Insulated Fish Bag vs esky and boat contents review

[Cobbo1]

Just on these insulated catch bags - I wouldn't mind one to use at the cleaning table to reduce the need to lift out the bulky 158lt Mackerel box ..... a total pain in the back - specially if full of ice / fish .... or just on my own

I was thinking that a catch bag might be good to use ...... transfer the fish to the bag- take to the cleaning table - clean the fish . The fish can stay in the catch bag for the trip home or to where I'm staying . It's also probably good to keep the fish cold rather than sitting on the cleaning table .

So which ones are worth considering - how big ?

Madfish seem to get great reviews - but are also expensive & limited in sizes .
Chiller are another well regarded bag with a big range - still pretty expensive though .

Then there are a raft of others ........ which are good & which are the ones to avoid ?

Interested on hearing your thoughts .

Just on the size of these things - for me it's likely to be used on snapper , jew & mackerel ...... so a 1-1.2m bag will probably suffice . That said can also see these bags as great dry storage if a overnighter is planned ..... a place to keep sleeping gear dry .

Chris

I’ve been thinking the exact same thing, I was just going to get a bcf bag

https://www.bcf.com.au/p/bcf-insulat...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

Assumably won’t be the same sort of quality as the ones you referred to, but for that job it will likely be fine

[NAGG]

I’ve been thinking the exact same thing, I was just going to get a bcf bag

https://www.bcf.com.au/p/bcf-insulat...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

Assumably won’t be the same sort of quality as the ones you referred to, but for that job it will likely be fine

I certainly wont be too interested in spending $300-$400 ......

There seem to be a lot of choices these days in that $150-$250 ..... & I reckon that's what you'll need to pay for a half decent (insulated ) bag with good zippers handles & straps .

When I looked at the BCF bag - I didn't think that it would last very long & even at half price I couldn't fork out the cash & buy one when I had the opportunity . Maybe I'm wrong & someone who owns one might have a differing opinion .

Chris

[ranmar850]

I bought a cheap Wilson one , once, to fit into the underdeck hold where the largest Madfish wouldn't. Didn't last half a year. Bough the new medium Madfish after that, haven't looked back.

Just a bit of real life feedback--did an overnighter, came in yesterday. Our weather has been 42-44 deg on land, with a hot dry Nor'easter each morning, going off to calm and hot. I wasn't far offshore, came into the mainland for a comfortable camp. I put 2 x 15kg bags of crushed into the hot bag first morning. The fish were a bit ordinary, at least ones I wanted to keep. ie, a 14kg longtail, returned, then a string of bloody estuary cod up to over a metre long. I kept a little 70cm one, then got a mackerel. Next day, the only keeper was a snapper, so there wans't a big load of fish. But the bag was still well over 60% ice, not a great deal of defrost water in it.

[NAGG]

I noticed that Salty Captain have a deal on where you get the boat wash , engine flush , dispenser + their 1.2m treasure chest insulated bag for $204 . ..... with a further 10% discount (new customer) I couldn't resist

Here is the deal if anyone is interested

http://saltycaptain.com.au/collectio...kTSs6j10n8gxXH

Chris

[Cobbo1]

I noticed that Salty Captain have a deal on where you get the boat wash , engine flush , dispenser + their 1.2m treasure chest insulated bag for $204 . ..... with a further 10% discount (new customer) I couldn't resist

Here is the deal if anyone is interested

http://saltycaptain.com.au/collectio...kTSs6j10n8gxXH

Chris

Be interested to hear what you think Chris, after your comments on the bcf bag you’ve got me thinking!

[NAGG]

Be interested to hear what you think Chris, after your comments on the bcf bag you’ve got me thinking!

I wanted to try the wash products for myself - then saw this deal .

I've never seen the bag for myself so it's a leap of faith ..... but in real terms it will cost me less than any bag out there ($75) if I take into consideration what the wash products would have cost me .

I'll certainly give my opinion once it arrives

Chris

[ranmar850]

Looks like a good deal. I have no experience with their salt-away type product, use Salt-Away myself. Had a quiet giggle at the "Power Musket"--this is the third different branding I have seen of an identical product--Sabco and A-salt are identical, interchangeable parts, and this one appears the same.

[NAGG]

Looks like a good deal. I have no experience with their salt-away type product, use Salt-Away myself. Had a quiet giggle at the "Power Musket"--this is the third different branding I have seen of an identical product--Sabco and A-salt are identical, interchangeable parts, and this one appears the same.

