how long is too long

Been fishing the slips on Lewisville. Last night i did pretty good for how slow it was. 13 fish, on bluegrass in 32 fow, fish suspended in the 12-22" range. very light bite.

I put 4 good keepers in my basket and went home. usually this isnt an issue, and all my fish are still very much alive when i return the next evening to fillet and fish some more. this morning i got a call from one of the guys saying all the fish in my basket were dead. i wont be off work till 5.

im gonna check them out when i get there, and they will probably be just fine. but id like to hear from others as to how long is too long?

Turtles maybe

not really worried about how they died lol.

my main question is, once its dead, how long do you really have before the fish spoils.

Here's a link on how to identify a fresh fish:

https://food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/how-to-tell-if-your-fish-is-fresh-5-tips-to-remember-1751503

You might try overnighting your basket at 12 to 22 feet and see if they stay alive better. No one hates to lose a mess of crappie worse that me.

thanks for the link and suggestion uncle_bagster. i ended up saving all but one.

with the water as cool as it is now, 24 hours is no big deal dead or alive. much beyond that and i would give it the old smell test for sure!

Gill color and cloudy eyes, good tips from the article.