Offshore Insulated Fish Bags for Lopes

[Jsunkler]

So I am handling the logistics for my group of guys to head out to Wyoming to hunt antelope in 2020. We all fish offshore and the question came up in one of our group chats "Think we could use our offshore fish bags (used for giant bluefin tuna, mako sharks, marlin, etc) with ice for a gutted out antelope to keep them cool/cold and keep hunting til the end of the morning or afternoon and then either heading to the processor or breaking them down ourselves"

Has anyone ever done this or heard of it? We are not trophy hunters so the meat is our utmost concern. Also is this practice even needed for a rifle season in WY?

 

[silverbullet555]

I assume the bags are essentially insulated soft side coolers, albeit lightly insulated?

When I hunted them in 2017 I just had coolers in the back of the truck with ice in them. As we filled tags they went into the coolers.

The issue you could have is them sitting in water which wouldn't be ideal. Solve for that and I don't foresee an issue.

If my assumption about the bags is wrong then my advice might be wrong too.

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[bwhntMT]

I think you are smart to be thinking about how to get them cooled down quickly. What you are proposing could work, but seems overly complicated to me. I've had better luck just boning out the meat or quartering the antelope and getting it cooled asap. If it is hot then this usually means getting it back to a cooler and on ice. However, more than once it has been reasonably cool with a good breeze. In which case we have hung the quarters in a shady spot with the breeze and kept hunting. No issues at all with that meat and it cooled nicely.

I don't mess with gutting or the whole carcass on my antelope hunts.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I don't mess with gutting or the whole carcass on my antelope hunts.

This. Get them skinned and broke down and on ice right off and you have solid table fare.

Folks that say antelope taste bad are likely the ones driving around all afternoon with a whole carcass in their truck in the sun.

 

[Rich M]

I like how you think! Thanks for that.

I'm planning a mule deer/elk trip and have an offshore bag - think it is gonna join me. Sure takes up less room than a 3rd 150 qt cooler that we may or may not need.

 

[Oregon]

Offshore bags work great. Absolutely no different than a normal soft side cooler. Except bigger.

 

[hiway_99]

I would attach a hose to the drain so it's not draining bloody water in the back of your truck. But other then that I see no problem using them.

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