Vacuum Sealer for Fishing

Ive had a hard time finding a vacuum sealer that works without spending big money on a commercial rig. I've been through countless amazon sealers and now I'm looking at this fish and game sealer. It gives me a lot of hope because moisture is what always kills my other sealers and that appears to be what they pride themselves on. Ideally I don't want to spend more than $100 on a sealer but the next best thing is one of the weston commercial rigs which are pretty expensive.

Has anyone here used this sealer or do you have another sealer thats under $100 that you'd recommend...that actually holds up to moisture? All I seal is fish and some wild game during the winter, so the typical kitchen grade sealers off amazon just don't work for me. 

I concur with wrapping in Cling wrap as well. Saran Wrap is too stiff to do what is intended. For anything that has bones that could potentially puncture the bag, I’ll place a paper towel between the plastic wrapped meat and vacuum bag. 

The objective is to keep air off of the meat and to keep moisture from being drawn out while frozen. Frost free freezers work by drawing moisture out of the freezer. Plastic wrap will keep a layer of plastic tight around meat to prevent it from drying out (freezer burn). I personally rarely use a vacuum sealer but always use plastic wrap on meat and salmon. But using plastic wrap and then vacuum sealing gives you a little insurance if the vacuum breaks, which they often do. The plastic wrap will still be wrapped tight to the meat, preventing air from getting to it. 

One other thing is to ALWAYS cut the bag and break the seal BEFORE thawing (or “unthawing” as a lot of Wisconsinites seem to say). Thawing while still in a vacuum sucks the moisture out of the meat, that’s not good. 

Try this; First wrap fillers in Cling Wrap (not saran) and THEN vacuum seal. Learned this trick in Alaska. Fish lasts 1+ years easily and you eliminate the moisture into sealer issue...

One thing I do, when I vacum seal fish is pat it dry with a paper towel first.

Thank you guys for the feedback. I checked out most of the vacuum sealers you guys recommended and ended up just getting the fish and game sealer. The price was right and it also has the ability to run off a wall outlet or off a 12v battery. This is really nice for me because it seems like the fish cleaning stations we go to rarely have outlets. Their price on vacuum bags aren't bad either.

I have had a cabela's model in the past but had bad luck with the sealer part going bad. We do 200-300 lbs of deer meat in the winter so it was probably from overuse. We will put this sealer to work here very soon once we start processing deer.

welderguy, I used to do it that way too. I would not go back to it after using the vacuum sealer. The quality of the fish seems better and it packages better for the freezer. 

I’ve never used a food sealer, when I freeze fish I put the fillets in a ziplock freezer bag then add water. That way the fillets are sealed in ice. I have never had an issue doing this, even after a year in the freezer. 

I have a foodsaver and have no issues. When I have very wet things I roll a papertowel across the width of the bag on the inside. As the bag vacuums and seals the papertowel collects the moisture instead of it going into the machine. I have done this with zucchini and other really wet products. When you open it the papertowel pulls right out.  

It's like anything some like one brand or model over another. I have a foodsaver deluxe edition i use all the time it has a bag cutter and bag storage built in it can also has a adapter to seal jars i think that what it's for but never used the attachment. But the foodsaver deluxe works great evertime I've used it from packing fillets or i have also put fish i wanted to mount in the bag and seal it up works great. I left it at home once ice fishing went to Wal-Mart bought a smaller version foodsaver works just as good just less features like no bag cutter or bag storage. The only complaint is the price of the bags. The foodsaver deluxe cost $119 at fleet farm years ago still no problems.

I have a Food Saver vacuum sealer that is 8-10 years old. At the time it was one of their better ones available. It has a trough where the open end of the bag goes in to be sealed. That trough is removable to be cleaned and catches any liquid before it can be drawn into the vacuum pump. I did replace the foam gasket seal that goes around the bag when sealing it once. For fish fillets I lay them on a paper towel bed and then pat dry before sealing. Years ago I bought a set of plastic bowls with lids that have a grate in the bottom. Putting fish fillets in there allows them to drip dry, I can do this before sealing or before breading to deep fry. Meat that is over moist or wet with blood I either pat dry with paper towel or store in a bowl with a drip rack before sealing. I make my own venison sausage, hot stick, ring bologna etc as well as smoked fish and those all seal up well. I always use the Food Saver brand bags. Helped a friend process his deer and he brought some cheaper off brand bags that didn’t work well at all. 

I’ve had a Zip Lock cheap model from Walmart and no problems with it.    I pat the fish dry and wrap them in plastic wrap then vac seal twice.    Fish taste exc 6 months later. CARPIO.    It even takes Walmart bags.

I freeze panfish in a quart size freezer bag with water, squeezing the air out. A basic food saver vacuum sealer for salmon and deer has worked good for me.

Ive had 3 food savers thru the years ,bought a Cabelas, about 4 years ago have had no problems,use it a lot for fish, and meat bought in bulk also. One thing about better sealers is that you can make many more seals in a row without unit getting hot.  Cabelas bags are also heavier, than food saver bags, something I also do when  sealing fish is double seal really makes a difference. Spend the money it pays off in the long run.

We have  a couple Food Savers that we use for deer, fish, and any other items we plan on freezing for a while.  I think they are called the wild game edition or something.  They normally do a great job and have lasted a while.  We do a lot of deer meat every year like 10+ deer.  Like others have said it definitely helps if your meat isn't dripping wet, but a little moisture isn't usually an issue.  Bags are the most expensive part of vacuum sealing. 

I have one from Cabelas.  Don't remember what it cost but it is about 6 years old and works fine. I don't do anything special. I don't dry the fillets before hand. Just vac and double seal.

I have a 3200 series FoodSaver.  I think I bought it at walmart.  5 yrs on that sucker and still going.  Heavy usage during the spring and summer.  At this point, the cost of bags (buy by the roll) is way beyond the cost of the sealer.  I pat the fish fillets dry with paper towels.  Works fine, >99% success on the seal.  Fairly tolerant to moisture.  They don't have to be really dry or frozen, just not dripping.  I eat the fish first in first out so I am typically eating fish that can be almost a year old and it is great.  Every once in a while a pack will lose seal in the freezer due to handling.  If I catch it I reseal it in a new bag.  Another trick is to wrap the fish in cellophane or similar wrap before sealing.  Vac bagging frozen stuff can cause problems with the bags.  You get some trapped air from outgassing and the vacuum is not all that hard to start with.  Unfrozen stuff the bag forms nicely around the meat.