Salting Minnows

[bassmann77]

I am heading up to Canada on Thursday for 4 days of fishing. Once we get there we will set up minnow traps to have fresh minnows for the following days, but I am needing minnows for Thursday night. There isn't any bait shops close to the place we are going, and bait is pretty spending anyways. We salted minnows last year, but they became a gooey mess by the time we started fishing. Anyone have any advise on how to properly preserve minnows?

[OnAFly]

we've salted and froze, worked ok. Don't let them get warm though.

[ozzie]

call 65 bait in Braham and have them do it for ya....cheap and they pack them in mini coolers so you don't take all the bait with you when going fishing for the day......

[Northlander]

1/2 salt and 1/2 Borax works good for me.

[matthothand]

If you're going up 35 I'd just get it at Fish Lake Bait in Harris. I know they salt a lot of minnows and the way they do it now the minnows don't turn to mush. Or just call them and ask how they do it.

[Dark Cloud]

I dont know how your fishing them but I just spent a week in canada. We typically jig bucktails tipped with minnows and crawlers for eyes. This year I used only Gulp while my father used the norm... We were real colose to even for the week which is normal.

I liked the 2.5 in minnow in "new penny" color the most. But it's also what I used more...

[Zaraspooks]

I second Fish Lake Bait. I always get my salted minnows there when heading to Canada. We usually pick them up on the way since they open at 5am. If you call a couple days in advance, they will have them ready and waiting for you.

[magnum mike]

#1 - Don't get caught trapping minnows in certain parts of Canada. You need to check the regulations and permits for the area you will be in. Permits are sold to bait dealers and they have exclusive rights to trapping minnows in their area.

#2 - Big Box outfitters sell preserved minnows that are reasonably priced, work as well as any dead bait and last for years.

#3 - How well do you know your local mortician? A small amount of embalming fluid does a marvelous job of preserving minnows. You can portion them into zip-top bags and freeze them.