Preserved bait

[chrisfrank]

anyone ever preserved baits before?  thinking of getting a bag of shiners or fatheads to keep around in case i cant get live bait.   the waxworms and such look like they would fall right off of a hook, but how about minnows?

[peple of the perch]

i think theirs a way with salt and water or somthing like that im not shure though

[reelcharacter]

I saw a local mom and pop type bait shop owner getting his supply of Buckeyes ready for Trout season a few weeks ago. He just placed a bunch of dead minnows in a bag with salt and shook them up "shake and bake" style.

I have done this a few times after a day's fishing, when I know I will not be using the remaining minnows for a time. You just keep a small plastic zip loc bag with some in the freezer, until the night before you haed out fishing.

-Reelcharacter

[peple of the perch]

how long do they last

[TroutFishingBear]

buy  a vacuum sealer, it may be $200 but it will save money in the long run. Also, it will keep food likes steaks fresh for like a year.

This will keep baitfish fresh for about 6 months.



EASY AND CHEAP AND GREAT, THIS IS THE WAY

[chrisfrank]

With a vacuum sealer do you still have to add salt to it?

[peple of the perch]

buy  a vacuum sealer, it may be $200 but it will save money in the long run. Also, it will keep food likes steaks fresh for like a year.

This will keep baitfish fresh for about 6 months.



EASY AND CHEAP AND GREAT, THIS IS THE WAY

      do u just vacum ceal it like they r or do u put salt and or water in it

[TroutFishingBear]

no salt, no water, just vacuum seal it then freeze it.

[peple of the perch]

do they get soft when u se them if u vacume freeze it

[TroutFishingBear]

not really, they are almost as good as fresh.

[peple of the perch]

wont it suck up the slime that the minnows have on it

[ButchT]

We save smelt by vacuum packing.  The best way is to quick freeze them flat on a cookie sheet, then vacuum pack them.  Eliminates moisture and slime from your vacuum packer.  They make great pike bait in the Canadian outback on our yearly expedition.  Just hook 'em through the back and fish them under a float or loose below a slip sinker (the bottom where we go is too rough and snaggy for that method, we have to use floats).
Here's a tip, for what it's worth.  Pike will hang below a falls or rapids, because of the high level of oxygen in those places, especially before the water warms up.

[TroutFishingBear]

wont it suck up the slime that the minnows have on it

nope.

[Kodiak Commando]

I don't have live shiners or fatheads available up here but have had luck with preserved bait especially dyed shiners.

[Derek Welch]

  I freeze left over bluegills by just placing them in a zip lock bag, squeeze out the air and close.  I haven’t had any stay longer then a month in the freezer before using. I haven’t noticed any deference in the productiveness of the thawed bait vs. the fresh bait.

Derek Welch