Since its virtually impossible for me to catch and eat fresh halibut from Sept. till June I'll have to settle for the 150lbs. of flash frozen, vac-packed halibut I bring home from Ak. every summer. I have never had 1 complaint about it and IMO is still superior to any commercial caught, grocery store bought fish you'll find anywhere.

My fish are packed in 50 lbs. boxes that are styrofoam insulated, I leave the resort typically around noon and take 3 flights to get from P.O.W. Is to PDX, usually home and putting fish in the freezer by 8 pm. They have always been frozen solid when they hit my freezer.

To cut down on the juice released when thawing vacuum packed fish, cut a slit in the bag so that there isn't a vacuum present when the fish thaws.

Whenever I bring fish back from AK I use a good normal cooler, not the cardboard ones they sell up there.

When I get to town I always stop at Wal-Mart to stock up on what's needed for the trip and a good plastic cooler is a only a few bucks more than the shipping boxes. The cooler can also be used for the entire trip as ...well...a cooler, a couple of times I've bought the type with wheels, this is great for moving 50#s of fish (or beer) around. I use the cooler at home for the rest of the year, needless to say I have a good selection of coolers to choose from now. I don't bring back much King or sockeye, I don't like it that well after its been frozen, halibut seems to hold up much better. I don't bring back more than one 50# cooler of fillets either (halibut), I have enough fresh fish from around here, no need to pay to ship stuff home only to give it away or have it go bad.

My buddies have these ratty old fish shipping boxes that they try to save until the next trip, but typically they end up buying more the following year.

Just come up to Glacier Bear Lodge in Yakutat and we will do it all for you!
Clean, Fillet, Vacuum Pack and ship with you home or to wherever you want!

Your place is on the "to do list" , and as things get checked off its getting closer to the top.