How long can a freshly caught fish sit out before you cook it?

As a lifelong fisherman and lover of fresh fish, I will give you the facts on this one: If it sits out of the water for 20 full minutes before it is cleaned and put in the frying pan - you will taste the difference. If it sits out of the water for an hour before it is cleaned and popped into the frying pan - you will really taste the difference - it will taste like old gym socks. Nothing is more delicious than fresh caught, fresh cleaned, fresh cooked fish. Nothing is worse than fish that is more than even 30 minutes out of the water before it is cooked. Commercially, flash freezing gets around that problem, of course.