I went fishing yesterday and caught a few fish. Since I was in a rush, I threw the fish in the freezer and decided to defrost and clean them later. I now know you are supposed to clean and then freeze them, but are these fish definitely inedible? If not, how will I know?
The fish will be fine. Many commercial fishing boats freeze their catch and clean and process it later. You will want to eat the fish right after cleaning though, the meat will turn to mush if you freeze and thaw it again unless it is flash frozen.
Thanks, that’s good news. One more question: one of the hooks I used has a large cover (looks kind of like a piece of penne with an obviously smaller diameter) over the shaft, so that only the actual hook is showing. Anyway, one fish must have mistook the cover for part of the worm and actually swallowed almost the whole thing, lodging the hook somewhere in its stomach. It bled for a while before it died. Since the hook was too far in to take out, I just left it in (I will only be able to take it out when I clean it). When I unfreeze the fish tomorrow, will it be a bad idea to eat this one, what with the hook and blood (both of which I will of course remove) still in there at this point?
When ice fishing you just throw the fish on the ice.If you fish any length of time they are frozen.
You just thaw them out and clean them.
I don’t think the deep hooked fish would taste any different from the rest.
Fillet them and it won’t make any difference whats in their stomach.
Sorry about the double post.
Next time try cleaning them on site.
Better than that fillet them on site.
If you leave the innards on the bank some coon will come by and appreciate the free meal.
If you throw them in the water some fish will dine well .
Also you need to pack a few plastic bags for the fillets and just put them in your beer cooler.
I would like to suggest that when you do freeze fish, you put them in a sealable plastic bag and then add enough water to the bag to completely surround the piece of fish. This prevents freezer burn. When I catch halibut or salmon, I freeze the filets or steaks this way and they store in the freezer for a long time. When, in the past, I didn’t add water to the bags, I seemed to be making annual trips to the Alaska Zoo to donate freezer-burned fish to the carnivores.
What kind of fish are we talking about here fang?
When my wife and i go fishing out in the race (just off montauk Long Island, it’s a straight shot from our house in CT) we fillet them right there and throw the remains back in the water. No fishy smell from the residue on the scales and the Striper tastes that much better knowing we’re going to grill it that night. 
I believe they’re trout (I was fishing in Cayuga Lake, and I know the state releases trout into the lake for people to fish - they also had a sort of rainbow coloration). Anyway, in response to both you and justwannano, I’m aware that it’s better to clean them immediately after catching rather than freezing first, but my question was whether it was still edible if you froze it then defrosted and cleaned it. racer72 answered this.
Still wondering if anybody knows whether it’ll be a problem that the hook and blood have been stuck in the frozen fish for 2 days, assuming I clean them out tonight.
It ain’t gonna hurt you.
If I was you and had a real worry about it I just wouldn’t eat it.
Provided that you don’t accidentally stick yourself with the hook in the process of cleaning, it will be fine and dandy. I’ve deep hooked many fish in my day, and the flavour wasn’t any different.
However, it’s always advisable to give a fish a parka when he’s going to be put into the freezer. I recommend something with a fleece lining, a hood, and a clip to hang the fish’s gloves when he’s not wearing them.
FISH