I went fishing with work and we caught our limit of red snapper. The guide cleaned it all and we took some to get cooked at a local restaurant…after dinner the rest of the guys say they don't plan to take their portions

The filets are bagged and packaged in a cooler on dry ice.
1. I'm taking mine no matter what, should I check it or just check my suitcase and take it as a carry on. I like the idea of keeping it with me
2. Can I keep theirs?
3. I have their names and license numbers proving it was caught by legal fisherman

TIA

I bought a cheap cooler at Walmart and flew back a cooler full of fish from an offshore trip out of Myrtle beach. Southwest treated it like any other checked bag. I just froze it all solid and duct taped it closed. It was still 99% frozen when I got back to Houston.

I don't think you can put dry ice on an airplane.

Freeze it - check the cooler. I've done it several times as well. Cheap coolers from walmart

Brought some salmon back from west coast last summer. The town we were in had a packer and they parcelled it out how i wanted it, froze, packed in styrofoam liner with dry ice, inside a cardboard box, taped up tight. I checked it inside my large suitcase on the plane, got delayed twelve hours, and it was still frozen when i made it home.

Absolutely you can have dry ice on a plane. It's how I get fresh deer meat and blue bell from Texas to California.

Just can't be an airtight container. My dad had to put a piece of paper in the opening once, but they didn't mind the taped up Styrofoam.

Yep. On our way back from Alaska I had frozen salmon and halibut filets + a Sitka deer in a big 90qt cooler I checked. No ice was allowed and I opted for not putting dry ice in the cooler because everything was frozen solid.

I recommend checking the airline policy. I also know some folks that have packed an RTIC/yeti backpack cooler as a carry on and had frozen fish in there. So it sounds like that's an option too

I carried on a backpack cooler full of frozen filets from Cabo to Houston with no problems. If it is a lot of fish, it would probably easier to check a larger cooler.

You're allowed up to 2 lbs of dry ice per container, i think.

It is allowed and worth jt.

I've done both. Check and carry on. Both are no problem

Brought a box of lobsters packed in dry ice as a carry on from Maine to Austin. Used the box as a pillow after getting stuck in Atlanta overnight. Got home the next day and promptly chased the kids around the house with live lobsters. No issues taking dry ice on a plane through security.

Update. That was a little more annoying than necessary.

United first said no I couldn't. Then no I couldn't have dry ice. I said your website disagrees so they looked it up and asked how much I had, I said maybe a pound. At that point I was told if I check it it's $150 fee or I can carry on and I just have to untape the seams so it's ventilated.

Get to security and he proceeds to pull it for inspection and removes all the tape anyways to swab the bags and inside the cooler…I'm a thinker though and had the roll of tape in my bag to reseal 3 sides and still allow "ventilation"

Bump. Anyone have suggestions for what size cooler to bring for offshore Cabo fishing? I'd rather purchase a rtic backpack cooler than drive around Cabo buying coolers.

https://support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/article/Can-I-travel-with-seafood-or-other-frozen-perishable-food-items

https://support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/article/How-big-can-my-checked-baggage-be
(under 50lbs and L + W +H can't exceed 62 inches.)

Here's what you need to know. My sales guys have to take frozen samples for presentations. It can get very expensive, very quickly if you don't abide by their frozen / perishable food guidelines and oversized bag limitations. It's like $150 - $250 a cooler if it isn't under the requirements.

Basically there are styrofoam coolers designed to fit snugly inside cardboard boxes just under the 62" rule. That's what they take. They get their early enough to check like regular checked luggage. If it doesn't come off the baggage carousel with the rest of the bags from the flight, check oversized where the golf clubs are. If not there, immediately talk to the baggage customer service and have them check if they are taking them to air cargo by accident.

I usually eat all the fish there with the cook your catch at restaurants but last time I had 25 lbs of dorado that we didn't eat.
I froze it solid in zip locks and got a cheap cooler bag at the wal mart ($20).
Wrapped the frozen fish in extra garbage bags and then in the cooler bag. I took it as a carry on. Obviously no ice is allowed.
They had several hard coolers at wal mart too. About $90 for those

Don't do it however someone did on my flight from Denver to Calgary a month or so ago. Soaked one of my checked bags with fishy water...

You can freeze it solid and put it in plastic bags in your pockets I'm pretty sure. If you're traveling with your wife and kids you can make them all do the same thing. Our family enjoys trying to sneak things into places. As long as it stays cold and they dont catch you you're probably okay, but maybe don't eat it if it gets real melty on your journey.

Old thread but having this predicament now

Caught a bunch of salmon and grab north of Seattle that we won't be able to finish before heading back.

Can I freeze it and carry it on? All I have is a cardboard "cooler" from the gas station. Seems like I could get some dry ice and just carry the cooler on?

I do have a layover in Vegas before back to Texas so a little concerned it'll thaw out before then.

I'm trying to find a service near Seattle that'll ship it but not having luck

I've flown from AK many times checking fish boxes; never had an issue.

No clue where you get these down here.

https://alaskabutcherequip.com/products/single-wet-lock-fish-box-50lb-capacity

Barring those, the soft yetis 30 hold close to 50# and can fit in the overhead. Just make sure to put them in there yourself and not the flight attendant.

These are great to take for trips as they weigh nothing until you fill and freeze them.

https://a.co/d/dPx79HM

Thanks

I've been trying to find a box like that in the Seattle area but no luck so far

At the moment I'm thinking I'll freeze what we can't eat and put it in the cardboard igloo cooler with some dry ice for carry on

This is what I've got

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Seems like this would be fine

https://support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/article/Can-I-travel-with-seafood-or-other-frozen-perishable-food-items