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Old 07-06-2017, 01:03 PM   #1
Firewalker
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Flying fish w/southwest

I got a job in Colorado, moving at the end of July. I am driving but my wife and son are flying out. My question is what sort of cooler should I get to fly out a ton of fish. Been incredibly lucky this year spearing and gotten a few big wsb and a massive bluefin. Thanks to Matt at blue tuna spear fishing in Ventura and the Andre he hooked me up with.
I did a lot of research about wether or not to use dry ice/gel packs. Southwest allows both but I've came to the conclusion that is risky to use those because they can toss the whole cooler if they feel like.

The fish is frozen in a new chest freezer (thank you bluefin) so I'm just going to pack as much as I can into a cooler. And line it with insulation. What kind of cooler should I get/do you use, how do you pack it, and do you tape it shut?
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Old 07-06-2017, 02:51 PM   #2
Lompoc Local
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Re: Flying fish w/southwest

You don't need any insulation if the fish is frozen and vacuum sealed. Just pack your cooler to the max, tape it shut and check it in. I literally bought a $16 cooler from WalMart and it was perfect.

I did just that on a trip to Texas and my frozen Wahoo was in perfect condition when I got home after the flight.
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Old 07-06-2017, 02:51 PM   #3
SBHatter
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Re: Flying fish w/southwest

Can you take it with you on the drive? I have driven from Co to SB with a yeti cooler full of venison and had no problems. Its like 16-18 hrs yeah?
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Old 07-06-2017, 03:07 PM   #4
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Re: Flying fish w/southwest

I drove it straight through once before and it was terrible, took like 22hrs towing a trailer. This time I'm going to try and do it in 3 days, and a yeti is a bit too expensive for me now. I'm flying there Saturday to sign official papers and get an apartment so I might try and fly some out then and store it at a buddies house. Going to go get a Walmart cooler, thanks man!
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Old 07-07-2017, 08:08 PM   #5
Bob Ballew
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Re: Flying fish w/southwest

I suggest a double layer of newspaper on top of the fish. This area starts to defrost first. Worked great on Alaska halibut I shipped home via Alaska Airline.
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Old 07-07-2017, 10:13 PM   #6
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Re: Flying fish w/southwest

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Ballew View Post
I suggest a double layer of newspaper on top of the fish. This area starts to defrost first. Worked great on Alaska halibut I shipped home via Alaska Airline.
Awesome thank you! I did a trial run tonight and filled the cooler I got to the top and it weight 55lbs, southwest allows 50. I was wandering what to do about the top defrosting because I'm going to have some room. Do you think some cardboard would work?
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Old 07-07-2017, 10:45 PM   #7
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Re: Flying fish w/southwest

Dry ice! If you wanna get super cold add some alcohol. We use isopropyl+dry ice in the cold finger of the rotovap in the lab, gets down to -73c

This may be excessive, but dry ice will last and keep it cold. We ordered gelato from Italy for a wedding and they just shipped it in a styrofoam cooler w/ dry ice and it was rock solid when it arrived.
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Old 07-09-2017, 01:50 AM   #8
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Re: Flying fish w/southwest

Air is your enemy. Fill voids with towels or styrofoam. Frozen fish will make the flight and drive no problem. Tape the seals. Fill the bung plug. You'll be fine.
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Old 07-09-2017, 12:20 PM   #9
Firewalker
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Re: Flying fish w/southwest

Made it to Colorado. They let 55lbs slide. Dropped it off at my buddies chest freezer right after I landed.
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