Perch cleaning 101, Some Perch caught in Simcoe

I don't want to cause an uproar but I would remove the last pics of the way you freeze them. You cannot freeze game fish unless there is skin attached . Just my two cents

Reg

That's good advice if you're transporting fish, but I am not sure if it is necessary at home where the only place the fish will be transported is in the deep freezer and then eventually your stomach. Will COs make a visit to your home to check catches unless you've been reported poaching or being over limit?

I used to do that but found it bulky....it does work for freezer burn though.

Arnie

Then you missed the previous post Knuguy. Go with Taj was the previous post....

Arnie

Thx for sharing Longshank....and this is how we learn from one another.

PS they were done the next day....they were kept on ice in the garage overnight.

Arnie

You are correct and there is skin attached...only need a small scaly patch....was hidden from camera view. Thx for sharing your pics for everyone.

Arnie

If you will cone a bit of 'topic drift'-----I don't do perch but I usually leave the skin on other fish if I intend to fry them. I find it keeps them more moist, more flavor.

Thx for sharing Longshank....and this is how we learn from one another.

PS they were done the next day....they were kept on ice in the garage overnight.

Arnie

I agree, but since I have 3 freezers, one is dedicated for fish only....

used to keep them at my marina for ice storage and sometimes put clients catch in there till they were ready to head home, but after 3 break ins, I stopped doing that

Only thing I do differently (on larger fish) is sometimes I can angle the knife a bit and get a fillet without the ribs, and once I cut to the tail end, don’t break through the skin, then flip over fillet, and skin it - carcass and two flaps of skin still attached are all scrap, and no blood everywhere because I haven’t entered into the stomach cavity at all - like I said, sometimes I can, sometimes I get greedy and try to get more meat but really just end up having to add the rib-scooping process.

I pour some water into the ziploc to submerge fillets before freezing also.

I do the exact same thing with salmon .........2-8 pounds or so

awesome when it works , but it doesn't always work 100% of the time.

the larger the fish get, then Iwill flip the fillet and cut out the lateral line.easy to spot and not very tasty at all imo

“…then I-will flip the fillet and cut out the lateral line.easy to spot and not very tasty at all imo “


Do you mean on the skin-side of the fillet? The darker bit of meat? Hmmm I like this idea have never thought of it

Yes, exactly.....I should have explained it better


so this could very apply to some of your fishing for lakers and or whitefish....if you skin them you will notice a pronounced darkis coloration on the back of your filletalong that lateral line


it contains a lot of unwanted fats and toxins...easily removed and fish taste much better try it for fish say over 2-3 pounds. bigger fish will have much more pronounced discoloration


i also Zipper a lot of my bigger fish such as walleye to completly get rid of this plus the lateral bones as well


will try and find some older pics so all can see

IMO, the less fat a fish has the better it keeps in the freezer.