I love putting my fresh catch (bass & pan fish) in a cooler of ice when I catch them. The problem is by the time I get home and I'm ready to filet them the fish are all extremely slimy. Are there any remedies to preventing them from becoming so slimy while in the cooler?
Thank you.

The longer you can keep them alive the less slimy they will be. If you put them on a stringer or in a livewell until you are headed home it should help.

Plus #1.


Side Note: I put mine in a bucket of water and keep them in water if I am going to clean them within an hour. If it is going to be longer, I will keep them in the bucket of water and then put ice on them when I am ready to head home. Also to the TFF!

Welcome Sheriff to the TFF lots of good folks on here. Especially here in the bluegill section.


Here is my remedy to your problem. Cold packs instead of ice. As soon they get caught they go in my cooler. I use 2 cold packs and they will keep fish cold all day in 100 degrees. The cold stuns them and slows decomposition allowing you to have fresher fish. As you can see from the pics the cold packs keep the slime down to a minimum.

The crappie are laying on the cold pack

The cold packs I use are yeti brand and Ozark trail from Walmart. I like the Ozark trail as it stays cold longer.

They are so cold they will freeze a fish if it is laid between two packs and left overnight.
Clean up is easy with soap and water. Stick em back in the freezer ready for next time

X1. Also to the TFF.