ungutted mate ...most organised people would bring ice and cool box etc but tbh I usually just stick them in a bucket of sea water till I go ...often changing the water on hot sunny days .

 

thats on the day of catching the mackeral or whatever for bait I mean ....at times iv had it start to 'turn' but tbh i think a lot of fish prefer that or maybe not prefer it but definitly smells more which may or may not help lol

 

Y


Yea I’ve a big cool box and ice blocks I’m hoping to do skate fishing so the more scent the better my thoughts where gut cut the head and tail then bang it straight in!!!!!!

 

I’d keep them ungutted but get to a freezer as soon as possible.
They start to turn in a few hours, but even then I’ve kept some that were a bit old and they’re still nice and bloody when defrosted, albeit a bit mushy

If you can do a 2-3 hour mackie trip and then get home to freeze ASAP that’s ideal

 

Now it’s just the wait for them to arrive

 

Think I would be pretty gutted if someone stuck me in the freezer

 

Freeze mine whole asap after being caught, sealed individually in air-tight freezer bags to avoid burn. Would be nice have a blast freezer, but I fear the price tag.

 

I cut the heads off and gut all the Mackerel I freeze for bait. I don't use the heads and don't like leaving the guts in frozen Mackerel and yes I know when you buy them they are whole with the guts in. It saves carrying the extra weight as well

 

For Eating gutted for bait un-gutted, more scent the better, but agree look after them for the better bait.

 

Looking after Mackerel for bait is cool as can ie in the shade with ice packs opposed to ice as ice is fresh water which turns flesh quicker but also as best as can sealed from oxygen ie air keeps flesh longer then ASAP vacuum packed marked with date/id's if need using first etc then frozen

Vac packers are cheap enough these days Lidl's even have/had(they cycle offers)£25 works ok if doing more there are better ones that have more suction many on flea bay even flat bed ones that take bags can be had used for reasonable amount.

For eating similar till ready then cut behind head just onto spine then pull down in one movement takes head off and guts with it then finger in to flick any thing left! rinse in sea water packed away as in previous then take home or straight along back bone filleted but they degrade faster if not cared for well.
Then once home cut to how like? put in something sealed/wrapped then in fridge or Vac pack and frozen.

Trick with Mackerel is looking after the flesh so cold as and not left if dirty water as is one of the quickest degrading fish flesh out there we are talking even under hours not days but if chilled when first caught you get far longer where as if not and left like some in black bags no matter how much you chill later the damge is done.

But for bait vac packed they last for winter time and can vac pack most baits esp peeler crab.
Working on a good method for freezing blacks vac packed without loosing there sauce!

 

IMHO
For bait: gutted with head on
For grub: gutted & head off

I just find they keep better if you gut ASAP but it might be less of a difference if they go straight on ice

 

And do not expect a domestic freezer to cope with 50 mackerel at once .
It will freeze them eventually but very slowly even on the super fast freeze setting .
Slow freeze means ice crystals and soggy bait so freeze in small batches.

 

If vac packed don't get that as it's the air that creates/allows crystals to develope

 

Freeze mine whole asap after being caught, sealed individually in air-tight freezer bags to avoid burn. Would be nice have a blast freezer, but I fear the price tag.

If you are vacuum sealing them then a big bucket of ice and loads of salt mixed in will cool them faster than a normal freezer. Could also use if you don't vac seal but might get washed out a bit.

 

What i don't like is people leaving them on the Beach, because they can't be bothered to take them home, after the hundred that they have caught.

 

A handy tip when using a vac is to keep the fish on ice until home then freeze the fish separated from eachother. Then when frozen vacuum pack them . This stops the vacuum process putting pressure on the flesh and squeezing out blood/juice into the bag.

 

A lot of sense in doing it that way !
My vac packer has a damp food setting which is still not 100% effective so i put a strip of kitchen tissue across to hopefully stop the moisture before it gets to the line of the heat seal .
Another handy hint is always cut the tail fin off before freezing as they go straight through plastic bags when frozen into ice blades !

 

One that ive given a go with mackerel a while back and has worked ok for a few bass, one on the hook by the time id sat down after casting, is using the guts for bait.
I made up some baits at home, using peeled crabs and mussels, using fox armourmesh tubing. Was intended for use chasing the elusive Thames Unicorns, but to no avail.
With the bit that was left, what i did, was fillet some blueys and mackerel whilst still frozen, wrapping the fillets individually in clingfilm and straight back into the freezer. With the guts, and anything that looked bloody, stuffed that into the remainder of the tubing along with some of the meat picked out from between the bones, and a bit of chopped up squid, to make up half a dozen baits.
Made them up and got in the freezer asap.

 

I gut them straight away but keep the guts in a tupperware container till I get home, roll them into a sausage shape using cling film, freeze them then remove cling film and pop them into sections of tied up finger bandage. You can also add worms, crab etc before rolling to create what I call poor man's cart.