Bringing back some tuna from Cabo?

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

A friend is headed to Cabo and wondered how you would bring back some fish?

[tcorfey]

Years ago when I used to go down there we would stay at the Finisterra (Sandos Finisterra). They had a big walk-in freezer where we would put our cooler. As we caught fish we packaged it up in freezer bags and put the fish in the cooler to be frozen. When it came time to leave we closed the cooler and took it on the plane as checked baggage. Not sure if you can do that anymore...

[DLJeff]

In his stomach. Take only what you can eat that evening. "Meat fishing" should be banned.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I know but my friend want to just bring back a small amount......I understand.

In the 1980s I took a group of old timers to Christmas Island and they all showed up with coolers.

That was the last trip that people brought coolers on.

[Darian]

I've only seen a few fly guys bring fish back from La Paz. My partner and I don't bring fish home but do take a few to have the hotel prepare for dinner. Our hotel has a freezer and will pack/freeze the fish. Coolers have been stocked with dry ice and taped closed for transport. Even if I wanted to bring any fish home, I'm not sure how sturdy those coolers are since they're subject to rough handling. But, I've sure seen a lot of people checking their coolers at the airport....

[tcorfey]

I see nothing wrong with a guy or gal going on a fishing trip and bringing back a small cooler of frozen fish to share with his/her family while they recount the tale of their fishing exploits. I mean you catch a 90lb tuna and you want to bring home five or six pounds maybe ten pounds to share with the family back home, I do not have a problem with that. I am a big guy but, I could not eat that whole 90lb fish in a sitting... So you freeze a few pounds for the folks back home, you give some to the locals, you bring some in to a local restaurant to eat that night. It's all good...

[Tony Buzolich]

Have the hotel or lodge freeze your catch EARLY in the trip and give it time to harden before coming home. On our last trip to La Paz we fished with Baja Pirates and had a great trip. But, on the last day of fishing my wife and I got into a bunch of nice yellowfin. The guide was more than happy to keep every one saying that they had a "Flash Freezer" and they would bag and freeze our catch before leaving in the morning. In the morning the fish arrive at the hotel but was still soft and NOT totally frozen.

Needless to say it was even softer when we got home and were forced to give most of our treasured catch away to friends and family for immediate consumption.

So, if you insist on bringing some fish back, keep some early in the trip and let it harden up well in the freezer before putting it in the ice chest to come home.
Tony

[willies99]

Frozen tuna/fish is frozen tuna, which you can buy, in very nice shape, at Trader Joe's and other local stores. If bringing fish home, I have found that keeping one fish on the last afternoon of fishing is the best way to go. That way it is fresh and not sitting in the hot boat all day (ruins the fish). Then have the hotel/fish cleaner just vacuum pack it fresh and not freeze it. Bring a very small ice chest and put the fish and as much ice as possible into the chest. Seal it and check it in for the flight home. That way you can eat some fresh, good quality, fish when you get home, and still have a little to freeze at home. Is it worth the trouble? Not for me.

Dan

[Carl Blackledge]

A friend is headed to Cabo and wondered how you would bring back some fish?

Guys,

Just keep in mind that "dry ice" is banned on any airplane.

If you want to bring home frozen fish just make sure it's rock hard and don't seal your container until the air port inspectors look inside, then you can seal it with tape. I have been in Mexico airports and watched the fisherman and the inspectors almost come to blows, when the inspectors cut open the sealed coolers and throw out the dry ice. I personally think ALL coolers should be banned. My 2 cents

Carl Blackledge

[mems]

I think the days of bringing coolers of fish home from Mexico or Alaska or CI or anywhere else are just about over. Personally I don't like frozen tuna. I know they sell tuna preserved in carbon monoxide and it stays bright pink, but the fish ends up being mushy and doesn't have the same flavor or texture as fresh ahi. Mahi, pargo, pompano, ono all freeze well. The first time I went to mexico I did bring home a small cooler of the white fleshed fish like mahi and pargo and cooked some up in California for my daughter and my brother in law. I don't need to brig any back to Hawaii, because we eat fresh fish all the time. Smoked fish is easier to transport and is really good. I love smoked mahi. Too bad they don't smoke some fish in mexico and ship it home like they do in Alaska. Bill I would tell him to freeze the white fish and use a frozen gel pack to keep it cold. Just pack a small cooler, but he will pay extra for it. Just my advice, Don.

[Baja Fly Fisher]

I have seen hundreds of pounds of fish leave La Paz. My friend Jonathan Roldan who owns Tailhunter International and has a restaurant in La Paz called the TailHunter vacuum packs fish for his clients, then labels and takes it to the La Concha freezer for his clients. It's frozen solid by the time they leave. Vacuum packing is the only way to keep fish.
Now, you are not allowed to pack ANY ice or dry ice in the coolers, against airline regs. Most airlines carry cargo and if the coolers leak and get the cargo wet, they are responsible for that. The best thing to do is wrap your frozen fish in newspaper. This is one of the best insulations you can find in Mexico. In the 26 years I've been going to Baja, I've only taken fish home one time and most of it I gave to my neighbors. I had 25lbs of fresh Mahi and the neighbors loved it.
But we kept and eat fresh fish almost every day, especially Wahoo... Love Poke and sashimi. We take drop it off at the Tailhunter and tell him that we will be back at 6:00pm for dinner. It's fantastic