The wife and I are thinking about doing some fishing on our next trip to Alaska. Looking at maybe Ninilchik, Homer or Seward depending on where we decide to end up. I've seen folks at the airport picking up boxes of fish but have no idea of the process or rough cost of doing so. We'll be using O'Hare in Chicago to fly to Anchorage and back. Any help? Thanks!
Flying with Alaska fish
- Thread starter Dave N
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Kaitum
Well-known member
Depending on where you fish out of, there will be a fish processor at the dock. J Dock Co in Seward is who I'm familiar with. The processor will clean, vacuum seal, flash freeze, and box your catch. Many charter boats work in conjunction with a fish processing place. I think you're probably looking at 24 hrs from the time you drop off your fish until your boxes are ready for pick up depending on how busy they are. Some of the major airlines at the Anchorage Airport have freezer space where you can drop off your fish a day or so before your flight and then pick up the boxes before you check in to fly home. No idea on costs. Google J Dock Fish Co in Seward, I think they'll have their costs listed to give you an idea.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Alaska is a very friendly place for fisherman & hunters. I have done the same trip u r doing. It was wonderful, I want to go back. Dont worry about the fish thing at all. To save a little money, we processed our own fish, packaged them & put them in the coolers that they would fly in. You can take your coolers to a fish locker & pay a mininal charge for them to store your coolers in the freezer until your departure. It was like $8 per day, although that was 10 yrs ago. Or if u dont want to mess w cleaning fish at all on your trip, the charter captains will refer u to a processing plant where they will take care of everything. But of course this will cost more. Alot of the charters will clean the fish for you. Just bring the coolers, bags & duct tape to seal the coolers. Enjoy your trip, its wonderful up there.
Kaitum
Well-known member
If you want to go the route of processing your own fish but still need a freezer prior to the flight home, 10th & M Seafoods in East Anchorage rents freezer space.
MKotur325
New member
Dave,
I spent a summer working out of Homer on a Charter Halibut boat. We worked with a pretty major commercial and charter processor up there. We brought all our fish in as fillets. They could have fish from fillets to flash frozen packaged in 49.5 lb boxes within 8hrs. I would recommend, fly with your fish and UPS your luggage home. The way these guys packed the fish... The boxes were heavy duity waxed cardboard with a form fitted Styrofoam cooler inside the box. They are packed with ice packs to 49.5lbs for flying, and will stay frozen for approx. 30hrs. If you want to check them out, here is a link to their website. http://welovefish.com/seafood-processing.htm
Best of Luck and Tight Lines!
I spent a summer working out of Homer on a Charter Halibut boat. We worked with a pretty major commercial and charter processor up there. We brought all our fish in as fillets. They could have fish from fillets to flash frozen packaged in 49.5 lb boxes within 8hrs. I would recommend, fly with your fish and UPS your luggage home. The way these guys packed the fish... The boxes were heavy duity waxed cardboard with a form fitted Styrofoam cooler inside the box. They are packed with ice packs to 49.5lbs for flying, and will stay frozen for approx. 30hrs. If you want to check them out, here is a link to their website. http://welovefish.com/seafood-processing.htm
Best of Luck and Tight Lines!
Kaitum
Well-known member
Yep.
MKotur325
New member
Yeah. Fly with the fish and your carry on's and ground UPS your luggage back.
You can next day air the fish home if you really want... but that can be kinda pricey... When I was up there I next day air'd a 20lb box of king legs back to Montana i want to say it was about $130-150ish in 2004...
You can next day air the fish home if you really want... but that can be kinda pricey... When I was up there I next day air'd a 20lb box of king legs back to Montana i want to say it was about $130-150ish in 2004...
Bambistew
Well-known member
Lots of options for fish processors on the Kenai. There are 3-4 in Soldotna. Most are pretty reasonable as well, and will rush orders if needed. There are hundreds of thousands of pounds of salmon that need processing in the summer. As long as you don't show up mid/late July and expect them to turn it around in a few hours you should be good to go with any of them. Most charge $1/lb to pack/freeze.
Yes a box of fish is considered luggage when you fly. I would recommend just paying the extra to bring your luggage on the plane, UPS or USPS is crazy expensive to ship anything to/from up here anymore. It will be cheaper to pay for it on the plane.
I ship fish to friends and family all the time, and they take it home with them if they visit (roughly $5lb to overnight). I get one of the fish boxes as mentioned above, they have them at about every grocery store/chain store/sporting goods store. They're about $8-10. The small one holds 25lbs the big ones hold about 50-55lbs depending on how the fish is packed. I don't worry about gel packs or anything else. If the fish is frozen, and the insulated cooler is tapped up, it will stay frozen for at least 2 days, and stay "fresh" for another 2 after that... yeah "next day" shipping sometimes takes 2-3 or 4 days from Alaska to some places down south.