I saw these products in Anaconda - It cost $140 if yo bought the gun , wash & flush separately . $115 from Salty Captain (plus shipping) ..... so it was going to cost me $130-$140 for the wash products

I've asked a few people I know & they rate the stuff - some say better than Salt Away ... which really never impressed me on my unpainted boat .

Anyhoos - I saw this deal which cost me $183.60 (after 10% discount) incl shipping ..... so for $53.60 for the bag I wasn't going to wait for opinions considering the bag sells for $180 ( discounted from $200) ..... it costs double that for a cheap option .

So yeh , a good deal alright

I'm imagining that the bag might be pretty decent by the look of of it ..... time will tell

Chris

[NAGG]

Well the Salty Captain catch bag arrived - bloody big bugger. Salty Captain catch bag.jpg It certainly could hold a lot of fish & ice - I recon you could get 3 or 4 120cm mackerel in there easily.
I've got to say straight off - I like the fact that it is grey as it wont show up getting dirty like white does .

The PVC is typical of all the bags I've seen ..... insulation (10mm) feels like neoprene ( but I doubt it)

It looks pretty well made with wide sealing & reinforcing inside - ditto for the handles handles.jpg

It has a bung which also comes with a quickfit hose attachment - allowing the bag to be drained with a hose going to the bilge bung.jpg

The zipper looks pretty good too - It's good that the zip is not directly on top .... so the bag will be reasonably waterproof if you want to use the bag for storage . There is also a velcro tab to keep the zipper shut zip.jpg

For $200 its probably a fair price ....... As part of the package deal ($183.60)- it's insanely good value .

I reckon - jump on this one while it lasts

Chris

[disorderly]

I reckon - jump on this one while it lasts

Chris

Call me old fashioned but I think I'll stick to the esky, thanks anyway..

[NAGG]

Call me old fashioned but I think I'll stick to the esky, thanks anyway..

I didn't buy it to replace an esky ...... not after spending the big bucks on a 158lt Engel - this is a good supplement & for transferring the fish to the cleaning table ... much easier with something like this . also extra dry storage if required for an overnighter

Chris

[Mopheus]

I saw this on FB the other day and grabbed one - yet to arrive given current shipping delays to WA. Have been eyeing off the Chiller Midi 1.5m but couldn't pass up the package deal pricing, assuming quality is decent (as it seems to be). The 1.2m is probably the ideal size for fishing over here too.

I have 2x 70L Icey Teks - one for food and drinks; the other for ice and/or fish. The plan is that the fish bag stays stowed until something won't fit in the esky (only 695L internal), and I'll just transfer ice across at that point.

[NAGG]

I saw this on FB the other day and grabbed one - yet to arrive given current shipping delays to WA. Have been eyeing off the Chiller Midi 1.5m but couldn't pass up the package deal pricing, assuming quality is decent (as it seems to be). The 1.2m is probably the ideal size for fishing over here too.

I have 2x 70L Icey Teks - one for food and drinks; the other for ice and/or fish. The plan is that the fish bag stays stowed until something won't fit in the esky (only 695L internal), and I'll just transfer ice across at that point.

Well I dont think you'll be disappointed - very similar to the Chlller .
120cm seems to be a good size - certainly for what we might catch & keep (Kingfish , cobes . tuna , Mackerel & Jew )

Interested to hear your opinion once it arrives

Chris

[Mopheus]

Arrived today - quality looks good; couldn't find anything to complain about. It's a sizeable lump even when empty though so needs some thought as to stowage.

[NAGG]

Arrived today - quality looks good; couldn't find anything to complain about. It's a sizeable lump even when empty though so needs some thought as to stowage.

It is big isn't it ?
I knew is was big by the videos ......

When I did a comparison to a few other bags (that show their dimensions) - This bag is certainly deeper than pretty all of the 100-150cm long bags ( Mad fish , Icey Tek , Chiller 40cm Vs 50cm Salty Capt ) - it's also wider than most (30cm vs 25 .... Mad fish is 35cm).
It's volume is more akin (if not greater) to the 150cm bags .

so yes it's big .

I was hoping that I could use it inside the 158lt Engel that I have in front of the console .... nah too big - so it will have to be stored & used as originally intended (transferring fish for cleaning,... transporting )
I'm pretty lucky as it fits under my front hatch (cast deck) nicely though on top of stuff that is rarely used

Chris