Erik.T. Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 I was at school today and in Art class a kid gave me about 500 or more frozen salmon eggs in a tofu container for free. His parents didn't want them to go to waste as they are not fishermen nor were they going to eat the eggs, apparently they were a gift from their neighbor. The eggs were thawing out in my locker (the teachers wouldn't let me use their fridge) and now the eggs are finishing thawing out in my fridge. School does really pay off! I have very little experience with preparing roe bags or curing salmon eggs. A google search showed two options from a page called "preserving fish eggs for caviar and bait". This is the bait preserving part. So which method do i use? PRESERVING EGG CLUSTERS West Coast winter steelhead fishermen commonly use powdered borax on salmon eggs to tough- en them, preserve their appearance, and prevent the growth of bacteria. The toughened clusters stay on the hook longer than fresh ones. Preparation of boraxed eggs is simple. It takes very little time to prepare soft or medium-soft clusters that crush easily in the water and readily “milk" (give off odors). 1. Spread out a large sheet of paper, and cover it with a thin layer of borax. 2. Either cut the skeins of eggs into bait-size pieces with scissors, or pull them apart with your fingers along the natural connective tissue cleavage lines. Use a sharp pair of scissors to snip off pieces from the dangling end of a skein. 3. Place egg clusters on the borax-covered paper. Thoroughly dust clusters with additional borax, and let them stand in a cool, dry place for 12 to 36 hours. 4. After the clusters have reached the desired firmness, pack them in wide-mouth jars with airtight seals for storage. Cluster egg bait may be refrigerated for a few weeks or frozen in jars for longer storage times. Soft egg clusters stay on the hook better when tied in a piece of nylon stocking and are popular bait for trout and steelhead. These are easily prepared by simply tying clusters in discarded nylon stockings. They are then refrigerated or frozen in suitable containers. PRESERVING SINGLE EGGS Fishermen in all parts of the country use single salmon eggs for bait. With a little time and effort, suitable bait can be prepared: the only requirements are reasonably large salmon eggs and proper care before preparation. You can separate eggs from the membrane in tight skeins by immersing them in water at a temperature of 115° to 120°F and hand-manipulating the egg mass. The membrane coagulates at this temperature, and the eggs may be separated easily without damage. Materials needed to prepare single eggs include: • Preservative bath: I part commercial (40 percent) formalin (available at most drug stores) to 20 parts water at about 90° F. • Dye (if red eggs are desired): 1/4 teaspoon of powdered Safranin-O (available at many drug stores) dissolved in 2 quarts of water. • Neutralizing-fixing bath: 8 tablespoons of sodium bisulfite (available from photo supply stores and some drug stores) dissolved in 1 gallon of water at 60°F. • Glycerine: add 6 drops 40 percent formalin per ounce of glycerine. • Fish-attracting flavors: flavors, such as anise, may be added to glycerine. Immerse single eggs in the preservative bath for 30 to 45 minutes. Because processing characteristics of eggs vary, these treatment times are guides. Process small batches until you obtain the correct treatment for the eggs. Remove single eggs from the formalin solution while they are still soft but have no trace of a liquid center when sliced in half. The fixing and glycerine treatments will have an additional firming effect. Eggs left in the bath too long are rubbery and undesirable for bait. You may dye eggs at this point by dipping them in the dye solution for a few minutes. It is thought by some that brightly colored eggs more readily attract fish. The degree of redness depends on the strength of the dye solution and length of immersion time. When the desired color is obtained, rinse the eggs with water. Immerse eggs in the neutralizing-fixing bath for 20 to 30 minutes to neutralize any further action of the formalin. This prevents undue hardening during storage. Drain and place in a screw-cap jar for storage. Do not rinse or allow the surface of the eggs to dry before sealing. Pour enough of the glycerine mixture (glycerine, formalin, and anise, if desired) into jar to moisten the eggs but not to cause a noticeable accumulation at the bottom of the jar. Eggs treated in this way will keep for weeks in a warm room and may be stored over a year in the refrigerator. Also how many floating beads to eggs ratio wise do i use in a spawn bag? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danger Dan Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Some articles and tips on this website. There are other methods but I use the one that I have here. These are best used in roe bags! http://www.lakemichiganangler.com/tips/sal..._salmon_roe.htm Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasucker Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 the easiest way is to buy the pro cure from petes tackle. it will last you forever. This stuff comes in differant colours. i use the red personally. I believe it helps when the water is dirty... but what do i know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik.T. Posted October 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Cool thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Don't kill your eggs with strong cures! A steelie will grab and spit out a pro-cured bag faster