Nice trout

megalomaniac

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Oct 28, 2005
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14,998
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Mississippi
Went with a buddy to Cat Island and fished the grass beds. Wasn't nonstop action, but pretty solid. We prob caught 45 in 5 hours, most were shorts, but boated 13 keepers, most of which were 17 to 19in. Paddletail jigs, slow retrieve just above the submerged grass, and we actually outdid the live bait folks around us.
 

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NAjoe

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north ala
We caught some specs back middle of may and brought home frozen. They ate just as good the other day!
 

megalomaniac

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I've heard that it's hard to freeze trout. Is there any truth to this?
Yes. They can get extremely mushy if not properly cared for. Heck, they will turn to mush even freshly fileted if not cared for. Spotted seatrout are in the drum family and have extremely clean, flaky, and soft/tender meat. They are not bloody, and don't need to be bled like many other fish.

But it's really important to cool them down rapidly after the catch, especially like now as water temps are in the upper 80s. I put mine in a saltwater slurry in the cooler as I keep fishing. Throwing them in a livewell is a recipie for disaster as they will die quickly and begin rotting in hit summer water temps.

Also, they need to get completely firm in the slurry before cleaning. This keeps filets firm so they hold together. (Supposedly its fine to even wait till the next day to clean them if they are in a slurry... but i havent tried that). I also have an ice bath I leave the filets in as as I'm working through the cleaning process.

If you do this, then freeze them in ziplocks with water or vacuum seal, they do great frozen for a later date. If you let them get at all mushy before you freeze, they will completely fall apart after thawing.
 

Pilchard

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Jan 5, 2018
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Dreaming of Tarpon
Yes. They can get extremely mushy if not properly cared for. Heck, they will turn to mush even freshly fileted if not cared for. Spotted seatrout are in the drum family and have extremely clean, flaky, and soft/tender meat. They are not bloody, and don't need to be bled like many other fish.

But it's really important to cool them down rapidly after the catch, especially like now as water temps are in the upper 80s. I put mine in a saltwater slurry in the cooler as I keep fishing. Throwing them in a livewell is a recipie for disaster as they will die quickly and begin rotting in hit summer water temps.

Also, they need to get completely firm in the slurry before cleaning. This keeps filets firm so they hold together. (Supposedly its fine to even wait till the next day to clean them if they are in a slurry... but i havent tried that). I also have an ice bath I leave the filets in as as I'm working through the cleaning process.

If you do this, then freeze them in ziplocks with water or vacuum seal, they do great frozen for a later date. If you let them get at all mushy before you freeze, they will completely fall apart after thawing.
You are spot on!

I like fresh seatrout and was never a fan of them frozen.

If you really want the best product, try gutting them and removing the gills and then freeze them whole. Thaw in the fridge and then filet when they are 90% thawed.

That was always too much work for me but it produced the best results.
 

WTM

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Joined
Oct 16, 2008
Messages
16,394
Location
benton co.
Yes. They can get extremely mushy if not properly cared for. Heck, they will turn to mush even freshly fileted if not cared for. Spotted seatrout are in the drum family and have extremely clean, flaky, and soft/tender meat. They are not bloody, and don't need to be bled like many other fish.

But it's really important to cool them down rapidly after the catch, especially like now as water temps are in the upper 80s. I put mine in a saltwater slurry in the cooler as I keep fishing. Throwing them in a livewell is a recipie for disaster as they will die quickly and begin rotting in hit summer water temps.

Also, they need to get completely firm in the slurry before cleaning. This keeps filets firm so they hold together. (Supposedly its fine to even wait till the next day to clean them if they are in a slurry... but i havent tried that). I also have an ice bath I leave the filets in as as I'm working through the cleaning process.

If you do this, then freeze them in ziplocks with water or vacuum seal, they do great frozen for a later date. If you let them get at all mushy before you freeze, they will completely fall apart after thawing.
sounds like the way i do gasper goo here. theyll spoil real quick if you dont bleed and put on ice immediately.
 

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