Caught these earlier today....now what??

Went back out to Battle Ground Lake and caught these four Trout earlier today. I bled them on the water and then put them into a cooler, on ice packs as I caught them. Got home and immediately cleaned them, to include removing their heads. From there I put them into a zip lock bag full of tap water, removed the air and put them into the freezer. I may end up eating one or two, but was also considering smoking them instead.

Any suggestions, favorite Trout smoking tips/recipes or comments on how bad I probably screwed these up with what I've done so far.....Thanks

I put them into a zip lock bag full of tap water, removed the air and put them into the freezer. I may end up eating one or two, but was also considering smoking them instead.

Any suggestions, favorite Trout smoking tips/recipes or comments on how bad I probably screwed these up with what I've done so far.....Thanks

Congrats on the catch.  You should be fine, I always think trout is best never frozen.  I have heard water helps but I just wrap mine separately in foil if I have to freeze em and then I eat em quickly.  With he foil I just take out what I need in the morning and put em in the fridge then when I get home in the eve. I throw it on the grill.

Smoked trout is awesome.  If you are new to smoking keep it simple.  I put mine in a Pyrex baking dish on top of a thin layer of kosher rock salt.  Then I fill em with brown sugar and loosely cover with some brown sugar and rock salt.  A little teryaki is good too.  Cover with plastic wrap and store for 4-12 hours in fridge.  Then use a lighter wood like alder.  Soak your wood for 30 minute before firing up the smoker. Time depends on heat. slower longer cooler is better.

David

Curious as to why you put them in water before freezing?

Congrats! Jason told me you got some today. I may try Thursday.

iHop


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How'd you catch 'em---flies?  bait??? C;mon, give us some sstory!!

Beautiful fish CastIronTrout. I think your name tells you what to do with them

I agree with kallitype, we need some details when seeing a nice catch like that!

They just stocked this lake and 4-5 others Thanksgiving week. Berkeley Trout Worms slowly jigged off the bottom is the ticket. Chartreuse, Bubblegum, Natural or Orange/Green seem to work.

CIT, KevBro and I tried flies, lures, etc. with no joy last week until Jason Reeser (Buzz Ramsey's nephew) gave us some worms and taught us his uncle's method. Dave only had his fly rod then but has now come over to the dark side...


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Are those bottom two trout rather oddly colored?

Wouldn't packing and freezing in water cause a softening of the meat?  Since the solute concentration is higher in the fish, water will follow the osmotic gradient and enter the fish meat making it soft.   This is the opposite of brining your herring to make them stouter.

Sturgeon Bait!

Sturgeon Bait!

My thoughts exactly.

Are those bottom two trout rather oddly colored?

Wouldn't packing and freezing in water cause a softening of the meat?  Since the solute concentration is higher in the fish, water will follow the osmotic gradient and enter the fish meat making it soft.   This is the opposite of brining your herring to make them stouter.

I know that as a kid often times the trout we would catch in lakes would change color like that after they died (thrown in the cooler). Did not seem to affect their flavor, although it looked kind of gross.

You could always pan fry them with butter and eat with scrambled eggs, toast and fresh coffee!
A great breakfast

I've got two rainbows from last week in my freezer, I was thinking of using them for bait Saturday but I thought that was illegal until I rechecked the regs. Apparently use for human consumption and bait are both ok.


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Curious as to why you put them in water before freezing?

Wasn't certain how long it would be until I got back to them, after cleaning and was trying to reduce the chance of freezer burn. Having them encapsulated in water seemed to make more sense than surrounded by dry air. And the funky colors were what seems to happen when you bend your fish into weird angles, so they will fit into your six pack sized cooler. I thought I was prepared, having brought ice and bleeding them on the water, thinking they'd still be pretty when I got home. It also ended up being cold enough on the water, the guides on my rod were constantly frozen, making it difficult to cast.

Ihop hit the method dead on. I wasn't part of the tutorial the week before (from Jason) as I was determined to catch them on flies, but this trip it was all Berkley Gulp Worms (bubblegum and chartreuse). Saving the day and always a great host, Jason arrived 20 minutes after me and was very helpful in sharing his method(s), as taught by his Uncle Buzz. He had his limit within about an hour and left while I stayed behind, trying to catch mine.

And Demonic, all I can say to your comment is, Ummmm, I think so.

If you want to encapsulate the fish for better keeping, first freeze them hard, uncovered.  Them when the fish are frozen solid, dip them in water.  This will put a glaze on the fish, and won't soak out the flavor.  Then vacuum pack for best result.  failing that, the ziplocks that let you purge air out are next best.