I presume you want to fish off shore, as you mentioned the most likely halibut ports. The halibut regs changed this year, keep that in mind as you chose your charter... i.e. chose a charter that targets more than halibut, unless you want to spend 2x more per pound of fish than you can buy it for at the store... You'll be lucky to end up with 20lbs of halibut off a charter, it sells for $10 or less a pound in the store, in season. Charters start at $250 and up PP...
Personally, I would go out of Seward, or Homer and go late July or early August. You can target salmon, rock fish, ling cod, and halibut, and end up with 40-50+bs of fish per person if you get a bit lucky. Big halibut are far and few between these days, and if the charter is selling you a trip stating they catch 40-60lbers on a regular basis, ask for pictures to prove it, with dates... 99% of the time they take a picture at the end of the day. Odds are they might kill one 40-60lber per day per boat, and the rest are 15-25lbs. One fish out of 12 isn't "all the time" in my book.
Good luck on your trip. I have the fishing fever! That time of the year I guess. No charter here... just a bunch of fools with nothing better to do for a long weekend.
Yes a box of fish is considered luggage when you fly. I would recommend just paying the extra to bring your luggage on the plane, UPS or USPS is crazy expensive to ship anything to/from up here anymore. It will be cheaper to pay for it on the plane.
I ship fish to friends and family all the time, and they take it home with them if they visit (roughly $5lb to overnight). I get one of the fish boxes as mentioned above, they have them at about every grocery store/chain store/sporting goods store. They're about $8-10. The small one holds 25lbs the big ones hold about 50-55lbs depending on how the fish is packed. I don't worry about gel packs or anything else. If the fish is frozen, and the insulated cooler is tapped up, it will stay frozen for at least 2 days, and stay "fresh" for another 2 after that... yeah "next day" shipping sometimes takes 2-3 or 4 days from Alaska to some places down south.
I presume you want to fish off shore, as you mentioned the most likely halibut ports. The halibut regs changed this year, keep that in mind as you chose your charter... i.e. chose a charter that targets more than halibut, unless you want to spend 2x more per pound of fish than you can buy it for at the store... You'll be lucky to end up with 20lbs of halibut off a charter, it sells for $10 or less a pound in the store, in season. Charters start at $250 and up PP...
Personally, I would go out of Seward, or Homer and go late July or early August. You can target salmon, rock fish, ling cod, and halibut, and end up with 40-50+bs of fish per person if you get a bit lucky. Big halibut are far and few between these days, and if the charter is selling you a trip stating they catch 40-60lbers on a regular basis, ask for pictures to prove it, with dates... 99% of the time they take a picture at the end of the day. Odds are they might kill one 40-60lber per day per boat, and the rest are 15-25lbs. One fish out of 12 isn't "all the time" in my book.
Good luck on your trip. I have the fishing fever! That time of the year I guess. No charter here... just a bunch of fools with nothing better to do for a long weekend.
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Thanks for the info. Won't be going until next year, we just got back a week ago from the last trip. Bambistew, went past you almost every day! Just gathering intel for what we have in mind for our next trip. It will have to be a charter, don't have any connections to go any other way. My wife has a shoulder and hand issue that might keep her from hanging on to a rod and reeling in anything with size, so I'm not sure how that will work out. Hate to have to buy a rig that she had fly overboard if she couldn't hang on! We'll see what happens in our planning and go from there. Looks like there are more than a few places to seal and freeze our catch.
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
MKotur325
New member
Personally, I would go out of Seward, or Homer and go late July or early August. You can target salmon, rock fish, ling cod, and halibut, and end up with 40-50+bs of fish per person if you get a bit lucky. Big halibut are far and few between these days, and if the charter is selling you a trip stating they catch 40-60lbers on a regular basis, ask for pictures to prove it, with dates... 99% of the time they take a picture at the end of the day. Odds are they might kill one 40-60lber per day per boat, and the rest are 15-25lbs. One fish out of 12 isn't "all the time" in my book.
Truth! There was a Huge difference in size of Fish in boat on Day trips vs the 3-4 day trips we usually went on. On Day trips, our average fish was 20ish lbs with the occasional 40-50lber. That summer, we did not boat a halibut on a day trip over 60lbs. Generally with day trips, the captains are more concerned with putting fish on the boat than putting big fish on the boat. But it depends on the boat, the captain, and the headcount...
The 3 day trips were another story...
MKotur325
New member
I'd recommend being clear with the captain about what you expect. If you are happy catching less fish, but having the potential for a bit bigger fish. Tell him that before you book!! If you want to catch a limit of good sized fish, but something like 20-35lbs let him know! Also see if you can target multiple species. Salmon and Halibut...
You will have a BLAST!!! My first two Halibut trips were day trips. Had a ton of fun!
You will have a BLAST!!! My first two Halibut trips were day trips. Had a ton of fun!
Bambistew
Well-known member
https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/halibut/charter/iphcfactsheet2014.pdf
New halibut charter regs for 2014.
New halibut charter regs for 2014.
sweetnectar
New member
I saw halibut around $32 a pound at costco last time I was there. I'd ship as much of it as you can.
