How to Keep Fish Fresh When Fishing on Piers or Beaches

If it were possible, the best time to cook fish is seconds after catching it. The moment a fish dies, the flesh begins to deteriorate rapidly, which is why many commercial fishing boats fillet and flash freeze their catches right on the boat. A weekend fisherman doesn't have that luxury. Anglers using a fishing boat generally have access to a live well when fishing, which keeps the fish alive until they dock. For anglers fishing from a beach or pier, other precautions, such as icing down their catches or keeping their bait alive with seawater in a chest or bucket, allow them to keep their fish fresh longer.

Things You'll Need

  • Ice chests
  • Ice
  • Beach umbrella or beach towel
  • Bait fish container
  • Bucket
  • Rope
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Instructions

    • 1

      Keep recent catches and dead or frozen bait fresh by keeping the fish in a cooler full of ice. Keep the ice chest drained of water so the bait does not get waterlogged.

    • 2

      Place a beach umbrella next to the cooler (or place a beach towel on top), if you are fishing during a hot sunny day at the beach, to keep the ice chest cooler.

    • 3

      Keep another ice chest or bait fish container full of fresh seawater to keep live bait fresh. Use a bucket tied to a rope to retrieve fresh seawater if you are fishing from a high pier. Leave the chest's lid slightly open to keep the seawater oxygenated.