If you don’t keep a fish alive in water or put it on ice, it can spoil in 2 hours or less, depending on how warm it is outside. You can also use a fish stringer or a fishing net cage to keep fish alive in the water while you continue fishing. If you happen to be ice fishing, you can bleed the fish you catch and just store them right on top of the ice until you’re ready to gut them!
Keeping an intact fish cool slows down the enzyme activity inside it, giving you a longer window of time to gut it before it goes bad.
Don’t jam the knife all the way inside the fish or you can cut the intestines open. You want a shallow cut so that you can pull them out intact, preventing messy (and unappetizing) spillage. [4] X Research source The process for gutting a fish is the same for any size or type of fish. If you want to gut fish in the wild, bring a sharp fillet knife with you and a bucket to work over and dump the guts into. If you’re gutting fish at home, work on a clean work surface, such as a cutting board.
Don’t leave anything inside the fish. Pull out everything from inside until you only see flesh. It’s up to you whether or not to cut off the head. If you want to cook the fish whole, leave the head on. If you want to fillet the fish, chop it off right below the gills. If you want to remove the dorsal fin, simply grip the fin tightly near the tail and pull quickly in the direction of the head to rip it out cleanly.
Rinsing the inside of the fish very well gets rid of strong, oily flavors that the entrails can leave behind. Be really careful when handling the fish because some fish have particularly sharp fins and/or teeth that could cut your hands. If you’re cleaning a fish out in the wild, you can rinse it out in a clean creek or river. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after you’re done cleaning and handling the fish.
In small quantities, it’s sometimes okay to toss fish guts back into deep or running water so other fish can feed on them. However, this is illegal in some areas, so make sure to look up local regulations on your local fish and wildlife service’s website. [8] X Research source To prevent your trash from smelling like rotten fish, seal the fish guts in a zip-top plastic bag and put them in your freezer until it’s trash day.
You can also scrape scales off with a spoon or another dull utensil that won’t cut into the fish. It can help to scale under running water, or simply underwater in the sink, to prevent a mess. Don’t worry if you miss a few scales—they aren’t tasty, but they won’t hurt anyone.
These types of fish, in particular, have a thick, unappealing skin that most people remove before cooking. You can use a pair of catfish pliers to peel the skin off more easily.
