# Salted minnows



## Star1pup

I've never tried salted minnows, but if you read North With Doc in In-Fisherman they are always talking about them for walleyes up north. Now I see an article in Fur-Fish-Game about salted minnows for trout. Anyone use them on fish here in Ohio? Are they worth trying?


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## bustedrod

I have salted minnows in the freeze , use them for wally, perch, steelies. keep them for when I have a hard time netting minns . or buying bait. I have used salted emeralds ice fishing also...good stuff


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## JcJigs

What do you do to salt them? I'd like to try this!


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## Whopper

I make a batch every year. They come in real handy when the walleye bite get tough on my trips to Canada and I have even used them perching on Lake Erie when we couldn't find any emeralds. I prefer to do emerald shinners, but others will do the trick also

First off I lay the minnows out on a flat surface in the sun, take two parts salt to one part Brorax and mix, then cover minnows, I even will add some garlic powder. Let they lay out to where the salt mix to almost dry and rotate minnows and add more mix. Once the minnows and mix had dried I put them in ziplock bags and store in the freezer.


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## Whaler

Why the salt? Won't the Borax be enough to preserve them ?


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## Whopper

Whaler said:


> Why the salt? Won't the Borax be enough to preserve them ?


Truthfully I cannot answer your question. The method I use was given to me years ago and I just followed the directions


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## Shortdrift

I tried all sorts of methods through the years and the best is put live or shiny dead minnows in a baggie then add canning salt and shake to coat all minnows. The live ones die very quickly. Dump onto a screen ( I use a cooking strainer) to remove excess salt, put in freezer baggie, squeeze out air and freeze. Have kept emeralds up to 18 months. You could vac seal and they would probably last for years.

I tried borax alone and the minnows lost a lot of their shine and became mushy fairly quickly. The salt really firms them up and they remain very shinny.


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## island troller

I also will put live minnows in a baggie then add salt. Salted minnows is all I used last year for perch and seen absolutely no difference using live minnows on the perch bite. Had some that were even in the freezer for 2 years.


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## huntindoggie22

I fill a ziplock back about a 1/3 full with shiners and then add salt and white rice and shake it all up and then freeze. That's all I used for perch last year. Stayed on the hook better than live.


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## fishdealer04

huntindoggie22 said:


> I fill a ziplock back about a 1/3 full with shiners and then add salt and white rice and shake it all up and then freeze. That's all I used for perch last year. Stayed on the hook better than live.


Is the rice used to absorb the water pulled out by the salt?


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## huntindoggie22

fishdealer04 said:


> Is the rice used to absorb the water pulled out by the salt?


Yes it is. It's the simplest way I have found and works well. The shiners do not turn to mush.


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## JcJigs

Going to for sure try this out


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## Shortdrift

*The rice addition sounds like a good idea to absorb the moisture out of the salt. Will try it on the spring emeralds.*


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## fishdealer04

huntindoggie22 said:


> Yes it is. It's the simplest way I have found and works well. The shiners do not turn to mush.


What kind of ratio do you use? Salt to rice


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## huntindoggie22

I don't have any exact ratio. I just pour it in until I feel it's sufficient enough to coat them well.


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## Tbomb55

huntindoggie22 said:


> I don't have any exact ratio. I just pour it in until I feel it's sufficient enough to coat them well.


I've heard of freezing them with some alcohol in a baggie too.


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## slapjaw

Don't buy minnows this time of year they are very abundant. Caught and salted around 2500 recently in about an hour of catching. They are not all for me and I know there is a limit to how many you can have. Buy a mini net and catch em your self. Imagine what 200 dozen would cost... No thanks


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## lakeslouie

Star1pup said:


> I've never tried salted minnows, but if you read North With Doc in In-Fisherman they are always talking about them for walleyes up north. Now I see an article in Fur-Fish-Game about salted minnows for trout. Anyone use them on fish here in Ohio? Are they worth trying?


Can't speak about effectiveness on walleye as I'm not an eye fisherman, but have used on trout. For trout you need current to properly present your bait. Salted minnow rig for trout is basically a small treble hook in the tail section with a small sliding single hook @ size 12 to be hooked in the lips. This rig is drifted with current near bottom under a split shot or 2 depending on current speed. They work hands down. I learned this technique from locals in PA mountain streams years ago and at the time it was the rage. If you didn't have em, you weren't catching em. However they are a pain to use this way. They are messy and you're constantly fixin the rig. I now only use small in line spinners as they outfish the minnow rigs by far IMO. They are quicker, easier, and no mess in your creel. Hope this helps!


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## Rybar

great tips, thanks


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## 1MoreKast

I'd like to add that if you store them in a ziplock, be sure to lay them out flat in the bag and as neat as you can or they'll curl up or look bent and as most of us know the most natural looking the better. Once they're nice and stiff or frozen they should stay that way.


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## riverpounder

I prefer my salted minnows to have a curl in them if u hook them thru the head and then back thru and into the body they will "spin" when retrieved or in current so don't throw the bent ones out and give it a try!! It's absolutely killer on stealhead in creek current as well as walleye and any other fish I've tried on ....


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## huntindoggie22

Doesn't matter to me if they are bent. I cut them up before I use them anyway


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## Searay

Type of salt used?


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## TClark

Good thread...love learning new things like this.
not too many shiners in these parts, but plenty of chubs...can't wait to try these methods!


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## BassMagic

Well, people, here's a recipe for frozen minnows I've been using for years. Mix 1 1/2 cups of Kosher salt,1 cup baking soda in a gallon of water. Make sure salt and soda are completely dissolved. Put minnows in alive with a minnow net. Leave in solution for 10 minutes. Remove minnows and lay them on newspapers and pat dry with paper towels.. Put desired number of minnows into freezer bags and freeze. The salt keeps them firm and the baking soda helps keep the color. I've had minnows in the freezer for over two years at times. I use them for stocked trout in Pa. as well as perch in the big lake.If I don't have a lot minnows to freeze, I use half the recipe. Give it a try!


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## Shortdrift

_*KISS*_
As I said before, Keep It Simple. I just put live or shiny dead minnows in a baggie then add enough canning salt and shake to coat all minnows. The live ones die very quickly. Dump onto a screen (I use a cooking strainer) to remove excess salt prior to spreading out on a old window screen for about the time it takes to get a freezer baggie (not the thin cheapo's), put minnows in the baggie, squeeze out as much air as you can and freeze. Have kept emeralds up to 18 months. You could vac seal and they would probably last for years.

A friend of mine simply puts the minnows into a bag, adds the salt, shakes, squeezes and freezes. KISS


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## zooks

Whaler said:


> Why the salt? Won't the Borax be enough to preserve them ?


This is about the same as processing chicken liver for catfish. Liver takes a lot longer and a lot more turns to dry them out. Between the salt and the borax the liver dries out and firms up. Bag and freeze when done.


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