Gas Pump Striper

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CHRIS MCBETH

CHRIS MCBETH

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We were at Dangling Rope getting gas this past summer and a massive school of Stripers came right up to the docks where the kids were throwing pieces of wonder bread in. I literally could have caught some 3 or 4 pounders with my bare hands and in fact one of them ate my GoPro then spit it out when he realized it was still connected to a monopod LOL.

Are these Gas-Pump Stripers tainted with petroleum, or could we eat those?
 
They are on a bread diet so they should be good to eat. I have never tried them.

My preference is to eat the smaller stripers as they are so good. As stripers get bigger they are still good but not quite as tasty as the little ones. I also eat them fresh (no freezing) because I live here and know where they live. The extra fish caught on a a successful trip are filleted and then taken to my friends and neighbors for their eating pleasure.

If you don't live close by then vacuum pack the fresh fillets for best results.
 
Thanks Wayne. The school was a bunch of carp interlaced with a bunch of good sized striper and because of the fuel smell coming out of the water none of us thought catching or eating them was a good idea. I think the rules state you can't fish off the docks, but those fish seemed to follow us wherever we went as long as the kids threw bread in the water.

Here's a video of the Striper eating my GoPro at 2:34:
 
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wayne gustaveson said:
They are on a bread diet so they should be good to eat. I have never tried them.

My preference is to eat the smaller stripers as they are so good. As stripers get bigger they are still good but not quite as tasty as the little ones. I also eat them fresh (no freezing) because I live here and know where they live. The extra fish caught on a a successful trip are filleted and then taken to my friends and neighbors for their eating pleasure.

If you don't live close by then vacuum pack the fresh fillets for best results.
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Wayne,
If you don't have a vacuum packer, place your to be frozen filets in a zip lock plastic bag and zip it 3/4 closed. Submerge the bag into water (use a bucket or even the lake) keeping zip opening out of the water. Pressure from the water outside the plastic bag will force most of the air from the bag. With the plastic now tight against the filets, zip the bag closed. Air is the enemy of freshness. Your striper filets will last will last much longer frozen following this trick.
Chuck
 
I have a vacuum packer fortunately. We also have a portable 12/24v freezer that fits in our teardrop camper we leave back at the motel. It can freeze down to 22F so it works pretty well, and could probably hold 75+ bagged fillets (in my dreams LOL)
 
I've never tried vacuum packing but have had surprisingly good luck freezing striper filets in quart size zip lock bags filled with water. Four filets per bag, add enough water to cover then submerge in the sink to force the air out. We had fish tacos on New Years and they were great - no freezer burn. My grandmother used to freeze trout in bread pans full of water.
 
I vacuum packed a number of fillets from our last trip, then froze them. It appears that during the freezing process the water from the meat is extracted and condensed on the inside of the bag, making the fillets smaller than they were, and creating a pocket of air inside that allowed the freezer burn to occur. They still tasted good, but I wondered if that was normal for fish, or perhaps my vacuum packing machine wasn't working properly. I just might try to freeze-in-water technique if I have the freezer space!
 
CHRIS MCBETH said:
I vacuum packed a number of fillets from our last trip, then froze them. It appears that during the freezing process the water from the meat is extracted and condensed on the inside of the bag, making the fillets smaller than they were, and creating a pocket of air inside that allowed the freezer burn to occur. They still tasted good, but I wondered if that was normal for fish, or perhaps my vacuum packing machine wasn't working properly. I just might try to freeze-in-water technique if I have the freezer space!
Click to expand...
My wife freezes them first before vacuum packing. Without that the outside air pressure squeezes them to a smaller size. Might try that. It works for her.
 
CHRIS MCBETH said:
I vacuum packed a number of fillets from our last trip, then froze them. It appears that during the freezing process the water from the meat is extracted and condensed on the inside of the bag, making the fillets smaller than they were, and creating a pocket of air inside that allowed the freezer burn to occur. They still tasted good, but I wondered if that was normal for fish, or perhaps my vacuum packing machine wasn't working properly. I just might try to freeze-in-water technique if I have the freezer space!
Click to expand...

That is not normal, the water is not extracted from the flesh when freezing in a vacuum sealer. I have all kinds of fish and game sealed in my freezer, and have never seen this happen, and it makes no difference if it is frozen first. If the seal is not broken, there will not be any air space, unless you are not getting enough vacuum pressure. Sometimes you just don't get a good seal, or the bag gets punctured, then you get the air space.........
 
Growing up, we used to freeze our squirrels and pheasants in 1/2 gal milk cartons filled with water and they would keep for more than a year. have used the zip lock in the water to press out the air but the seal eventually let's air in. I have fish that have been vacuum sealed for up to two years and still be as good as the day they were frozen. You can't beat a good vacuum sealer.
 
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