Last fall I was at the Rocky River Marina on a weekday and found they were out of shiners. I did not want to go up the hill for bait so on my walk back to the truck and home a guy just putting his boat away offered a few bags of frozen emerald shiners. The fellow fisherman saved my day as I limited in a short time, if you are reading this thank you again. The shiners worked great however I needed to re-bait even after a small hit. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to preserve minnows so they are a little tougher on the hook, what about strips of scaled white bass or white perch bellies, I was also thinking of freezing them in a bag with some craft glitter as more of an attractant. Since the frozen bait saved my day I would like to have some handy to bring along since finding shiners on the Westside can be iffy.
Try doing a search on here, it's been discussed several times. I just lay out my leftovers on a screen and put a fan on them for a few hours. Then put them in a ziplock bag with some pickling salt and freeze. That works for me.
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I got 99 problems but red shad ain't one.....
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1 IN A ROW........
Have experienced similar problems keeping dried/frozen minnies on the hook. I dont have a good answer....but this may help.
Always double hook them ...once in head/tail and once in midsection. I really believe your line choice figures into this. Braid lines help you feel the lightest hits so you have a better shot at a hook set before the bait is gone.
Sounds like a lot of bother ,but it works. Put left over shiners in a container, coated with canning salt. refridgerate for two days, after two days pour off exces water. Repeat this four times or eight days. Do not freeze,that will make them mushy. Keep refridgerated. This makes them leathery and they will stay on the hook. MIKE
I toss them in salt water till they stop kicking. Then I pull them out, pat them down with paper towels to dry them a bit, and toss them into a plastic bag full of salt. I just use regular table salt. Perch love them. In fact there have been many days when they have outfished live bait. Don't ask me why. Also, they seem to stay on the hook a little better. They end up looking kinda like minnow jerky!
__________________ "Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught. ~Author Unknown"
It was either walleye insider or In-Fisherman can't remember which claims the best way to preserve minnows is to freeze them in a bag with fine wood dust.
Use 1oz of formaldehyde w/ 4 gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket.Works best when the minnows are still alive.Drain after a couple of hours and let dry, but still moist.Then put in a ziplock bag with tanning salt, then keep in the freezer.They'll be just as nice as live minnows when ready to use.The formaldehyde not only preserves, it also keeps the scales from coming off...........Mark
The dopeheads these days are dipping their joints in it and letting it dry before smoking.They call it WET or SHEEBA, guess it intensifies the high.You have to really hate yourself if you need to smoke embalming fluid to make it through a day.I had a buddy that used to smoke that crap, thats how I know.The only FIX I need right now is 4 inches of ice.
Last edited by bassmastermjb; 01-19-2008 at 07:00 PM.
Those types sniff glue and paint stripper too but normal people can go to the store and buy it. I am thinking there is more to it but I really don't know.
preserving minnows
preserving minnows
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