How to salt minnows?

[PASSIONFORTHEEYES]

Any suggestions would help.

[cylinder]

We did it once on a trip to Canada. We got a bunch of fatheads, dumped the water out and had about 2/3 gallon of minnows in a plastic jug. Then we dumped in about 3 cups of salt and shook it up. They stayed good till they were gone, about 3 days.

Gulp minnows or worms might be easier.

[hcrider]

Are yous specifically looking to salt the minnows, or just looking for a way to preserve them? When ice fishing on trout lakes, I've learned that pouring a bottle of isopropyl alcohol into the minnow bucket does quite a job of "instant euthanasia" which enables the fisherman to possess legal minnows on the trout lake. Minnows can now be salted or frozen however you'd like.

[Black_Bay]

Try this method. I found it on another fishing site.

Throw them in a baggie with 1/2 cup of borax and 1/2 cup of canning salt(no chlorine). Get these at the local supermarket. Shake them up and thats all there's to it. Freeze them or they will last for days as is. The borax will keep the flexible and keeps the color. The salt preserves them--alone the salt will make them brittle and dull in color.

[PASSIONFORTHEEYES]

Quote:

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Are yous specifically looking to salt the minnows, or just looking for a way to preserve them? When ice fishing on trout lakes, I've learned that pouring a bottle of isopropyl alcohol into the minnow bucket does quite a job of "instant euthanasia" which enables the fisherman to possess legal minnows on the trout lake. Minnows can now be salted or frozen however you'd like.

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Looking to preserve them for later use.

[tunrevir]

Look on the BWCA forum for this as Skippers Kid has posted on salting bait. I believe it is the same recipe as was given but do a search on the BWCA forum for the salted minners and you might find what you are looking for.

Tunrevir~

[glendam]

Borax only! After the minnows stop wiggling spread some borax in the bottom of a cardboard box and then a layer of minnows then top with a good dusting of borax, next layer of minnows, Borax... until your done. Let them sit for 12 to 24 hours in a cool place allowing the Borax to dehydrate them and then bag em and freeze them until your ready to use the minnows.

[Fish Head]

This is what I have done for our trip to Canada. Drain the minnows well. Sprinkle them generously with pickling salt and mix them well. I than devide them into sandwich size zip lock bags and freeze them.

Good Luck!

[CB34]

glendammit, Why only Borax? I have only used pickeling salt and have had favorable luck. I had never heard of using Borax. I have never noticed any discoloring of the minnows using just salt. The one problem I do have is the salt will really absorb the moisture and if I pack them up right away in a plastic bag they get a little soggy by the time you get to the end of the bag. Another thing I do alot during the winter is by a couple of scoops of minnows cut off all of the heads, dry them off, salt just the heads and freeze them until I go fishing. It works great to have a baggy stuffed in my vexilar case when moving from hole to hole. I have had as good of luck or better with the salted bait as people fishing with me had with fresh minnows. It is a great way to use up all of your left over bait from your last trip.

[EBass]

All good tips - I have another one to add. Food coloring if you want to make your minnow red or green or whatever. Tonka Outdoor's guy told me that. Made sense but never tried it. Just another option

[glendam]

The Borax keeps the minnows a bit more pliable so they stay on the hook better and really helps that mushy bottom of the bag thing. Last year it was my job to get the minnows for the annual trip to Canada and guys that have been doing the trip for over 35 years thought that the were the best salted minnows they had ever used!

[jmikes]

Make a drying rack (we use window screen around 2x4 frame). Let the minnows die and dry (IMO best minnows are light pike, head is harder for staying on hook). Place in styrofoam meat trays surrounded with canning salt. Put in bag and place in freezer. The minnows are slimy and need to be kept cold in a cooler before using.

[Fish Head]

The "getting soggy near the end of the bag" is a common problem. Thats why I mentioned 2 steps that I take-

1. Dry them well. I actually lay them on a large towel and pat them with another towel before I salt.

2. Put them in small sandwich size freezer zip lock bags and freeze them until ready to use. If you try using a large bag, it will get pretty soggy by the time you get to the end.

Good Luck!

[PASSIONFORTHEEYES]

When do the minnows start to run, Here in the Mpls metro area?

[chris63]

Certain speicies taste just fine without salt! c63 Can we fish now? LOL