# How Longer do fish stay good in the freezer



## fordraceing_man

I put my fillets in a bag of water then freeze just wondering how long they are usually good for.

thanks


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## Hookineyezz

A year +


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## wolverines

fordraceing_man said:


> I put my fillets in a bag of water then freeze just wondering how long they are usually good for.
> 
> thanks


 

Bags of fish don't usually get a chance to stay in my freezer for too long, but I did eat a bag of walleye fillets that I was saving for a special occassion and had forgotten about last weekend. They were frozen in a bag of water for 15 months and were just fine...


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## alex-v

Lean fish or those with very little body fat or oil will last longer than fish that has a lot of fat.

Keep the frozen fillets from being exposed to air and this reduces freezer burn. You are doing this by freezing them in a bag with water added.

An article on this was in the Detroit Free Press earlier this summer. Walleye and lean fish like that can be stored for 2 + years. Fish like Silver Bass will probably only last for 4-6 months.

The fish with oil or body fat start to taste oily if they get freezer burn a lot sooner than lean fish.


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## Homer

alex-v said:


> Lean fish or those with very little body fat or oil will last longer than fish that has a lot of fat.
> 
> Keep the frozen fillets from being exposed to air and this reduces freezer burn. You are doing this by freezing them in a bag with water added.
> 
> An article on this was in the Detroit Free Press earlier this summer. Walleye and lean fish like that can be stored for 2 + years. Fish like Silver Bass will probably only last for 4-6 months.
> 
> The fish with oil or body fat start to taste oily if they get freezer burn a lot sooner than lean fish.




Include salmon and steelhead in the category of fish with oil or body fat. My Wheatley steelhead caught in July and early August start to develop an "off" flavor by October. Whatever is left by November is only fit for the smoker (where it still tastes fine).


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## MUSHY1

I just recently bought a Upright freezer from an estate sale, and in the process of cleaning out one of my chest freezers, I stumble on a bag of Walleye from spring run of 06':yikes: It just happened that my Inlaws were coming over for a Fish Fry that weekend, so i decided to fry up some of my "Vintage Stock" (Didnt want to give him the good Stuff, or they would be over every weekend.):evilsmile After it was all said and done, my Father in law said that was some of the best Fish he had ever had:lol::lol:

Freeze your fish right, Walleye and Perch will last for a good long time.

Mushy


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## waterfoul

MUSHY1 said:


> Freeze your fish right, Walleye and Perch will last for a good long time.
> 
> Mushy


This from a guy named "Mushy." Hmmmmm..... :lol:


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## alex-v

"Mushy", ...hhhmmm.....that is what happens to Salmon that is past its prime in the fall and then gets froze for to long.


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## trailwart

stopped doing the fish in bag years ago. vacuum pack everything for last many years and havnt had any issue with freezer burm or mushy fillets. we actually just cleaned out my freezer a few weeks ago and found a package of halibut from 03 that we V packed and was still good.


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## alex-v

> vacuum pack everything for last many years and havnt had any issue with freezer burm or mushy fillets.


The only fish I ever had turn mushy was a salmon that had been frozen for about 2 years. Any other fish in the freezer stayed firm even when thawed out after 2 years.

All of my Walleye is now froze in zip lock bags that have water in them. This has eliminated freezer burn so far. I went that route over the vacuum seal because of the large cost difference per plastic bag.

I do have some Silver Bass in a vacuum sealed bag as an experiment to see if that keeps the fish fillets from picking up that heavy oily taste even after being stored for 3 or 4 months in the freezer.


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## Homer

In my experience, fish frozen in water and vacuum sealed fish both keep equally well. The big advantage to the vacuum sealing for me is that the final product takes up a lot less freezer space.


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## alex-v

One of these days I am going to make up about 6 packages of fish in zip-lock bags with water and measure how high the stack is. Then, I will repackage each bag in a vacuum sealed bag. This stack will be measured and that way I can find out just how much volume would be saved in the freezer. The cost of the vacuum bags might just out weigh the space savings.

I can save the vacuum bags for the smoked fish that has to go in the freezer.


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## MUSHY1

alex-v said:


> The cost of the vacuum bags might just out weigh the space savings.
> 
> I can save the vacuum bags for the smoked fish that has to go in the freezer.


Thats excactly what i do, I use my Vacuum sealer for Finish Product only.....Jerky, smoked fish, Homemade Keilbasa, etc. And just line my basement with Freezers....:lol::lol: I just bought an Up-right at an Estate sale, for 20.00. Thats half the cost of the 6 rolls of Vacuum bags bought at Costco for 40.00........I have 2 mini chest freezers, and 1 up-right now, + 2 refrigerator-Freezers.......I stock alot of Meat......

Mushy


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## alex-v

MUSHY1 said:


> .......I have 2 mini chest freezers, and 1 up-right now, + 2 refrigerator-Freezers.....


When I find the upright freezer then we will be tied. One fridge/freezer for the worms and beer & pop and jars of pickles and the other for the food stuff.

Each freezer is on a separate circuit in case one goes out during the day while I am at work. They won't thaw out in 36 hours but this way I just feel safer.


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## Oldgrandman

I had em good up to 10 months in water. Never really get the chance to go a year and only freeze walleye for myself, and always in water now. If the thin part of the filets are near a thin part of the ice a little browning has had to be trimmed on a bag or two.


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