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View Full Version : How Long are fish good in an esky for??



OZ 640
16-07-2013, 01:08 PM
Hey All?
Most of my fishing has been catch and release or quick arvo trip to the reefs.

Looking at doing my first "real" fishing trip to 1770 and staying out in the boat for 2 nights.

My question is how long are fish good for in an esky filled with ice and salt water?

Will fish caught on a Friday still be good to go into the freezer Sunday night after being filleted and skinned?

Happy to let most go, but if I got my first big red, would love to bring it home to show the kids and the missus.

Looking for general advise and info.

Cheers in advance. Dale

Noelm
16-07-2013, 01:11 PM
no worries at all for that time.

cobiaman
16-07-2013, 01:12 PM
Hey All?
Most of my fishing has been catch and release or quick arvo trip to the reefs.

Looking at doing my first "real" fishing trip to 1770 and staying out in the boat for 2 nights.

My question is how long are fish good for in an esky filled with ice and salt water?

Will fish caught on a Friday still be good to go into the freezer Sunday night after being filleted and skinned?

Happy to let most go, but if I got my first big red, would love to bring it home to show the kids and the missus.

Looking for general advise and info.

Cheers in advance. Dale

Absolutely no worries at all, id probably say fish would be fine for 4 or 5 days on ice

OZ 640
16-07-2013, 01:16 PM
Cheers guys, that on ice. What if its a salt water slurry?

netmaker
16-07-2013, 01:21 PM
generally speaking fish are only good in an esky until they turn bad;D. this will of course vary depending on the quality of the esky and the amount of ice used to keep it cold. using a salt slurry will keep your esky colder.

Moonlighter
16-07-2013, 01:21 PM
Salt water slurry is even better - in fact, its the preferred way. Gets the fish much colder, much quicker. I know a couple of bay pro-s and that's the way they keep their fish and its how the markets prefer them to be kept.

If you are at all worried, which I wouldnt be in the timeframes you have mentioned, you could gill and gut them, then keep them in the slurry. It's the gut contents that will start fish going off, with them removed the fish last even longer.

OZ 640
16-07-2013, 01:24 PM
Awesome...
Sounds like catch em, bleed em in the kill tank, quick gut and gill and then into the ice slurry.
Thanks for the info lads, very much appreciated.

Just want to make sure the catch is kept in top condition.

Cheers Dale

Noelm
16-07-2013, 01:43 PM
when making the slurry, make sure you do not add too much water, remember that sea water up there is quite warm, and will melt ice quite quickly.

jtpython
16-07-2013, 02:21 PM
Done 7 days on ice

Horse
16-07-2013, 06:30 PM
Pros do a week then send them to market. I would not gut and gill unless you are going to stack them upright in ice. An extra handful of salt in the slurry will keep the temp down and stop the fish swelling from fresh water soaking

therapy
16-07-2013, 07:31 PM
On a charter to the Swains last year the decky stuck the deck wash down there throat until all the sh*t out came of the back passage. This was to keep the slurry clean and the fish in top condition and from the eating side of things it seem to work!! All fish were bled separately in a tub by a single stab to the gills and went into the slurry after the reverse enema. Good luck up there. Hope you find your big red!!

Cheers..Terry...

clevelandv8
16-07-2013, 07:47 PM
Brain spike, gill n bleed but dont gut. 7 days upright as in how they swim.
More cutting of flesh exposes flesh to spoil quicker. In a slurry fish will almost freeze.

OZ 640
17-07-2013, 02:37 PM
Thanks again to all for your information.

Anyone freeze salt water for their esky??

Dale

Alchemy
17-07-2013, 08:28 PM
Thanks again to all for your information.

Anyone freeze salt water for their esky??

Dale

Dale, I make salt water blocks. Go to Super Cheap and buy the the SCA 10 litre basins for $5. I dissolve two table spoons of salt and mix with fresh water then freeze. I have quite a big esky at about 400 litres. If going out for a couple of nights I take five or six of the salty blocks and about 80kg of party ice. Fortunately for me I've had access to a free supply of party ice for the last six years. All our fish are bled in the kill tank which ensures the slurry stays clean then they go into the esky. As soon as we start putting fish in the esky I start pumping in sea water. I keep adding sea water as the fish go in to ensure they remain covered.

This system works very well. Water temp up here can be close on 30c in the summer hence the large amount of party ice. The slurry is so cold that it hurts like buggary digging the fish out. A couple of years ago I checked the temp at the top of the esky with an infra-red after a three day trip - it was -8c!

Regards,
Dave.

Shark Poker
17-07-2013, 08:40 PM
Doesn't it depend upon how hungry you might be?

Schulzy
17-07-2013, 09:17 PM
Get your party ice in advance and freeze it as long as possible and use block ice as well fish should last a week wouldn't worry about gutting lets to much moisture into the fish and stack them up

Muddy Toes
18-07-2013, 12:56 AM
Dale, I make salt water blocks. Go to Super Cheap and buy the the SCA 10 litre basins for $5. I dissolve two table spoons of salt and mix with fresh water then freeze. I have quite a big esky at about 400 litres. If going out for a couple of nights I take five or six of the salty blocks and about 80kg of party ice. Fortunately for me I've had access to a free supply of party ice for the last six years. All our fish are bled in the kill tank which ensures the slurry stays clean then they go into the esky. As soon as we start putting fish in the esky I start pumping in sea water. I keep adding sea water as the fish go in to ensure they remain covered.

This system works very well. Water temp up here can be close on 30c in the summer hence the large amount of party ice. The slurry is so cold that it hurts like buggary digging the fish out. A couple of years ago I checked the temp at the top of the esky with an infra-red after a three day trip - it was -8c!

Regards,
Dave.

Why don't we get salt ice over here?
It's pretty damn popular in New Zealand but I've never seen it for sale here, the stuff freezes below 0degC!!!!

Noelm
18-07-2013, 08:40 AM
I make my own salt water ice too, not too sure it is all that much better than normal fresh water ice, but it does keep the salt water slurry salty.

WalrusLike
18-07-2013, 10:26 AM
Guys experience beats guesses every time. So I will happily bow to your experience of salt water blocks.

But I must say I am surprised..... The physics doesn't seem to add up. Adding salt to 3 or 4% like seawater will lower the freezing point to about -2 degrees. But it doesn't increase the ability to absorb heat without raising temperature.

In fact the reverse. It takes less heat to raise its temperature.

I see that salt water slurry is best because it stops the osmotic swelling of the fish, but in terms of keeping colder I can't see how it could....


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thrillseeker1
18-07-2013, 12:23 PM
Interesting subject.
There is not much point freezing sea water because the main component of that ice is pure water. The salt will form pockets of brine(salty liquid) in the ice. In fact sea ice is used for drinking water in some places in the world.
The trick with brine is, by increasing its salinity(right up to a saturated solution) it can be kept as a liquid right down to -21 degrees celsius.
Just add salt water(3-5% NaCl) with fresh water ice, the fresh water(from the salt water) freezes out, the brine becomes more concentrated and stays liquid and drops below 0 C, or add salt granules to reduce the brine to well below freezing if needed. Fresh water in ice is still only +1C anyway.
It's the same principle that melts ice on roads, increase the salt concentration, the ice will melt, so long as the ice temp doesn't get below -21 C