Poll. do you think Fresh caught fish should be kept cold?
 

i am seriously trying to wrap my feeble mind around what happened last night.

i was hiking with my wife. pulling memory cards from game cams, walking the old dog..(okay, i'm mostly carrying the old dog). big hikes.

we get a text message. (from a family member on my wife's side)

"hey, i caught a bunch of (rock)Cod..and i am bringing home 20. do you want some?"
"yes, how big are they?"
"regular sized" (<---vague)
"pretend we dont know what an average sized rock cod is. how big in inches?"
"about six"

at this point, i think i would take six..steam them..ginger, green onions, cilantro..cantonese style.

"we decided to stop in san jose for some Pho"

at around 8:00 pm..the doorbell rings. here he comes..triumphant! fresh fish!! he is carrying one of those cheapo, throw-away, dime store styrofoam icechest. he plops it down, and says, "take what you want..i dont know how to cook fish"

i open the box, take a peek. first thing i noticed..the fish are around 12-15" long. (what man does not know what SIX inches is?) but the first words out of my mouth. "hmmm....no ice?"
"i needed ice?"

i touch the bag of fish..it is hot!! i asked how long they been like this. 6 or 8 hours. hahahhahah..
the smell was horrendous. i suggest he go to a park and dump the entire thing into a public garbage can. he does not want this in his own garbage. he immediately texted his buddies to do the same. four grown men..not one of them thought to buy ice.

is there ANYONE here that thinks fish can be stored warm? :) anyone?!

those that do think so are busy vomiting...

If properly salted...maybe

No, no, no.

They need to cool off immediately and be kept on ice.

Shame. They would have been excellent.

The kids and I caught 4 rainbow trout the other day...they were gutted and on ice before the ride home!

I guess if you had a pet Komodo dragon he would've been happy. Otherwise, fish should. Not. Ever. Be stored warm.

Ah, fresh cod tartare.

We take the cooler with ice with us fishing.

I usually keep my catch alive and on a stringer till it's time to head home. I gut, gill and put on ice before the ride home.

Warm is OK if they are still swimming... other wise, dispatch as quick as possible and ice down.

Darwin is mad at you for cheating him out of some fun.

:) :) :)

Wow that is a shame!

Did you ask for his man card?

You know what though, everybody has to learn some time. Figure that's 4 guys who had no idea where food comes from who are starting to learn about it.

Were they on a party boat? The party boat captain and deck hand usually tell people to make sure to buy ice as they come off the boat. It is a shame if they wasted that much rockfish.

Other animals may be okay or even benefit without ice for a while (venison, birds) in cool weather but fish - no way.

G

I know a lot of guys who like to fish, but don't eat fish, or have the slightest idea what to do with a fish once they catch it.

Crazy.

You should feel really sorry for his wife. If he's not married, now maybe you know why.
Mmmm, yummy. I'm not a fisherman, I've never much liked it and only done it two or three times, and all of those were at least 30 years ago or more. But even I know that if the fish are dead, you don't want them just hanging out decomposing at an accelerated rate.

At least the guys enjoyed themselves. Makes you wonder if they've done that before.

Or maybe he's married and used to the smell. :D