Traveling with your Catch

It’s no secret that I love fishing wherever I can and feel strongly that fishing outside your comfort zone will make you a better angler, no matter the species.  Yet, there’s a primary wrinkle in the framework of enjoying that catch, especially if you travel far and wide.  Air travel or even length trips in the truck call for some specialized equipment and even more special treatment of the fish themselves.  Though there may be no one-size-fits-all solution to traveling with a bag of fish fillets, here’s a few considerations to take into account.

Airline Travel

Though this may be the most challenging portion of the subject, it could be the most worthwhile.  In the past few years alone, I’ve been faced with getting everything from halibult in Alaska back home, to blue crab and redfish from the Chesapeake bay.  Each scenario posed its own challenges, primarily in the form of volume.  In the AK example, we had nearly 70 pounds of salmon to come back as well, and in Virginia, I was looking at roughly 20 pounds.  Let’s use these two examples to break down a few strategies.

In most instances, it pays to check a bag here, especially if you don’t pay to check said bag.  Utilize an airline-specific credit card, promotional offers, or reasonable checked luggage prices from select airlines to permit the opportunity of a checked bag.  In some cases, if you fly enough, you’ve got the option to check several bags, or at least one bag per person flying.  If you have to utilize that checked bag for your traveling companions, it’s often worth the effort, which does require some pre-planning.

In recent trips, I’ve checked a cooler on the way out to my destination, and when I brought it back, ensured it was full of seafood.  That comes of course with some hiccups too, from latches and sealing, to making sure you’re underweight when it comes to your checked coolers.  In one instance, I was with a friend who flew Delta Platinum, and could carry up to 70 lbs. on each back, which was really handy for the salmon.  As a Delta Gold member myself, I was able to carry 50 lbs. which works for most cases, provided the cooler isn’t too heavy in its own right.

We start by freezing all of our fillets solid in camp, preferably with a vacuum sealer if on hand.  Then, take careful note to separate the fillets and lay them out in the camp freezer, again if possible.  Singular, individually packaged groups of fillets when layed out in this way freeze more solid, and therefore stay better frozen when traveling.  Still, unless you’re filling the cooler to the top with fillets, it’s best to at least fill empty space with towels, a random hoodie, or large frozen chunks of ice where available.   

Soft-sided Coolers with extendable handles and wheels make airport travel easier.

I’m a big fan of hard-side coolers when it’s possible to use them, for a number of reasons.  Durability is but one, but the ability of a well-insulated, hard-side cooler to keep frozen items frozen over a longer duration is probably the chief concern for most anglers.  Still, the roto-molded, ultra-insulated varieties both take up valuable checked luggage space, but also are heavy.  For that reason, you may need to go with a quality soft-sided cooler, or a smaller hard-side that both permits some volume of fish, while also staying light-enough in weight to not exceed your checked baggage standard.  Of course, there’s always the rugged and reliable cheaper hardside coolers.  I’ve used those before too, though most do not have wheels (which is a challenge in an airport), and the latches rarely stand up to long-term use.  For that reason, we have often completely duct taped the entire cooler lid to the cooler in multiple spots.  Not only does it keep the lid secure, it notifies you if anyone has tampered with your luggage. 

Truck Travel 

This option is probably more familiar to most people but does also take some considerations.  I’m typically traveling across country, and tend to keep two coolers onboard when fishing.  I keep a smaller rotomolded option in the back of the crew-cab for snacks, drinks, and anything like smoked fish I may pick up on the way, and I keep a larger cooler under the tonneau cover of my truck for volume.  It’s amazing how nice this 1 -2 cooler punch works out when taking big trips, and the options you have for a variety of fish and game. 

The smaller cooler in the cab is stocked from home with soda, water, and a variety of refrigerated snacks that keep me from having to make costly stops to gas stations that have the same items at a mark-up.  On longer trips where I’m often in charge of my own breakfasts and/or lunch, I’ll stop at a grocery store at our destination and fill up the bigger cooler in the back with just enough to get me buy a number of those meals.  Usually, if I am taking home fish, I have already cleaned out the big cooler, or can put extras in the small one, and, I’ve created space for the fillets I intend to get home. 

Keep in mind that some states require a skin patch per fillet or so for identification, so it can be best in those instances not to freeze fish while at your destination.  Instead, keep them on plenty of ice throughout the length of your stay, and consider keeping fish only the last day or so of your trip to ensure the freshest meal possible.  Regular ice does the trick, but I find that large frozen milk jugs will extend your cooling over a couple of days, even in really hot weather.  That, and it extends the duration that your smaller cubes stay whole in the cooler as well. 

