fish such as pink salmon, salmon, chum salmon and others).

In addition, if you have containers for salting fish while fishing, you can

If you are already at home, then tips on how to.

And also, dear friends, you can smoke river fish or cook a very tasty fish soup, or fry a fish (even in a frying pan if you have a primus stove with you).