I have a bass that I caught today and I went ahead and wrapped it in a wet towel and froze it. I have little time to start skinning and fleshing the fish though, so my questions are if I begin to skin and flesh but dont have time to finish it all can I refreeze it, and if so How do I freeze it back up, and just one more thing. If I can refreeze it how do I thaw it again. Thanks Alot
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it will not take you too long to skin it. I throw mine in an ice chest filled with water, and they are usually thawed enough to skin in a couple of hours. I can't imagine skinning taking over an hour, even for someone who has never skinned a fish. The skin on bass is tough. They are a good fish to start out on.
I don't like thawing fish purely in water for any extended periods of time. I think it loosens the scales a bit if you do. A half hour to an hour is okay, but I prefer thawing them out in the refrigerator. Or, you can thaw them out in a cooler with newspapers filling up the void to ensure that the fish doesn't thaw out too quickly in certain areas. Either method, plan on it taking a couple of days. If you need it sooner, you can thaw it out in a sink with a wet towel placed over it. Check it regularly though as once it's thawed you won't have the coolness of a refrigerator to cover your butt IF it thaws out BEFORE you check it. For a bass, this will probably take 6-8 hours depending on room tremp and humidity. Then, you can put it in a bucket of water the last half hour to finish it up.
Secondly, if you've never skinned a fish before, a bass could certainly take you more than an hour to do. You're unfamiliar with the anatomy and you want to get ALL the meat out. I've been doing this for ten years and it still takes me close to an hour to skin out a bass. But, I don't like to make mistakes either, so I take my time.
Just my opinion.
re-freezing a fish skin if I don't have time to mount it. Unthaw the skin in cold water and mount. Using newspapers in a cooler? thats got to be a pain in the a&*#@ ! let alone a couple of days. You could have a few fish mounted in that time.
If you fail to plan, then "yes" it would be time consuming. You're probably one of those people that orders a single set of eyes everytime you thaw out a fish. The old newspaper trick is a hand-me-down from transporting frozen fish fillets. You want to fill the void so that it takes longer to thaw. (No such word as "unthaw" btw - moron). That way it'll keep everything cool until the last part of the fish thaws out (typically the head). And it takes about 10 seconds to grab a stack of newspapers to fill the void.
Good to see that some things never change around here. Brain stems giving advice to beginners. At least it keeps good turnover in the industry which therefore keeps the taxi supply companies in business. (Which in turn keeps the costs down on my supplies!)
Mike, back to your original question. It is possible to repeatedly thaw and refreeze your bass, so long as you are not eating it as you go. However, as others mentioned, set aside an hour and just git'er done!Many folks find skinning a partially- thawed fish easier...when just the skin and a bit of meat underneath has thawed. I agree, putting a fish in water with no bacteriacide might be an invitation for scale problems.
wrong for a fish...where the heck did the fish live before it was caught? I did not say to leave it in water until it macerates. If thawed for a couple of hours (6 to 8# fish), it will skin easily, the throat will still be icy, but the head thaws rapidly once the body has been detached. Also, we are talking about largemouth bass. Crappie are another story.
My guess would be that decomposure starts as soon as the fish is dead. Water would provide an environment for bacteria growth. I did notice, however, that in the latest Breakthrough article by Gary Bruch, he kept the fish in ice water until making a reproduction. I would say it would be a no brainer that decomposure would not occur as rapidly in cold water as it would in warm. I always skin my fish as they are thawed, normally in a fridge overnight. If they are a little icy, all the better. My 2 cents (worth about a nickle with inflation).
I thaw my fish in cold water then skin it when its still partially frozen. Never had a problem with decomposure even though I agree with Monty. Got alot of eyes on hand and yes you can bite me. Been doing fish for 26 years and can mount circles around your ass while your waiting for your fish to thaw. Whats your last name? f...up
...for 40 years and hasn't learned a thing in those four decades. It's not how long you do something. It's how much you open up your mind. IF your moind is limited in the first place, you can't strain a turd through a straw!
Now, leave me alone. I need to stand and watch my fish thaw for three days while I do nothing...
I'll try it on a big fish. I'm sure your a good man...did'nt mean to lose it on you.
somebody peed in someone's cornflakes this morning. Sure glad I refrained this time around. LOL
Oh! yes you can, refreeze, then put it in the fridge to unthaw.