Often, I’ll keep my fillet kit inside a one-gallon Ziploc bag and stow that in the big cooler as well.  This kit usually consists of a larger and smaller fillet knife, plenty quart and gallon sized freezer bags, and some specialized soap to get fishy smell off your hands (individually packed in its own plastic).  I always keep this in the truck, as I never know when I might need to fillet some fish, and there are times where I’ll even bring an electric knife and/or a vacuum sealer if I intend to run into and keep larger quantities of fish.

It's amazing how easy it is to keep a few fish at any destination, especially if you’re prepared.  At the same time, I’m also mindful of not necessarily focusing on a “limit” wherever I go.  Fish are a nice treat for me, but rarely the highlight or the sole mission on any adventure.  Even at the fish-factory type lakes where mechanized fillet harvesting is as much a business as the fishing itself, I’m content to enjoy some fish dinners at the lodge and maybe not take any fish home at all.  Regardless of which suits you best, going into it with a plan makes for an easier effort all around.   

Fishing With Kids - Striking the Right Balance

We were trolling Lake Pepin for walleyes a few weeks ago, which is believe it or not one of my boys’ least favorite types of fishing, even when the bite is “on.”  This particular day, it was most certainly not, but the wind was right, the water color was brown, and levels were up where they needed to be.  I simply knew that if we trolled long enough, we’d luck into a few fish and probably catch plenty of other species to keep them excited.  So despite the overall lack of morale in the boat, we trolled on.

Hours later, with plenty of sauger, walleye, white bass, sheepshead, and even a small pike hitting the back of the boat, the kids had a “meh” day.  Not because we didn’t catch fish, including a nice kicker ‘eye, but because it took too long.  The rods weren’t constantly bending.  Worse, my boys and a friend had to continually maintain near-bottom contact, free snagged lures, and generally pay attention.  I’m happy we could finally get some fish, and show them some action, but to be honest, I don’t think they cared.  Despite my very best efforts and preparations, they had way more fun jumping off the boat near the beach and swimming the last two hours of the day.  I had to drag them out of the water and back to the ramp.

It's a lesson I’ve lived and re-learned so many times, I could never keep count.  We (by “we” I mean “me”) take our children fishing, hoping to excite them with the experience, while clinging to childhood memories we still have.  The result is often a frustrated father and kids that are somewhat incredulous to the time and efforts their parents put into trying to make it fun, while often, failing miserably.  That day on the water, we should’ve quit an hour or two earlier and focused on swimming more than the fishing.  Again, I know better, but am hoping that by re-accounting my own adventures, it might strike a chord with other parents and grandparents looking to help their kids have fun fishing.  Here’s what I’ve learned, and need to be reminded of from time to time.

Swimming is a great distraction and trip-extender, leading to a better day on the water for kids and parents alike.

The younger the children in question are, quite simply, the more you’ll need in the boat to keep them busy.  When our boys were younger, that meant a heavy dose of snacks, drinks, and minnows to play with.  It also meant their own tacklebox, including baits with no hooks for a time.  Just like at home, they preferred to play with anything but the toys you have on hand.  That meant scissors, pliers, expensive rods, and whatever else the grownups were handling, so don’t be surprised if they dive right in to that gear.  A pet on the boat when possible is a great diversion for kids, as are fish you stuff in the live-well.  They can find a thousand reasons to quit fishing and check out what you’ve already caught, which makes basic techniques that catch-anything, a really great way to get kids interested in fishing.

Boats to kids can be like a prison after awhile.  They’ve explored the space, played with what they’re able to, and in minutes to hours, can feel like they’re trapped rather than trolling.  That makes beaching the boat and exploring, even at the landing, that much more important.  If there’s some public ground, a beach, or even just something cool happening in the shallows, take the time to share it.  Let them check out turtles, play with frogs, and try to fish off the dock.  Speaking of, dock fishing (from the dock) could be my children’s favorite type of fishing.  They can run up and down it, fish a larger area, and drop the rod to swim or play whatever, whenever.  That freedom at least for my kids has always been much more important than catching fish.    

Now that my boys are older, ages 13 and 15, they’ve got much more patience for the fishing portions of the trip.  They can handle a few hours in the boat, and on good days, maybe even go the entire time.  That said, the very same things they enjoyed as young kids, they enjoy today.  Whether it’s checking out a fish in the livewell, pounding all the snacks I can haul in a boat over the first 15 minutes of the day, or trying to catch turtles so they can check them out a little closer.  That kind of thing can be tough for dad or grandpa to take, as so often fishing is about timing.  Time of day, locational timing, and the perfect pass or cast that’s fouled or missed before the opportunity has passed. 

On the last trip, the only moments I missed or let past were the ones I should’ve yielded more to them.  Some white bass were busting the surface near a shallow point, and rather than continue to troll walleyes (we just boated a 20”er), I continued on.  Big fail dad.  While I don’t know that we would’ve caught them, I certainly have in those situations before, and it’s a great time.  Like I said, though I’ve learned this lesson may times over, it’s good to keep reminding ourselves why they come out to fish in the first place. 

