airplanes and fish

[skeeter@ccia.com]

I am heading to california early may for the tuna run..now my question is how would I get them home if I should happen to luck out?... I am flying out and back..now do I pack it in a cooler?..box?..ice?..dry ice?...any help out there?...I live in western Pa so it will be a few hrs on the plane...thanks if ya have info for us...

[Steverino]

Skeeter,


I would strongly suggest contacting your specific airline and talk with someone concerning their poilicies governing the transportation of fish& ice in a cooler, etc. I would also print a copy of the policy, if one is provided on the airline website, and bring it with you along with the name of the individual that you spoke with (managers, of course, preferred)

I never used to have a problem years back prior to 9/11 but since, have had occassion to have fish on ice in a cooler confiscated right at the terminal Another option, though much more costly but less worrysome is to have the fish shipped home in dry ice. Good luck!

[fabsroman]

Skeeter,

Next time, think about driving down to North Carolina or Ocean City, Maryland for tuna fishing and you will not have this problem.

That is one thing I worry about with going a far ways to hunt. For instance, hunting pheasants in South Dakota for a week could cause a serious problem with bag limits/possession limits. If I killed my limit every day for a week, how would I get those birds home without actually being in violation of the law?

Good luck with the tuna trip and let me know how everything turns out. What type of tuna (e.g., yellowfin, bluefin, bigeye, albacore) will you guys be aiming for?

[Andy L]

Put them in a heavy styrofoam cooler with dry ice and send them home Fed Ex or UPS. Shouldnt be a problem....

Andy

[skeeter@ccia.com]

Thanks guys...I guess yellowfin, yellowtail, and bluefin from what I understand....I will leave that up to what bites my line..lol...anyhow I also found out there are places that will clean and ship your fish home for you..at a cost I imagine but that I will see too...maybe next time I will check out the east coast tuna..any of you taken the east coat tuna trips?...How did it work out?..Would be interesting to hear....will post the results when get back..
.till then, I will just enjoy my days at the local sportsmens club...gettin the place ready for april 1st opening of camp and opening day of trout..we do stock heavy with fish and sizes average 18 to 23"....we use to tag the fish with prizes but this year that won't happen..prizes went from free gas, dinners, even charter fishing trips to Lake Erie and tons of other nice prizes.....The place sure keeps ya busy..being on the board there and with all the work that needs done, I spend most of my time there..with the big flood while back and everything under water sure was a mess..everything in the garage and the bran new cubhouse was underwater. The 2 big farm tractors, few smaller tractors, weedwhackers, pushmowers and everything else is all back in working shape and what a job that was since didn't have much time as the water pushed all the oil from everything like transmissions, motor,rears etc etc even when take out sparkplugs water gushed out the holes....lol..everything with a battery that was connected had to be rewired because the effect of the electric and underwater just made every connection fall apart...oh well I guess we all need a hobby...I just think it's funny that out of 600 members, only 2 of us weren't alergic to the wrenches and if you start up a mower, within 1/2 an hour you can have the whole place to yourself..lol..oh and most of the time other than the opening week of trout you never see most of the 600...I also feel bad for all those down south and the big floods they had.I didn't loose my home (just my camper and fixins) as most of them did but for those that stuck it out in the area, I know what had to be done....time to get some sleep now..getting picked up early and doing nothing for a change..just going fishing...even a nice shore lunch is the order of the day....fresh fish on the fire...can you smell it?

[TreeDoc]

skeeter,
Feed me some info. Where are you launching from? I am "assuming" San Diego, H&M Landing, Fisherman's Landing, Point Loma?? What boat are you on? How many days?

I just booked 3 trips for the season on the TopGun 80, a new boat out of H&M Landing. Doing a 1.5 day, 2.5 day, and a 3.5 day. Early May will put you into early season Albacore (Long Fin Tuna), some Bluefin potential, Yellowtail on the kelp patties, and possibly Yellow Fin depending on how long your trip is. Time out delegates which fishing grounds you will get to. 1 -3 day will usually get you to the Outer Banks which is good LFT, BFT, and sometimes YFT water. 3+ days gets you to the Guadalupe Island and surrounding waters. Far more like to see the big YFT Cows.

You'll likely have the opportunity to have your catch processed and fileted for a nominal fee on the boat. If you guys get into the Cows then the story changes. There's a place called Antonios near the landings. The boats will stop there and you have the option to have your fish processed there. They have an exchange where you can give them your fish and in turn, they will give you canned fish and charge you. Personally I think its a rip off and would never do it but that might be an option for you since you're traveling so far. They or the landing can probably arrange to have your catch prepped and shipped as well. I'd call the landing or the boat and check in with the skipper, they do this day in day out down there.

Again, I'd love to hear what your plans are. To bad I won't be down there till late June.

[skeeter@ccia.com]

Doc, now that would be wild if we were on the same charter. I will get back to ya with all the details soon..and thanks for all the info. Sounds like the man that knows about how we should go about having a good time there with success. Soon.

[skeeter@ccia.com]

Doc, I guess we have a change of plans as far as the dates go..seems June is going to be the dates and the man setting this up has heard good things about what was said in your post...I am letting it all up to him to decide...but we will get there for sure..tks.

[TreeDoc]

skeeter, I gave you bum info, I wrote "Antonios" and it should have been "Anthony's" but anyone would have known what you were talking about. All the landings go through there for fish processing. I think that's your best bet rather than trying an Ice Chest.

Hey, I'll be down there June 25-27 on my first trip (1.5 day run). I think you're better off to go in June anyway because the Albacore are far more likely to be "up" that time of the year. My personal feelings are that everything is delayed a bit this year due to weird weather issues.

[TreeDoc]

skeeter,
Just an FYI, Anthony's Fish Grotto will filet and vacuum seal your Tuna for .50 cents a pound (whole weight). Usually the yield is about 40% of whole weight.

Perhaps with their services, some dry ice, and a visit to the FedEx man, you can have some fresh Tuna waiting for you when you get home!

I'm getting all excited about the season already. A couple new rods getting wrapped now, a few new Avets in the inventory, plus a myriad of other expensive crap I have bought over the last few weeks, I think I'm about ready!

I'm headed up to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2 weeks to pick up a near new 24' Boston Whaler Conquest that's totally outfitted for offshore running and Tuna. It'll be parked in my driveway, outfitted and fueled for when the Albacore and Bluefin make it up to our coastal waters usually mid to late season. In the meantime, the San Diego trips will have to suffice for my Tuna fix!