Meat

[hard knox]

Was thinking of running more meat this year then i have in the past and have made some meat strips out of king salmon skin with pretty good luck but was thinking i might try buying some large shiners used for ice fishing and brine them then just pine them into meat heads has anybody tried this ?

[fjrider]

I had the same thought while ice-fishing last week. Why not? 

[hard knox]

I am thinking it should work just fine and a lot cheaper .

[Egoody]

I was wondering where I could buy fresh herring to use to brine but this sounds like a good idea too. Do you keep the shiners whole or fillet them before you brine them.

Thanks for any information.

Boat Safe

Egoody

 

[juthunter32]

Keep 10 a day from the Hudson River during April and May, find a friend on stripers247.com n trade a trip if can't make it down there for a few trips. Also Atommik has good quality bait. His are Pacific herring supposed to be a lil oilyer than the Atlantic. Brine then freeze.

[hard knox]

For the large pike size shiners i would brine them fresh and freeze then thaw and use as need i would  leave them whole . Back when i fished for bluefin tuna we would use kosher salt and ice water on fresh machs and they looked great when we thawed them out to troll with .

[Fishnut]

What is a good brine for curing? And what is a good hardy bait fish to use?


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[hard knox]

Any fish can be brined so use what you want to fish with all you need is box of kosher salt you can add some mule team borax or backing soda helps with color .Key is fresh fish lots of kosher salt and ice water let sit in brine 6 hours drain and package and freeze . There are vidios  online if you need more info . I am going to try some jack smelts and jumbo arkansa shiners .

[Fishnut]

Thanks hard Knox. I’ll be trying this this spring.


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[John Kelley]

I personally like that Pautzke Fire Brine in the chartreuse(Mountain Dew) color. Seems to work great.

[Sk8man]

Something to consider is this: The current NYS regulations dictate that baitfish need to be certified by a licensed bait dealer unless caught and used within the same body of water as that fished. This includes dead bait such as salted minnows etc. (and the bait receipt needs to be no more than 10 days old)  unless commercially prepared and then you need to have the packaaging for them. Not trying to pop anyones balloon but just something to be aware of. On the other hand, it is the fact that although I have been checked many times for a license (even recently) never have the DEC officers asked for a bait receipt or examined any bait we were using.

[martin1950]

For 20 years I was a card carrying “pier rat”.  Learned how to catch and rig fresh Ales for Bows/Steelies and Salmon and how to brine for cutbait.

When I boat bought my 1^st. boat and got into dragging meat years ago it didn’t take too long to realize that trolling w/ herring was going to be a bit on the expensive side since I fish off my meager retirement and my Social Security Insurance.  I started with some old frozen Ales that I had salt/soaked in the freezer for cut-bait. I “re-brined” them using the method I’d seen in a video.

Living in S/W Michigan I’m lucky to live within 20 miles of 2 river systems so during the June&July Steelie/Bow run I’d go to the pier to soak a few shrimp with some old friends. I’d take a couple of 2-gallon zip bags with 3 cups of borax and 3 cups of canning/pickling salt in each bag and a sabiki rig or cast net and while I had bobber rigs in the water I would jig-up or net Ales until I had about 2 dozen in a 5 gallon bucket. Then I’d drain the water and put the Ales (still flopping) in the bag and mix them around and then put the bag in the cooler and then repeat the same process. When I’d get home I’d sort them for size for whole bait rigs and for cut bait rigs and finish the brining process.  I dry brine them at the pier to set the scales and slime. It is better to salt bag them at the pier because by the time you get home with a bucket full of dead ales they will start to “slime” and you’ll lose that natural scent. But that’s just my take on it and it works for me.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACkCnytcEZ4  During this step I’ll add color by using a healthy amount of food coloring.

But if I’m going to filet some for sushi-flies or cut-bait heads I’ll basically use this idea;

 http://www.michigansportsman.com/Tips_n_Trix/Cut_Bait.htm

I use the LARGE Miracle Whip jars for the brining for whole bait and those plastic tubs you get deli sliced meat in for the A/B sides for cut bait so they lay flat.
Caution!! Some wives don’t take too kindly to a bunch of brining jars in the frig for the summer. So ya might want to buy a “bait frig” for your garage.

I did that maybe 2 or 3 times over the summer season and had more than enough bait, over 300 pieces, for the trolling season plus a lot of extras to get started in the spring in the freezer.

 

Long term storage.

When I get too many jars in the frig I’ll take and drain them and place the “Ales” on sheet pans and flash freeze them.  I’ll place 4 fish in those small snack bags and when I’m all done I’ll put those snack bags in labeled freezer bags.  

Quick, simple and CHEAP. Now there is nothing wrong w/ commercial brines and they work a lot faster but being retired I have a lot of time on my hands.
If ya go to a pier, DO NOT use a wire basket to hold your bait fish as it tends to rub the scales off, you want that sparkle from the scales. Ales aren't as tough or re-useable as a herring, the stomachs are soft and thin.  I like to brine them for 2 weeks and a whole Ale will last up to 4hrs with good color and scale retention and flexability.

I'm rather liberal with the borax and canning salt, but I'm more anal when it comes to keeping everything COLD even when I'm fishing.  One thing, I live in the country so I'm on a well.  And just like curing salmon eggs, you NEVER want to use city water.

I like to get friendly with our local C.O.’s. I’ve had C.O’s watch me catch and brine Ales on the pier so when I hit the boat launch I never have been hassled about the “Virus” requirement because they know where I got my bait, in the same body of water.

Martin

[Bgk88]

Keep 10 a day from the Hudson River during April and May, find a friend on stripers247.com n trade a trip if can't make it down there for a few trips. Also Atommik has good quality bait. His are Pacific herring supposed to be a lil oilyer than the Atlantic. Brine then freeze.

 

Hudsonvalleysportsman.com is a great resource as well. There’s a ton of us striper fisherman on there, many that also fish Lake O. There’s also several B&T’s locally that sell live, fresh iced and frozen herring.

[Lucky13]

On ‎2‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 9:43 AM, Sk8man said:

Something to consider is this: The current NYS regulations dictate that baitfish need to be certified by a licensed bait dealer unless caught and used within the same body of water as that fished. This includes dead bait such as salted minnows etc. (and the bait receipt needs to be no more than 10 days old)  unless commercially prepared and then you need to have the packaaging for them. Not trying to pop anyones balloon but just something to be aware of. On the other hand, it is the fact that although I have been checked many times for a license (even recently) never have the DEC officers asked for a bait receipt or examined any bait we were using.

This very detailed but it is not an easy topic.  Sk8man is, as usual, correct.  The conceern is that a disease could be moved with the bait.  VHS has already caused major problems, and there is always the possibility that some new, or mutated virus could come into the system from elsewhere.  If it is the one that the salmon react to like Native Americans reacted to smallpox, you could end up working out a way to troll for carp!    http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/33072.html#sellers 

 

I fish in the 'Dacks with bait, and we get checked for the receipt before they ask for a license.  

Edited March 26, 2018 by Lucky13

[Sk8man]

Hey Lucky could you let my wife know that ( "Sk8man is, as usual, correct." ) 

[Lucky13]

She will want to know how much you paid me!

[Sk8man]

Good point.

[garrymny]

Is there an artificial cut bait that works? I found the herring too expensive. And it sounds like to be legal the bait had to be certified or caught from lake o.

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[work2fish]

Is there an artificial cut bait that works? I found the herring too expensive. And it sounds like to be legal the bait had to be certified or caught from lake o.

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rockets work well.

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