Kids don’t have the same illusions and prejudice we have for certain species, presentations, experiences, or the way it’s “supposed to be.”  They just like bending a rod and feeling a tug on the line.  When they’re tired, they lose interest.  When they’re hungry, they want to eat.  When the sun is hot, and sometimes even when it’s not, they’d rather be in the water.  A fish on the line is cool, but so is admiring the one they just caught in the livewell.  As my kids grow older, the balance is definitely moving heavier on the fishing end, but there’s no need to try and make pros out of them just yet.  If and when they want to fish more seriously, someday they can take that up and I’ll certainly oblige.  Until then, I’ll keep remembering to let them be kids and enjoy whatever part of the experience speaks to them most, if you do too.

Bleeding Fish - How to Make Any Fish Taste Better

Over the years, I’ve been shown by other anglers a number of ways to make fish taste better.  Nearly all of them involve drawing blood from the fish by washing, salt, or general care of the catch before ever getting to the filleting stage.  It’s a fascinating topic, as everyone seems to have their own family traditions or guide-tested tactics.  Yet, fish have been a manner of sustenance for tens of thousands of years, so surely there must be some deeper roots to a perpetually interesting subject.    

Years ago now, I caught the tail end of a great cooking show called “Mind of a Chef,” where Chef David Chang toured the famous fish market in Kyoto, Japan, explaining an ancient technique in fish preparation called “Ike Jime.”  It was a more complete version of various methods I’ve been shown, where the fish is quickly brain-killed, its spinal cord is severed under the gills, and the tail portion is cut open to insert a wire down inside the length of the spine.  The seemingly gruesome process is done quickly and humanely, to first quickly dispatch the fish and stop brain signals from tensing the muscles moving forward, then bleed the gill portions of the fish, and finally, to detach nerve endings that still may be sending signals from the brain and through the nervous system.  The carcass is then put in an ice-water slurry to bleed out, as the fish naturally expels its blood. 

It’s a technique that’s been deployed successfully for many hundreds and perhaps thousands of years, on an island that treasures its fish.  It’s quickly deployed (think seconds), and is followed precisely to provide the world with sushi and sashimi-grade fish of various species.  While we may not be as interested in performing the full process, or even require care of this caliber to have a simple fish-fry, there’s a great deal of scientific merit to the process itself.  Namely in the taste.

Food science research has proven in tasting and physical labs that this method of fish care simply produces a better tasting fillet, again, primarily because of quick blood removal.  Blood serves as a nutrient rich food source for bacterial growth, so when removed, there’s less chance of off-putting tastes or unsafe bacterial growth.  Additionally, Ike Jime more humanely kills fish and its nervous system more quickly, delaying the onset and amount of rigor mortis.  That small difference leads to firmer, better textured fillets which also contribute to taste improvement.  It’s one of the reasons that the same fish caught in many oceans around the world never make sushi-grade. Most of the fish markets over there keep the fish alive and swimming, where Ike Jime is practiced just before presenting to sell. When cooked same-day, it apparently leads to the optimal timing for the best tasting fish.

So what’s your average angler to do when wanting a great tasting meal of walleye, bluegills, or crappie?  To me, the answer involves a small, but simple portion of the Ike Jime process in your livewell, about 15 minutes or so before you plan to clean the fish.  Brain stab your fish, then turn the fish upside down, and take a knife or even better, my favorite game shears, to cut the small portion of gill and connective tissue that meets at the “V” of the gills, all the way down to the spine.  Here’s a quick video if you’d like a demonstration - https://youtu.be/aFFJtbuYHzs. 

Fillet on right has been bled, and an un-bled fillet on left for comparison.

Perform this cut just before you make your run back to shore, put the fish in your livewell, and run the recirculation to pump bloody water from your well.  The fish will expunge blood from their fillets during your boat-ride, and when you go to clean them, the result will be a nearly snow-white fillet, sans a bit of blood immediately near the top of the fish’s rib cage.  Especially if you’re eating the fish soon thereafter, there’s no better way I know of to fillet and eat fish.  The result is always a firmer, tastier fillet than any other method I’ve tried, and I promise you’ll wish you’d done this sooner.

I’ve never tried the full method of cutting open the tail and inserting piano wire or other firm wire down the length of the spine, though I’m sure it helps or folks wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of doing so for centuries.  That said, for at least my purposes, it’s a step that’s too time consuming given how good the blood removal goes, and resulting taste is.  Speaking of, don’t trust advice regarding leaving blood, slime, or other “natural” portions of the fish on your fillets.  I’ve heard a number of times that “I want to taste the fish and that gives flavor,” or “You’re removing all the taste,” but those suggestions have fallen flat, and fishy at least to my taste buds.  In absence of this technique, a quick rinse of each individual fillet (that part is important), followed by a saltwater solution to draw out blood, then a soak in milk has been the next best method for me when dealing with un-bled fish. 

So give bleeding a try the next time you’re looking to keep a fresh meal of fish, as I’m betting it’ll be something you continue to use moving forward if you don’t already. 

Panfish Rod Technology - The Right Tools for the Job

Anglers have long been selecting their favorite fishing rods for bass, walleye, muskie, and the like.  They’ve had choice among a wide variety of materials, from different blends of fiberglass, to the more numerous strains of carbon fiber.  Species and technique specific rods have long been offered in every length, power, and action, even giving certain classes of fishing like “trolling” their own series – but not panfish.  Traditionally, a panfish rod has been anything coded UL for “Ultra-Light,” but for all the wrong reasons.  No matter the technique, from slip bobbering the shallows for spawn-time gills, to deep dropping big jigs on cribs for crappies, you got a short buggy whip that bent butt-to-tip with little thought for how it would ever be used.

St. Croix changed that a few years back now with its popular “Panfish Series” – a class of rods designed for a number of scenarios, species, and specifics that vex panfish anglers.  It included a good number of ultra-light rods too, but offered so much more, with models that took into account the many variables panfish anglers face across the country.  From long rod dinking and dunking, to small jig pitching and trolling, these lengths, powers, and actions simply mimicked an evolution of the many bass and walleye models before them.

Anglers spend hundreds of dollars on rods designed to detect the bite of a bass that nine times in ten crushes a jerkbait, spinnerbait, or other aggressive lure.  Subtle presentations and finesse applications are supported with the lightest, most sensitive, and well-balanced sticks in the game, yet until the Panfish Series, the same couldn’t be said for any crappie or bluegill rods.  Yet, sensitivity for smaller species can be the ultimate equalizer, a true difference-maker that determines success from failure on the toughest of days. 

The same anglers that spend up for the finest technique specific rods in the game, also understand that bite detection is only part of the equation.  They know that lightweight rods, balanced perfectly to the presentation at hand, make all the difference in delivery of said presentation.  For exacting anglers that demand the best tools for the job, the Legend Elite Panfish Series by St. Croix is yet another cut above.  Lighter blanks made from the same materials as their flagship high-end bass and walleye rods, give panfish anglers the upper-hand in delivering tiny jigs in tight places.

Anyone can cast a ½ oz jig into the breeze, but what about sizes down to 1/32 oz?  Bluegill anglers are often looking for a rod that delivers these smallest of sizes as far as possible away from the boat.  Casting distance is a huge factor in proper panfish presentations then, but any fiberlass rod can fling.  It takes a versatile stick to deliver distance without compromising on the fundamental need to detect light bites.

Power is something forgotten in panfish circles too, as we’ve so long grown accustomed to the ultra-light sticks, we’ve forgotten that there’s a number of times where panfish anglers need more.  Namely on the hookset, in tough cover, or deep water, light-powered rods with Extra Fast (XF) actions are superior for their direct punch and overall control.  Set the hook on a small jig at distance, especially with mono, and you’ll find that XF action to be the most worthwhile part of your panfish gear. 

There’s also fish at depth or speed to be contended with.  In both scenarios, larger weights tax a traditional panfish blank too far beyond its limits, causing a sloppy rod feel and overall lack of control.  When jigging deep weed edges for mid-summer gills, or deep cribs in southern reservoirs, your average panfish rod is far too whimpy.  When I mention speed fishing, I’m talking quite often about trolling for midsummer crappies with jigs or crawler harness style spinners.  In those situations, heavier weights as sinkers or part of the jig itself are the norm rather than the exception.      

Panfish tech then is all about having the proper instrument to handle any scenario.  Light jigs and long-range delivery, deep water and heavy weights, pencil bobbers and precise pitching; all are just a few instances that directly benefit from exacting combinations of length, power, and action.  St. Croix’s Panfish Series, and its featherweight Legend Elite Panfish lineup offer anglers the same seriousness in panfish rods that they’ve come to rely on for other species they target.  No matter the technique or destination, there’s a rod spec. combination that excels for each place and time.

Cleaning Cork Fishing Rods - Make Old Rods Look New

Cork fishing rods have a great feel and comfort, but often get dingy after a few seasons. Here's how I restore the cork on mine to like-new condition. You'll...

Cork is one of the best grip materials you can have on a fishing rod. Along with classic lines and looks, you’ve got the comfort and weight savings that have made them a strong option among all classes of fishing rods. But cork gets dingy after a few years, or even within a single season if you don’t take care of your rods. Here’s how I make them look new again with some OxiClean and a good sponge.