Bob B wrote:
Wow, sounds like you really have it down pat.
How do you keep that freezer powered up? Are there any possession limits to worry about driving it back?
Think I'm going to have to learn to can salmon.....does one kind can better than the other?
We run a 110v line from the RV for when we travel. Works fine as we've seen 90 degrees in Ohio coming home. In Alaska, we drop the freezer outside. We carry 2 ramps and a 1 ton come-along to winch it back into the truck when it's full.
Canning is easy. We use Pinks as they are not as good frozen as the others. We fillet and skin. Pack the fish tight in the jar with 1/4 tsp. salt and 10 drops of liquid smoke. !00 minutes in the pressure canner and you're done. We smoke when we get home. The smoker takes up too much room and time. After we smoke we vacuum pack and freeze again. We find all vacuum packed fish will last at least 2 years without a problem.
Possession is an interesting issue. Basically, Alaska says you have a fish in possession when it's dead and still looks like a fish. Frozen or not, makes no difference. Once you fillet it, it's no longer a fish in your possession, so you can have as many as you want as long as you don't sell them. Getting fish through Canada can be another issue. Although many folks don't use it, we fill out a U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE DECLARATION FOR IMPORTATION OR EXPORTATION OF FISH OR WILDLIFE. A search on line for USFWS Form 3-177 will get you a form to fill out. On the way OUT of Alaska stop at US customs and they will sign and stamp the form and make extra copies for you. When you hand your passports to Canadian customs you include a copy of the form and you're home free. Get the form first as they want some particular info as far as number of packages and number of fish of each species and scientific names. Takes about 15 minutes in customs and we've never been questioned in Canada or going back into fhe US.
Have a ball. We've been up in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, and hope to make it next year again.