than you can lift a rod tip. The best cure is no cure, but if you do want to, choose a mild cure. There are lots of homemade recipes out there that work, some include salt, sulphite, borax, etc....... If your eggs were already frozen, they WILL NOT take a cure as well as fresh eggs, as the membrane of the eggs have probably already broke down a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik.T. Posted October 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Don't kill your eggs with strong cures! A steelie will grab and spit out a pro-cured bag faster than you can lift a rod tip. The best cure is no cure, but if you do want to, choose a mild cure. There are lots of homemade recipes out there that work, some include salt, sulphite, borax, etc.......If your eggs were already frozen, they WILL NOT take a cure as well as fresh eggs, as the membrane of the eggs have probably already broke down a bit. thats ok as long as they last a bit longer. I think I might try borax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkapocn Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 my father and i use borax and jello... usually raspberry.... very good luck in the whirlpool with that combo, he has been using borax/jello combo on eggs for almost 30 years. and always have gotten good results Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogliq2 Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 I use straight table salt. I have kept eggs for 3 years using this method (Just in the fridge) and they are same as fresh ( just make sure to use the right ratio of salt/eggs) Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denis Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 Take those eggs you have now and tie them up using about 30 in a sac maybe even a few more. Go to port D and watch the guys fishing with the same size egg sacs and a big float. HINT check by the walkbridge or pm bowen. Now after you catch a big fat hen you will have all the eggs you need to try various techniques to see what method works for you. I've been fishin steelies for a while and when it comes to eggs and cures LESS is always more Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishinguypat Posted October 2, 2009 Report Share Posted October 2, 2009 mix enough sea salt and brown sugar until the eggs are hard...salt for harden the membrane and brown sugar for scent...if you get fresh eggs from a fish you can stream harden them by running stream water on them in a bag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik.T. Posted October 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 Take those eggs you have now and tie them up using about 30 in a sac maybe even a few more. Go to port D and watch the guys fishing with the same size egg sacs and a big float. HINT check by the walkbridge or pm bowen. Now after you catch a big fat hen you will have all the eggs you need to try various techniques to see what method works for you. I've been fishin steelies for a while and when it comes to eggs and cures LESS is always more Good Luck thanks a lot! but st.catherines is a fair haul for me when I can just go to a local creek where I know the steelies and salmon will be running but I will keep that in mind next time I go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steellee Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 mix enough sea salt and brown sugar until the eggs are hard...salt for harden the membrane and brown sugar for scent...if you get fresh eggs from a fish you can stream harden them by running stream water on them in a bag The salt and brown sugar method is also my favourite if eggs must be cured. If eggs dont need to be frozen and will be used in reasonable time a good cold water cure in a stocking than I add a layer of Arm and Hammer baking soda in the bottom of container to extend freshness seems to work best. How you package eggs before freezing or refrigeration also goes a long way towards having the best eggs when you need them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Court Rose Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 The best way I found was once you milk the fish, take the egg's in a zip lock bag and the water of where you caught the fish soak for 10-15 min. and then drain all the water and when you are done you will be able to bounce them on the floor they firm up so nice and stay natural colour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik.T. Posted October 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 ok thanks for all the suggestions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik.T. Posted October 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 Ok here are the finished roe bags unfortunately we didn't have any of that elastic string so it was all knots and hand tieing. I used bottled water to rinse off the eggs. I cut the egg clusters so that they were about the size of a loonie. I then coated them in borax and let them sit for a half hour then the tieing began. The eggs are still coated in borax so if I didn't wait long enough hopefully they will still turn out. This is the first of about 5 or more batches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marth11 Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 man thats a good amount of roe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik.T. Posted October 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 man thats a good amount of roe and its only 1/5 of my total amount Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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