Favorite Fish Bags?

[chris oak]

Bills post on his new fish bag made me think. I know Reliable fish bags are the standard, what's your fav fish bag? How well does it hold ice?

I've seen a new bag called killbag and I remember one at the fishing show called Opah or something like that. I've got the Boone Monster bag, it has a drain but is poorly insulated and it leaks unless you seal it. On the plus side I think I got it for like 80 bucks at the show and will fit a 72 and 55 lb white seabass together. I also put my big bluefin in there and left the top open and then just iced it in the body cavity and it made it home fine.

Let us know if you've tried any of the new bags that are springing up.

[Freeryde]

I found a Boone bag floating in the ocean off Catalina a few years ago. It’s a big bag and has been jammed with everything from 8” whitefish all the way up to 140lb bluefin. It has held water and ice fine with no holes but the zippers have broken and it no longer closes. I just use it inside my big fish hole in the boat to keep everything from sloshing around when I do the saltwater bath.

[John Hughes]

Those Opah bags are the real deal. Apparently they are leak proof and they are built incredibly strong. Insulated at least 2X what a reliable bag is and are definitely cheaper. The only drawback I've seen is that because they are insulated so well, they take up more room. I dove with a guy this year for tuna and we were throwing multiple 150+ lb fish in one bag and that was the smaller one. He told me he got 5 jumbos in his big bag. We were throwing a small amount of dry ice in there with the cubed and the ice held for 2 full days without melting at all.

Here's a picture of the smallest bag he had with a 141lbr I shot this year.

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[Matthew Rice]

One thing I wasn't keen on with the reliable bags was handle position. Carrying a bag full of ice and hopefully fish while keeping the bag from dragging on the ground isn't always easy with the reliable handle position.

How was it with the Opah bag, John?

[chris oak]

yah I think I'm going to lean towards the opah bags. It looks like they are only sold online so far?

[Bill McIntyre]

Those Opah bags are the real deal. Apparently they are leak proof and they are built incredibly strong. Insulated at least 2X what a reliable bag is and are definitely cheaper. The only drawback I've seen is that because they are insulated so well, they take up more room.

I just checked on Amazon. The Reliable 60 x 24 is $295 while the Opah 60 x 24 is $299. Is there some cheaper source for Opah?

I like the fact they're leakproof although that doesn't mean a lot to me since my bag is either on the deck of my boat or in the bed of my truck. The water proof pockets inside and the exterior pockets sound like nice features too. I'm just afraid the thicker insulation would make it too hard to store in my boat. I can barely roll my Reliable tight enough to store in the fish hold until I need it, and my Reliable keeps ice well enough for one day trips and never go overnight anymore.

[John Hughes]

One thing I wasn't keen on with the reliable bags was handle position. Carrying a bag full of ice and hopefully fish while keeping the bag from dragging on the ground isn't always easy with the reliable handle position.

How was it with the Opah bag, John?

Way easier carrying the Opah bags as they don't tend to fold inward like the Reliable because the handles on the Reliable are right on the end points of the bag. The only problem I had carrying the Opah's was due to the sheer weight of ice/fish inside. Straps and handles are super durable though and I could see them holding up a long time even shuffling a ton of weight around with them.

In regards to the price Bill, last time I checked online they were definitely cheaper. I believe I looked on the Opah site itself. I wouldn't be shocked at all to know they went up in price due to demand. If you've got the space, those Opah bags are a much better buy in my limited experience with them.

[NORCAL]

Just upgraded my old kayak fish bag for a Mako fish bag. Got the smallest model they had for my Kaboat. Haven’t bloodied it yet but seems to be made solid. Man, sure hope I get to put some dead fish in it this season! Stay healthy fellas. Tommy