Your best setup depends on your travel plans. The process most of my guests use is they take their catch to the local fish processing facility. There their catch is portioned to their liking, flash frozen (very important in preserving freshness), and stored until their departure. Their catch is packed into coolers (styrofoam, or Yeti will all work). The top couple layers are wrapped in newspaper, and this will keep their catch frozen for and easy 24hr-36hr drive, if the outer layer softens a bit, it’s still fine to go in the freezer. Do not pack frozen fish in ice, it will thaw quicker, This would be my recommendation, as fish not properly packaged can go rancid quite quickly. You don’t want to put all the expense into getting your catch, only to have it go bad. I see a lot of people bring a freezer, wrap their fish in Saran Wrap, when they get home they have to thaw it, portion it, and re freeze ir... if not done properly your catch won’t last long. I know it can cost a couple hunde dollars to have your catch professionally processed, but a year later you can eat a piece of salmon that tastes like it was caught last week. A one person possession limit of salmon, Ling, halibut,and rockfish, will usually fit in a 150 L cooler. Crab can be a bit bulky, but if a bit extra room is needed, a styrofoam cooler can be picked up for about $25...
Another thing to consider is transport regulations. When your fish is processed at a licensed facility, the fish can be cut up (portioned), and your receipt is all that’s required for transport. If you “Do it yourself “, you’ll be required to keep fish whole, and separate in order to have species, number of fish, and length verified.
Any questions or suggestions you may have about transport, or pending regulations/changes... feel free to dm me...
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