Packing out salmon?

S
SmallStreams
0
For those that hike in to their favorite salmon holes, how do you pack out the fish? I've tried the giant carabiner clipped through one gill, but eventually it slips and the jaw breaks at the chin after about 3/4 mile.

Tail carry is tiresome and prone to slippage and difficult if you've got two salmon.

Strapping a carcass on my back would be a wife repellent as soon as fish juice leaks onto the clothing, so I think that method is not an option for me...

So I'm thinking of using the carabiner with a short chain looped under both gill plates?
 
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the Silver Hoard kill bag from Cabela's looks like a good large option if it can be folded up, it does come with a fairly high price...

on our kayaks, we use the Trader Joe's thermal shopping bags as kill bags. the red one (flat, 20" diagonal, $5.99?) is perfect for trout/kokanee outings; the blue one (5" thick, 25" diagonal, $7.99?) we use for coho and with a little flexing a 30" coho will fit, any longer and you just let the tail hang out and zip closed around it.
 
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Put the fish in a tall kitchen garbage bag and put that in the large backpack you find at a thrift store for less than $10.00. No stink and no leakage = happy wife. :D
 
I've found that actually putting thought into packing out fish and planning for it is a guaranteed skunk, so I always worry about it after the fact, often with comical results.
 
DrTheopolis said:
I've found that actually putting thought into packing out fish and planning for it is a guaranteed skunk, so I always worry about it after the fact, often with comical results.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm wondering what effect asking the question will have on the remainder of the season, LOL!
 
I don't even like having a net within eye sight much less in my possesion.
 
You can use a back pack frame like you would for hunting or hiking, I picked a few up for cheap at garage sales. line them with heavy duty black garbage bags. I have personally packed out 45#s of chinook while crossing the river and hiking out more than a mile. My second choice would be a stick about five feet in length and heavy enough not to break under weight of fish, tie fish to end of stick with stringer or rope and put stick over you shoulder. I usually chose this method when fishing for ho's or steel or I just don't feel like taking the pack with me. to keep the fish from tearing of stringer make sure you do not remove gills and put rope through both sides of gills through mouth. hope this helps out and good luck.
 
If you have an old folding chair bag they work also. Carry one most of the time.
 
I have used a large internal frame backpack to carry salmon back to the rig but now I use a rafting dry bag to put my fish in. It is very heavy duty, leak proof, imposssible for a salmon to tear through, and it has shoulder straps for carrying a load. They come in various sizes, mine will hold three 20# chinook which is as much weight as I want to carry very far. And yes I always carry it with me, rolled up in the bottom of my backpack. Color me overconfident but when I go fishing I plan on catching fish. If this angers the fish gods then so be it. This is used primarily for chinook, if hiking in for steelhead those fish are generally wild and are released, so no pack out system is needed.

I really like the folding chair bag idea! They aren't big enough for a really large salmon but would take up much less room in the backpack. There are some situations where it might be ideal. I think I would still carry a couple contractor-type garbage bags for extra insurance against leakage.
 
I use a grundens dry bag backpack, sealine also makes several.. Put your fish in a hefty bag and store them in the pack with your gear. But i will say that the finest merit of catch and release is once you keep a fish.... The fun becomes work-
 
I keep about 3 ft of rope in the back pocket of my fishing vest and have tied a loop on one end, for a handle. Since I wear waders, I just sling any fish that I catch, over my shoulder and don't worry about the fish slime getting on me.
 
I have the same katchkooler but it would be awkward to take on a trail as it's too bulky. It's great for the car and reduces a lot of space when compared to a cooler. I used to have an old mesh potato sack that was perfect but the wife threw it away thinking it was garbage. I have just been using the big caribiner with a neoprene handle and have a pole holder instead on my backpack. I want to find a potato sack like I used to have but no luck so far.
 
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