Frozen shiner/minnow "recipe"

[hawgchaser]

I fish the Manitoba side of L.O.W. so bringing live bait across from the U.S. was never an option. When the Buffalo Point Marina was closed during winter for several years, I'd buy frozen shiners in Roseau and fish with those. The frozen ones seemed so discolored and mushy once they thawed...not to mention smelly after about the 3rd day. On a return trip home some years ago, I bought 20 scoops of emerald shiners and had them put in a large ice cream pail with no water. Just to kill them quickly, I poured about a half carton of salt over them, shook the pail to get them all salted (they die almost instantly). Put the pail cover on, put them in the back of the truck, and drove the 5hr. trip home...was tired so I left them in the cold truck overnight. In the morning, my 1/3 pail of shiners had turned into 3/4 pail of shiner soup. I drained and rinsed the shiners, put them in small containers, sprinkled them with salt and froze them. I was amazed when I went to use them. Something about the process "set" the scales; they were as bright as when they came out of the bait tank, plus they were semi- dehydrated and leathery which made them easy to put on the hook; they puckered right back up as soon as they got in the water. I also found that I could refreeze/re-thaw them several times and they still retained their firmness - plus no smell. I've had some get covered up in the freezer for 3 years and they still kept fresh and shiny. Now I put them in bags and vacuum seal them to save space...make sure to freeze them before sealing as they make a mess of the sealer if you don't. This summer I'm going to try completely dehydrating them, but I'll try to do this when my "bride" is away as she may object to using the dehydrator and her splatter screen(to keep them flat) for this noble purpose. I use them for jigs, spinners etc. and find no reduced success from when I used live bait. I also warn her when I have a bucket of shiner soup in the fridge overnight

[mainbutter]

Thanks for sharing!

[Ed Carlson]

Try Pro-Cure BRINE 'N BITE BAIT BRINE once. It does a very good job and they also have other bait preservative systems for long term storage of other baits.

[rkhinrichs]

is there any differnce when using fresh bait or frozen bait, does one catch rate go down?

[hawgchaser]

The first year I used them, my fishing buddy who is /was fanatical about live bait would have friends bring live shiners from Winnipeg or he'd drive a 60 mi. round trip to the Moose Lake Resort to get minnows. We fished our dead sticks 6ft. from each other all year. I caught as many and usually more fish with my frozen shiners than he did with his live minnows. It must have caused him great pain to admit that "I guess it doesn't make any difference." The marina is now open winters but it is rare that he even bothers to buy live bait any more. More and more people up there are using frozen bait year-around.

[mnhunter2]

Instead of just salt use a 1/2 borax 1/2 salt and then freeze great bait cheap dosen't die and last with much refrigeration.

[hawgchaser]

mnhunter2, I missed the advantage of borax over just salt. What was the reason?

[Ed Carlson]

Borax is a curing agent. It accelerates the preservative properties of the salts without decimating the tissues of the bait. Kinda-Sorta like natures version of formaldehyde without the chemical stink.

[hawgchaser]

Is that what they used on the preserved shiners I bought at FF a couple years ago. I'd get one bump and that was it. Walleye just wouldn't hold on.

Have you actually used the borax-cured bait? I just remember how caustic it was when I was a kid, but am always open to a better method of preserving dead bait.

[Ed Carlson]

The Pro-Cure BRINE 'N BITE BAIT BRINE system has a scent option to it too. You can scent up a bait or let it stand on it's own. A lot of the bait preserved up North uses this system. You can check there site out and read up on the options with it. Small batch curing or large batch, scented or not.

[eskay]

We've used straight borax for years bringing minnows into Canada. Used them on everything from lakers to sturgeon to walleyes. Just freeze the leftovers and used them all summer. They do start to break down after a few re-freezes, but it's a great way to keep "live bait".

[rkhinrichs]

can you buyT he Pro-Cure BRINE 'N BITE BAIT BRINE system at bait shop or big name shops. Or should i just buy them on their website?

[Smallie Hunter]

My Dad and I flew in to Canada several years ago and we used saw dust and salt, then froze them. They lasted for the four days we were there with a fridge that did not work very well. I am not sure if customs would like the sawdust these days.

[mnhunter2]

I have used the borax /salt mix for years on our trips to canada and I have out fished live minnows with them, I personally like them better than fresh minnows less hassle and cheaper.

[Ed Carlson]

can you buyT he Pro-Cure BRINE 'N BITE BAIT BRINE system at bait shop or big name shops. Or should i just buy them on their website?

Shops near or on the great lake likely have it on hand. On line you will get a fair deal from there web site.

Gander/Overton's did carry it at one time but have not seen it recently there, could snoop the clearance area of there site too. Might try some Google shopping and see what pop's up too.

[Down Deep]

Question: Last year I purchased a bag of preserved minnows from one of the local tackle shops. These don't need any refrigeration and can be resealed. I found them to be hard as rocks. The fish would pick up the bait, but not hang on like they do with live bait. I missed fish all day. Are the salt and borax minnows still pliable like live bait? How do they stand up with out refrigeration?

[hawgchaser]

Can't say on the borax ones, but the salted ones are flexible and as effective (or more so) than live ones. I picked up a bag of the preserved ones too and had the same experience. I'd get bumps but nothing would hold. Finally donated them to the landfill. No doubt, they're still in prime condition and could be used as spear tips.

[mnhunter2]

I keep mine frozen untill we go out on the lake, once there thawed they feel like a live minnow.