How do you keep big fish fresh onboard your PA?

Most of what I catch is pretty small in comparison with many of the photos that get posted here. In the fall, though, I am after Lake Michigan salmon that can easily go 20-30 lbs and are way too big to fit in the front hatch without a good bit of fish hanging out the back end. Although I keep ice in there with them, after several hours of continuous fishing, rigor mortis sets in and my trophy fish come out of the hatch all bent out of shape and not particularly photogenic. Alternatively, I have tried pulling them behind me in the cold lake on a game clip, but that is LOTS of drag when trolling. If I leave them on the back deck they dry out quickly. I have a 24" cooler I can strap back there but it is not worth it if there is any wind, and most of the salmon wouldn't fit inside anyway. So, for you open water guys who bring home 100+ lbs in one good night, how do you keep them fresh onboard for 4-6 hrs?

I use a fish bag for Kings and other big fish caught offshore. I can't exactly remember which brand I have and my bag is locked up in my trailer which is prepared for an early fishing trip tomorrow. There are lots of brands but this link should give you and idea.

http://www.basspro.com/Boone-Monster-Fi ... 459/235975

You can fold them up and keep them behind your seat or in the tank well, before loading with fish. Then you can keep in the tank well or in the cockpit.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like what I need. I have a few questions...
1) I assume that you load this with ice before you go out - Do these fish bags have dedicated pockets to hold the ice cubes separate from the fish, or do you just fill the main fish pocket with ice and then pull it out as fish go in?
2) I have never seen one of these, but cannot understand why they would be so expensive ($80 - $200!). It's basically just a collapsable coller bag - right? Why so much?

Don't put ice in it, I have gel pack I place in it and just rinse them off and reuse.

You can get a collapsible cooler bags aren't big enough for kingfish, ling or other large fish. Why they price them they way they do, you would have to ask them.

For smaller fish a lot of people get the collapsible bags from Sam's Wholesale............a whole lot cheaper but not that big.