Frozen Bait

[Hoffer]

KInd of a strange question - but thought I would ask - anyone have good ideas for freezing sucker chubs etc...I have heard to use canning salt - but why wouldnt regular salt work??

Thanks for any ideas.

[BD110]

Hoffer,
I would use canning salt. I use it to pickle fish. There has to be a reason for the different salt. It was easy to find at the store in a nice little box. Before I froze my smelt for bait I covered them with borax. That can be found at places like Wallmart in the laundry detergent section.
Hope this helps. Tom (BD110)

[minneman]

how about vacume pack them, then freeze..?

[morpho]

thats a quick way to have the wife take your vacuum paker away

[Hoffer]

Thanks for the replies - BD110 you have me even more curious now though - whats with the Borax - isnt that detergent?? Would that turn the fish away?? Or did you find it wasnt a problem. I like the vacuum packer idea - but I guess the canning salt keeps the bait more fresh when it unthaws - have you ever unthawed frozen Suckers?? They lose their consistency very fast and wont even really stay on the hook that well - that is why I was looking for some tips.....

[BD110]

Hoffer,
They use borax when making spawn sacks for fishing Lake Superior for Loopers. They have used it for years. I like the vac. pack idea also but I would cure them with the salt or borax first. This the first time I've used borax to cure my smelt that I use for Northerns it seems to work well. The Northern had no prob. going after the smelt. Good luck in what ever you do. Keep us posted.
Take care, Tom (BD110)

[Wavey Davey]

Borax is used in Taxidermy as a preservative.

[metro 1]

I don't freeze bait that often but a friend of mine does all the time.Here is what he does. 2 qts. water with enough salt to float an egg. then put mixture in freezer for a day to get good and cold. put bait in the salt mixture and cover(they splash quite a bit at this point)in seconds the bait is dead .rinse off and freeze in amount that suit you. metro

[Jim Hudson]

Borax or salt is a good preservative for your bait. Something I do though when freezing to preserve, say from spring to fall, is to individually line up each smelt or minnow in a plastic freezer bag instead of just putting them all together in a clump. I do this with about an inch spacing. This way, when you unfreeze the bait it thaws better and the bait doesnt seem to get as soft as when you just pack them in. I think this would work even better with a vacuum packer.

Jim Hudson

[psegriz]

Don't mean to sound really dumb here but why do you freeze bait. I've always had better luck with a minnow that swims. I guess if I was to fish designated trout waters or something it would make sense. Sorry to sound dumb but does dead bait work better for certain situations or do you just have a hard time finding the type of live bait you want. Other than spring northern. Then I'll use down right rotten bait.

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Goosin now but Ice is coming soon!!
GRIZ