Thursday, July 21, 2011

Must-Have Fishing Equipment: Cooler/Ice Chest

One of the best things a fisherman can add to his equipment during hot summer weather is a good ice chest.

When you catch a fish on a hot summer day it’s almost a necessity to put it on ice immediately rather than on a stringer or into a livewell.  Fish on a stringer in warm water will die almost immediately and in no time they’re bloated and floating.  The same thing happens in a livewell.  The water that is being pumped onto the fish comes from just under the surface and its way too warm to keep the fish alive.  The result is a bunch of spoiled fish or fish that will be less than appetizing for the table.

Take a small cooler along and fill it half full of ice cubes or chips.  Then when you catch a “keeper” toss him right onto the ice where he’ll die in a few minutes.  Instead of beginning to spoil, your catch will be nice and cool and much tastier when it comes time to eat it.  You wouldn’t take a chicken home from the grocery store and put it into a pail of hot water to store it, why do that to a fresh fish? 

A cooler is a great thing to have, not only keep your fish fresh, but it’ll keep your refreshments and bait cool too.

post by: Dan Bomkamp

www.WiLandValues.com  

1 comment:

Ice Cooler said...

Thanks for the tip Dan. Once fish are dead, the flavor and texture of the flesh will start to deteriorate without proper care. The factor that is easiest and the most important to control is temperature, and that can be handled with ice.