My experience isn't about fish boxes but rather coolers and keeping stuff cold. First thing I do is prep the coolers with gallon jugs of ice. That brings down the temp of all surfaces and insulation to as cold as possible so the ice doesn't have to do that. Fill them as full as possible the night before. Leave as many as feasible in the cooler/fish box to allow proper storage. Fill the remainder with ice.

For drinks, leave one gallon block of ice, add drinks, then fill with ice. Typically no issue with ice for a day or two.

 

I do pretty much the same. Put plenty of frozen milk jugs in every box you are gonna ice down. To enhance I also bought the largest chest freezer I could buy and keep it full of 20# bags of ice in the boat barn. On the morning of departure we load the below zero ice (much colder than the ice you get at any store) into the fish and ice boxes on board and away we go.
With the already chilled boxes and super frozen ice it lasts way better.
We also make sure all liquid courage, etc is already very cold before putting it on board.

 

i used to commercial fish on a outboard where space was at a premium and the guy who owned it used shrimp sacks to hold all the ice. it was easy to move around without the worrying of it tearing like plastic, one empty turns into a holder for the rest, and there reusable. we bagged loose ice using a fish basket, just as if it was shrimp, the whole process was a little more work but it worked. during the summer when ice melts fast just make sure to have a fish bat to help break up the ice while its still in the sack for easy pouring on fish.

 

freeze the bottles of drinking water, they will keep the other drinks and food cold. Also, add some Epson salt to the ice in the fish box, it will lower the temp and keep the ice longer

 

Thanks for all the advice. I think i might try the frozen gal. jugs and see how it works. I just recently ordered non skid drain mats for the storage areas, so i wont need to worry about the jugs shifting around and banging up the fiberglass to much.

I figure one maybe two jugs for the drink box with one 20lb bag and 4-5 jugs for the fish box with maybe 3-4 20lb bags. In this case it already cuts my ice tab by 50%. Not bad, im sure i can tweak it more effectively too. Once i get the home finished in PM I think im gonna invest in a decent size ice machine and be done with the problem.

I was watching IntoTheBlue the other day and saw a tip video on how they make a slush with saltwater and ice. Prolly no different from epson salt kinda like a brine.

 

Man my boat carries 12 20's in each box (2). Plus another two boxes that can hold 8 each.

I think we've loaded up with 40 20# before filling personal coolers. Ice is cheap in comparison to it all. I've found freezing blocks like others and putting plugs in the drains has allowed me to cut my ice purchases in half.

 

I have an ice machine too but the trick is to bag it and put the bags in the freezer to bring the temp down to below zero. The ultimate would be freezer plates in the fish and drink boxes. Running out of ice way out there is a problem to be avoided.

 

Frozen fresh water is 32 degree even if your freezer is colder than that.

 

I use frozen water ballons instead of plastic jugs, when done they are a lot easier to dispose of.. quick slit with a knife and you can put a ton of empties in a 5 gallon trash bucket.

 

Insulating or adding something on the inside that insulates makes a ton of difference too. And even a strip of the knock off sea dek on the inside of the lids seems to help in the summer. You could also cut pieces for the bottom of the boxes too. That helps if you have to step down in it so you won't bust your as. And keep your ice storage closed.

In most cases the fish box has to be opened, hopefully numerous times.

When we were in a different boat with non insulated boxes, ice was a severe issue. Tried dry ice in a yeti. Followed all the instructions and kept the drain barely cracked. Come time to consume anything in that ice chest, everything was rock solid. So I wouldn't recommend that...


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We always packed the fish boxes, drinks and food boxes full the night before. Grab a couple bags in the morning to refill any melt from the night. We'd then pack one cooler full of ice that was only opened to top off other boxes as needed. As we sized up in boats we had insulated in deck fish boxes and refrigerators in the galley. We still take one big cooler just for ice and use a smaller drink cooler just inside the salon door to grab drinks of choice without tracking dirty fisherman inside. Extra drink cases stay in the air conditioned salon so they cool off pretty quick. Granted having a big ice machine at our disposal makes it a lot easier.

I did deliver a boat that had DC coldplate refrigeration in the drink box. Awesome not having to worry about ice onboard for a week straight.

 

Everything mstrelectricman mentioned. Sam J. "Triple J"

 

I never prechill boxes mostly cause there is not an easy means for me to do it the night before and I don't use freeze bags etc. just pack the darn thing full and be mindful of keeping the lid closed. I've never run out of ice. Front box holds 17 bags drink chest holds 2. If I'm going over night I'll add another 90 qt full of ice. Ice is cheap, buy extra and fill up even when you think you don't need it.

 

I do the same, and I'm not even using any of the high dollar coolers either, no issues. I just fill with ice, and when needed dump a couple of gallons of saltwater to slurry it up and good to go

FV Relentless

 

All the above is good advice. The salt trick to make a slurry is by far the best way to chill fish down quick. Especially those hot blooded tuna. It gets so dang cold it hurts to reach to the bottom to pull the plug when cleaning up after a trip.

 

x2 on salt

Except I just grab a couple of gallons of fresh saltwater from over the rail, it will get so cold you won't be able to hold your hand in it very long at all

FV Relentless

 

I saw one mention of dry ice on here but it was for the drinks. Why wouldn't you put a block of dry ice in your fish box with some more regular ice? I know you would have to have some sort of weep hole to relieve the pressure build up but it sure seems like that would keep your box and fish cold a lot longer.

 

some of you guys are absolutely hilarious!!!

get a spare freezer, a 5.0 c.f., will work....fill it with flats of bottled drinking water...then just put those in your fish box....break them up and re-distribute if you actually catch a fish...LOL! just kidding....

you can cut the labels off and rinse them off and reuse them over and over...put the loose ones in a trash bag in the freezer....or drink them when they melt...remember to recycle....
snookered

 

Gotta love it haha

Reminds me of an old debate I used to get into when I was in the A/C industry, most people thought that an A/C blew cold air, which in fact all an A/C does is remove the heat from the air and blows out whats left, which is why a window unit needs to be hanging out of your window (or another area) to exhaust the heat removed from the air, if you were to place a window unit in the middle of a room, because of the heat the compressor creates it would combine with the heat being removed from the room and the room would actually get warmer haha

 

This is in the BLUE water section so I can say that for me I can deal with all day ice might even make it longer. in my fish boxes which do not have sealing lids.
i belive that air movement causes pretty good issue and running the 70 miles down the highway to freeport eats ice. I try to wait till i get closer (buckies if its not super busy).

I have about 10 of those 1/2gal flat milk containers and a few 1gal frozen .
I use them all going nearshore , + filled with ice. ( in the bay I use only the flat bottles ) . If you fish somewhere everyweekend ICE is a cost you can cut
down if you preefreeze stuff.
Good hint already mentioned is the water bottles freeze them all.
I like the idea of plugging the drains on fishboxes and allowing for the slurry.
I even save what ever ice is left after a trip if still in the bag.
I wish there was a ice blanket I could find that would help with the fish boxes that are not sealed.
Using salt water from over the side, just like ice cream at home, great idea.
This is a great discussion for us non yeti users.
:cheers: