Hanson Fish Co in 2020

[Skillet]

Wanted to get a quick update out about what's going on with the fish business, and share some exciting news.

First of all... COVID.  Man, that hurt us up here, and continues to do so. What really bummed me out is that I had to cancel my planned HuntWa group buy this spring.  Based on what we knew at the time, it seemed like the right choice.  I thank everybody for their patience and understanding with that.

Ready for some good news, though?  I'm bringing the boat south in November, and will be doing another HuntWa group buy like we did last winter.  I'll be bringing on specials again, like the scallops and king crab.  Maybe a few other things, stay tuned for that announcement in a few months.

One thing I've learned from this Covid experience, though, is that for me to get the fish to the people who want it I can't always rely on my physical presence in WA to make it happen. And that the random nature of my travels didn't always work with everybody else's schedules.  So... I'm running a little experimental project this summer while I'm out fishing to distribute fish in a small area.  This pilot project is going to be run by our very own @ctwiggs1 and his family in the South Sound area.  It's going to be a Facebook group (which is kind of funny, if you know how hard I've tried to avoid that site over the years  ), and will be offering up a limited line of flash frozen fish in 10# boxes and 25# filet cases.  King, coho, halibut, black cod, lingcod, and actually some yelloweye!  We're hoping to have fish available for pickup in early-mid August. 

If you're really jonesing for fish and need a fix until I get down this winter, reach out to him and see if you can meet him at one of his drop-off locations.  This is a limited quantity experiment, so I can't promise how much of each species will be available.  I've set all the prices for this (they'll be the same for the winter buy as well), and had to raise some to reflect the skyrocketing costs we're seeing up here in AK. Compare to any online product, though, and the prices are still way under average. If this whole thing works out the way we'd like it to, I'll be looking for more folks to run buying groups in other areas. Some nice discounts on fish, and other benefits, potentially available for those who step up to take the abuse! 

Ctwiggs1 has suggested he may be open to doing some dropoff points outside of the South Sound area, but I'll let him make the final call on that. I know how much windshield time it takes to cover WA state with fish, and it's more than you'd think. Like watching "The Irishmen."

Alright folks, I'm just about ready to go for kings on July 1.  Got a very stern Coast Guard inspector coming to the boat in a few minutes, gotta lay out the $20's on the table just right to make sure I pass  . Jokes, jokes!  It takes Benjamin's now-a-days...

Good fishin' everybody, I'll keep a few updates coming throughout the summer.

 

[lastmk8]

Whoo Hooo, our Boy Chris is back on the job..!!!!  Damn, that calendar sure does make November seem a long time away.  Maybe I'll have to reach out for a southern pick-up....

Good Luck Chris, happy fishing!!

[JKEEN33]

I’m kicking myself for not getting tuna last time. Any plans to get that again?

[Dan-o]

WHERE ARE MY PRAWNS??

WHERE ARE MY PRAWNS??

WHERE ARE MY PRAWNS??

WHERE ARE MY PRAWNS??

[ctwiggs1]

Hi guys,

Popping on here.  First off - big thanks to Chris for taking my way-to-many-phone calls.  I've been described by friends as the most curious (insert expletive) person they've ever met, and I am absolutely fascinated by what Chris does.  I'm pretty sure last week I asked him 3 times if he could figure out a way to offer health insurance so I could win the argument with my wife to go work for him

Everything about what we are doing is 100% controlled by Chris.  His offerings, his prices, his rules.  We made a Facebook page (link below), and Chris is one of the admins.  I'm pretty sure my words to Chris were "You've built a great brand and you shouldn't put too much exposure with me.  You need to be able to fire me if the time comes for that without damaging yourself."  I'm already my favorite employee.

My goal here was a mixture of Chris's very noble mission and my own selfishness:  He wants to get top tier fish to our freezers as efficiently as possible and I want to get his fish in my freezer as efficiently as possible.

In all seriousness, my wife and I really are just a conduit here.  We want to be able to buy from Chris more often than once a year, and we want to be able to see more people be able to take advantage of this great opportunity. 

If all else fails, I'm going to at least claim victory for getting Chris over the "3 friends" bar on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/HansonFishCoSouthSound 

[Woodchuck]

Very cool man, best of luck. 

[carpsniperg2]

Great stuff man be safe!

[Taco280AI]

Hope you do well this summer 

[92xj]

No Facebook for me but if anyone figures out a tricities run before the November return, please let me know. My seafood rack in the freezer is empty.

Glad you're pulling though this *censored* show up there Chris. Good luck with the upcoming season and I look forward to the next chat season when you return.

[ctwiggs1]

No Facebook for me but if anyone figures out a tricities run before the November return, please let me know. My seafood rack in the freezer is empty.

Glad you're pulling though this *censored* show up there Chris. Good luck with the upcoming season and I look forward to the next chat season when you return.

