I count myself quite fortunate to be in the company of of a very knowledgable partner this past trip. I learned quite a bit and am a better canoe country camper for it.

One of the tips that was driven home had been discussed several times on this forum but never really sunk in. Anybody else like that? Finally the light bulb went on when he pulled into camp holding a small wet canvas type bag. Inside was a ziplock bag of fish filets. Dinner anyone?

I was a bit surprised at the evaporative effect (yes I know we have talked about it at length already).....the bag and the fish were quite cool to the touch. The idea is to wet the small canvas bag, tuck the filets in a ziplock and keep it out of the sun.

The benefits are self evident. First off you don't have to clean fish in camp. That in itself is a big plus. Secondly, you don't have to pull a fish around on a stringer which not only causes you to work harder but the filets are continually degrading in quality.

Remember to keep the bag wet and it must be of a material that retains some water so the evaporating process takes place. Don't let the bag dry out. I have a hunch that the hungry camper could keep fish filets for at least a few hours this way, maybe substantially longer if conditions were right.

I try and pay attention but sometimes things just don't sink in until you see it in practice. I have contacted my R&D department and the bags may soon be available at MT enterprises.com in standard and custom colors (camo is extra). Give it a try if you haven't already, it will certainly be standard procedure for me in the future.

I use a canvas coin bag I got from my bank.
I've done it for years.
While in military, I saw a Sgt, sleeve his metal canteen in a old green wool sock and soak before marches in hot weather.
A cool drink of water is a real treat after a 20 mile march!
I started doing it with my backpacking water bottles and continued into my paddling trips.
I caught a small LT on Jean, early morning heading for the east end of Sturgeon lk.
I cut it's head off/gutted and put in gallon ziplock then bank sack and secured with Bungee Bob.
By the time I hit Sturgeon it was in 90's, no wind.
I just kept wetting bag and storing under seat out of the sun.
End of day, the fish felt like it had been in a cooler all day.
I think the effect would even be greater on smaller fillets.
IF you haven't tried this method, I think you'd be pleasantly suprised convenient/conveinent it is.
I've also left fillets in wet bag, and hung with food pack overnight. Fresh fish for layover day breakfast is hard to beat.
A little care packaging them will reduce the odor to near zero so I never had a worry/issue with Yogi being attracted to the combination.

jaximus wrote on Sep 3^rd, 2013 at 4:09am:

Are you cooking the trout with the lemon juice? If so, do you also bake for peace of mind as well?.

I had a girlfriend that use to brown chicken and finish cooking in lemon juice for our big 4th of July parties. It was really good. I always wondered how it would work with fish on a trip.

I'm so confused.....I have done lakers whole, only once over the fire in foil. Pretty good.

But my education continues. On my most recent trip it was standard fare to do filets over the fire in foil. However my accomplice did not poke any holes in the foil to drain the juice as we sort of liked dipping the filets in the juices. Pretty tasty. There also didn't seem to be any concern about the foil "bag" bursting. We used a grill of sorts and cooked over an open fire as opposed to coals.

Now Jaximus, who also sounds like this is common practice for him and his crew, pokes holes in the foil to drain the juice and perhaps "brown" the bottom a bit which also sounds like it might be a good idea. Will that dry the laker out? I suppose it is all good when you are hungry.

Back to 'keeping filets'. If you want to keep them more than a few hours, as in overnight, use the same ziplock/canvas bag system. Add a couple of small smooth rocks to canvas bag. Make sure you've gently squeezed all air from bag. Tie a long piece of rope to canvas bag. Lower it over 25-30' or so, of water (another use for depthfinder). Tie other end to shore at camp. In the morning, just paddle out to where you can pull it straight up to avoid snags. Fish for breakfast!!!