# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Fishing >  Just caught me a 30 pound bass.

## RandyRhoads

I always catch too much too quick. I go throw in a pole and crack open a book to relax. 5 minutes later i'm fighting a 30 pound 40 inch striper. This happens every time! That's why this is only the second time i've fished this year. I've devoted maybe 30 minutes to fishing this year and now I have over 50 pounds of fish filling up my freezer. Ugh I swear.... these fish always ruin my fishing experience, don't even get time to enjoy it.I really need some ideas on how to preserve all this striper meat. Freezer is full and some is starting to go bad. Should I can it/ dry it/ smoke it, or what? What's the best way/safest way taking the waters nasty parasites and mercury levels?Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

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## crashdive123

If catching fish to quick is bothersome to you - stop putting a hook on your line until you have had your fill of fun......just sayin'.

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## kyratshooter

Waste is not a problem.

Buy a bigger freezer and fish for another 30 minutes.

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## RandyRhoads

> If catching fish to quick is bothersome to you - stop putting a hook on your line until you have had your fill of fun......just sayin'.


I was half joking. Of course I love catching fish, but it does take away some of the fun catching them so quick. Imagine if every time someone went hunting there were 50 beautiful bucks standing still giving you the perfect shot in every clearing, what would be the fun in that?


What are some ideas of preserving besides freezing? How would canning wild striper work out? What about drying it, would that be dangerous with brackish water fish?

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## Batch

I hear that the grouper head your, uhmmmm, smoking there still has some of the best meat on it. The cheeks are supposed to be pretty much the best meat on that fish. Followed by a cut of meat just behind the gills. 

This link looked like some people that knew stripers and preserving them. My brother does pretty good on stipers up in northern Georgia.

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## RandyRhoads

....What link...?

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## oldtrap59

Randy. Life is full of it's ups and downs. We should all be blessed with your problem. lol As far as how to best store your catch I don't know about striper but we do can alot of fish and  really enjoy it at the table. Maybe the best way to handle your situation is to just eat more fish.

Oldtrap

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## Winter

Nice fish you drunk bastid. Cook it all, eat it over a couple days.

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## RandyRhoads

> Nice fish you drunk bastid. Cook it all, eat it over a couple days.


Hahaha a couples DAYS??? At even at 5 days I would have to eat 6 pounds a day!

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## mountainmark

Ha ha! Nice fish! When I read the title I was thinking fresh water bass and thought (BS!).........

i would start expirimenting. If it doesn't work out, all is not lost as you were able to learn something  :Smile:

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## rebel

I like pickled fish.  

Edit:  would that method be an option?

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## Wildthang

Randy here is what you need to do:

1. Buy a vacuum sealer and bag and seal all of the fish you so lacksidasically catch without even trying you Mooyuk. Vacuum sealing makes it last twice as long!

2. If you are too cheap to buy a vacuum sealer, have a large fish fry and invite everybody you know!

In case you noticed a small amount of disgust in my comments, it is because I hate people like you that can just light up a cigarette, throw a line in the water, and catch a big friggin fish without even trying..............darnit, now I'm mad! :Smartass:

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## RandyRhoads

Haha. I want to buy a vaccuum sealer in the future when I can afford it. Right now i'm about to pressure can it all per USDA directions. Anyone have experience with how this comes out?

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## onegunsmith

I canned/ jarred a bunch of salmon and it kept for years.


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## Tokwan

Randy, freeze them and have them shipped to Malaysia.....hahaha....I think the best way is to eat what you can and sun dry the rest. AT least you can now enjoy the "omega" advantage that you get with all the fish and give you a rest from eating meat and poultry. Its healthy...with fish, you fry, steam , curry, soup, bake. BBQ and whole lotta way to work them...I wish I am there...

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## Rick

Tokwan - We should add you to the official Quality Assurance team. That way you would get free samples of everything. You'll have to buddy up to Crash and Ken first though. They are the official taste testers.Randy - To can the fish you'll need a pressure canner. Here is probably THE best canning site on the web. http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can5_meat.html I have not smoked fish so I'll leave that to someone else.

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## Tokwan

If I have access to to the ban button, Rick would be the first...hahahahahaha......

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## 1stimestar

Yea if your fish are prone to parasites, you'll want to can/jar it.  Yep, get your pressure cooker up and going and it's pretty easy.

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## nell67

Randy, while the rest of us go "fishing" YOU go "catching" big difference!  Congrats on the catch

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## Mischief

The cheeks ARE the best part of a fish. Yummy yummy look out tummy

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## Grizz123

cold smoke

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## hunter63

Seeing as how the OP is 2 years old......, Randy lost his house and most of his stuff....we should ask...."What happened?"

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## wilderness medic

Canned striper. It was edible but definitely not the top way to eat it. Stored good for a long time, mainly because no one wanted to eat it  :Wink:  Not even in the same universe as canned salmon. The best way to not have a freezer full of fish is to eat it before catching more.

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## Awanita

medic being from the south, I would have said smoke it :Boat:  either with apple oak or pecan. I do a lot of cooking and smoking with pecan. just my preference

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## wilderness medic

The problem with my smoker was it didn't reach high enough temps to make it safe to eat. Still would have had to been cooked. Now I have a dehydrator that goes high enough for meat. Could use a cheap smoker for flavor then try dehydrating it into some fish jerky stuff.

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## fjrmurph

Just looking at the pics,i don't think that type of smoking will preserve the fish for long, just saying. Awesome fish.

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## hunter63

They are hard to keep lit........

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## Rick

Sort of gives new meaning to a cigarette butt, huh? Bet it tastes like....fish. What? You thought I was gonna say something else didn't you?

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