It's definitely not out of the picture.  Chris and I discussed it in detail last night and my response was pretty simple:  If I can cover the cost of gas I'm fine doing it.  I recognize that I'm probably not going to make much personally on the east side because of the amount of gas I'll be burning, but you guys are a part of the hunt-wa family and that's very important to me (and VERY important to Chris).  This site has been a great resource for me over the last decade or so, you've been a big part of Chris working on his direct-to-consumer approach, and I don't want anyone to feel that this is going to be exclusive to people in the south sound.  I mean honestly, I get enough crap for living in King County on this site as it is

[vandeman17]

I am interested in some halibut and could have my sister or bro-in-law snag it for me. I don't have facebook either so not sure the details. I could also have them grab your order Ben and keep it in my freezer until we can work out an exchange

[ctwiggs1]

Don't worry, we'll definitely get a post up here when all the details are ready!!  Nobody is getting left out because they don't have FB, that's for sure!

[ellensburgpo]

If the timing is right I can get in from the west side when I get off work to ellensburg

[bearpaw]

also interested in more halibut 

[2MANY]

Sorry you are being impacted by the virus.
Stay safe and enjoy life.

[Ridgeratt]

I'm still in.  Once the logistics are figured out.

[Ridgerunner]

I'm definitely interested in a summer buy, I'm close to the south sound so count me in.

[ctwiggs1]

@bearpaw and @Ridgeratt, can you give me an idea of quantities you're interested in?  Trying to figure out my breakeven point for getting over to you guys.

[RB]

Right on! looking forward to this! Best of luck this season

[Skillet]

Haha, this is gonna be interesting. Thanks for all the well wishes, fellas.

To answer a few q's-

@jkeen33 - got my sights set on tuna loins for the fall.

@Dan-O - They're still in the ocean, buddy, but it's on like Donkey Kongbin October. That's why you pay me the medium bucks! 

[Bluemoon]

Chris, do you still have your working relationship with Alaska Airlines? For a Montana Delivery.

[Skillet]

Chris, do you still have your working relationship with Alaska Airlines? For a Montana Delivery.

I do, but we're not going to be able to fly fish out this go-round.  We can definitely look at doing that for the first Group buy this November, though. 

Or I could drive the fish out there and harass those pheasants... 

[Bluemoon]

That's even better,  I 'm all for it. But just a warning after you shoot your first Sharptail there are no support groups for the addiction.  I will talk with you later and see you this fall.

[Skillet]

The product mic is still in flux, but is likely going to offer up kings (25# boxes of filets, 10# boxes of portions), coho (25# boxes of filets, 10# boxes of portions), halibut, black cod, lingcod (all 10# boxes of portions), yelloweye (10# box of filets), and some quillback (10# boxes of filets). 

Any of the above can change on short notice, as we're not official on the product mix yet.  Curtis will come on here with the final deal over we know what I've caught and have available. 

[sagerat]

Quillback... I remember when you could catch those in Puget Sound! Would love to buy those along with yelloweye and lingcod.

[Skillet]

I want to jump on really quick to clarify a point here - this is not an official HuntWa group buy, just an experiment we're running through Facebook for local distribution.  Hoping it works out, and if so, there will be Hanson Fish Company products available to all areas of the state year-round in the near future!  If the logistics don't line up on this one for you, don't worry - I'll be back in November to get an official HuntWa Group Buy going again, no worries. 

[Dhoey07]

Good to hear you're doing well Chris 

I look forward to ordering in November for sure!

[donsk16]

I will definitely be interested in yellow eye and or quilback!

This is an awesome idea by both of you .

[Whitpirate]

I'm in... and you know I'm interested in the distribution network and can bring some channels to the table.  Just to be sure... we're all licensed/stamped product correct so if I worked with some of my farm groups I think we can add a seafood option to some CSA boxes and I may mob you out.  This spring/summer interest has been overwhelming on local protein.   Now if I could just get more processing dates.

[ibuyre]

I sent a IM to the facebook group, but I hate that place... I am interested. Seems like I have missed all the other buys and been to slow, or to busy. But I would love to buy a box or 2 of fish from you. Hope this all works out, and stay safe and best wishes.

[ctwiggs1]

Got your message, responding now!!

[Tenkara]

im interested, but im not on facebook.

[ctwiggs1]

Hi all,

Just wanted to let everyone know that we went live today with our ordering platform.  We did a quick survey on Facebook and we determined that these 4 locations are where we wanted to focus for the pilot run:  Enumclaw, Auburn, South Hill and Factoria.

There is *some* flexibility in there if someone needs a little help, but I can't guarantee anything.  I'm trying to accommodate as much as possible, but this model still has to be proven to work.  Example:  There were 2 people in the Spokane area that were interested, but I just couldn't justify the 12-13 hours on the road for that volume. 

Please understand that even if I can't get you taken care of on this run, Chris is going to do another huge Hunt-Wa run this fall and he'll definitely have you covered with all his regular assortments.

Really appreciate the support and understanding on here guys.  Please PM me with any questions 

Here is the store: https://store32219834.company.site/

Thanks

Curtis

[MacAttack]

Link doesn't work....or do I have to have the facebook?

[ctwiggs1]

Link doesn't work....or do I have to have the facebook?

Works for me and no FB is required.  What error message are you getting?

[MacAttack]

user error. got it working. Thanks

[ctwiggs1]

Great!  Glad to hear it.  I'm borderline hyper-alert on this today.  We did a few beta tests but we're still very receptive to improvement ideas. 

Hope it works well for you - feedback is always appreciated!

Curtis