Quote Originally Posted by wolverine View Post
Sorry if this sounds sarcastic but .... geez. How long would you leave a deer before you dress it? Same goes for the trout. Get it done asap. This is some of the finest food you will be blessed with putting on your table. Cleaning your fish and game is all part of fishing and hunting and it is the "work" part of it that some find unpleasant. How many times do you hear someone complaining about how their venison or fish or whatever came out tasting like and many times when you ask the question about how it was field prepped you get the true answer for the crappy taste. Anyone that leaves the guts in a fish and then complains about the taste later is only getting what they deserve. So, in answer to your question.... as soon as possible!
Took the words right out of my mouth. X2 big time. The sooner you cool that fish down after bleeding it out and gutting it the better table fair it will be period.