# Preserving bait?



## Scubasam

My uncle and have tried our hand last year at preserving left over minnows and freezing them. Any tips or tricks to it? We packed them in a vacuum bag with some salt and rice.


----------



## baitguy

Hey Sam ... Freezing minnows in their natural state doesn't do much good, even w/salt in the water, when you thaw them they turn to mush ... there are a few ways to preserve them so they're good later, most of them do involve salt and a bit of a process, then putting them in bags, you can freeze those and not only are they effective later, they're tougher and stay on the hook better... works for any size minnows, bait fish, shad, etc ... send me PM if you want some info


----------



## Misdirection

We freeze ours in cheap vodka. Put the shiners in a quart size freezer bag, fill with vodka so when laying flat the vodka just covers them. Then put them in the freezer.


----------



## Scubasam

It won't make them mushy?


----------



## Misdirection

Their not too bad. Been doing it that way for a long time. Its the best I've tried. I did hear of freezing them in sawdust to absorb the moisture, but I haven't tried that yet.


----------



## mercuryjoe

I use Isopropyl alcohol. I got this tip from a charter captain. I have done it several times with great results. I spread the minnows out on a cookie sheet and then spray them with the alcohol. They die very quickly after being sprayed. There is an odor but the perch don't seem to mind. When thawed they have a very firm maybe even rubbery feel to them. I have pulled enough doubles with them to be convinced when the bite is hot they work every bit as well as live minnows.


----------



## mtstringer

I used to clean VCR's back in the day, and I used 91% isopropyl alcohol, even though the 70% was cheaper. Mercury Joe, does it matter what type of Isopropyl? 70% or 91%?


----------



## mercuryjoe

One more thing i should have added. The reason i put them on the cookie sheet is so i can put them right into our chest freezer to freeze them really fast. As soon as they are frozen i put them in small containers so my wife quits freaking out!


----------



## Musky

Scubasam said:


> My uncle and have tried our hand last year at preserving left over minnows and freezing them. Any tips or tricks to it? We packed them in a vacuum bag with some salt and rice.


 I have a bit of an experiment going now with bee moth (wax worms). Normally they die off before I get them all used and I end up throwing most of them away. I try to buy in the larger amount because the price you have to buy for the small containers is way too high IMO . Anyway, during ice season last year, I bought a container of 250 bee moth. Got me to thinking about how to "save" them. I put them in a prescription pill container, then topped it off with alcohol. I did not put in the fridge or freezer. Just put worms only in the bottle and covered completely with liquid so no air was in contact with them. I am now using the same worms for fishing. The ones at the very top tuned brown where they were exposed, but the others are just fine. They seem to be pretty firm as well. They stay on the hook fine and the fish don't seem to care about the alcohol flavor. So far, so good!!


----------



## Scubasam

Thanks to all of you I'm going to do some experimenting this summer and see what I can come up with I'll let you all know.


----------



## Dagojoe

I am experimenting a little with saving them. I made a 1' x 2' screened in box that has a hinge on one side. Placed rock salt on the screen then placed the minnows on top. Let them dry outside for a day (no flys can get to them because of the screen plus the liquid drains out). I then place them in the freezer. Haven't tried using them yet but they seem pretty firm. I'll let you know how they hold up when I get out fishing.


----------



## baitguy

Dagojoe said:


> I am experimenting a little with saving them. I made a 1' x 2' screened in box that has a hinge on one side. Placed rock salt on the screen then placed the minnows on top. Let them dry outside for a day (no flys can get to them because of the screen plus the liquid drains out). I then place them in the freezer. Haven't tried using them yet but they seem pretty firm. I'll let you know how they hold up when I get out fishing.


Dagojoe ... I'd be interested to know how your experiment turns out ... you can PM me or send a communicado at [email protected] ... thanks


----------



## Dagojoe

jeffk said:


> Dagojoe ... I'd be interested to know how your experiment turns out ... you can PM me or send a communicado at [email protected] ... thanks


Be glad to. It may be a few weeks before I can get out again. I did a similar thing last year but I could not leave it out to dry long enough without the flies getting to it. They didn't dry completely so they were a little mushy when I used them (not much though)


----------



## baitguy

Dagojoe said:


> Be glad to. It may be a few weeks before I can get out again. I did a similar thing last year but I could not leave it out to dry long enough without the flies getting to it. They didn't dry completely so they were a little mushy when I used them (not much though)


Dagojoe ... there's often an issue with minnies getting mushy when being "preserved" ... I'm always interested in new methods that actually work ... have a few that I've tried and some I know about but haven't tried, they can get tricky, those rascals aren't always cooperative about being usable after they thaw or whatever ... most of the methods I've used that were effective involved salt in some fashion and then freezing them ... good luck, look forward to hearing about your success lol or not ...


----------



## Dagojoe

Hi Jeff. I finally got out yesterday with my grandkids. We fished a while for perch and used live and the salted minnows and the salted ones held up great, no mush. Unfortunately we did not catch perch with either. Switched to trolling.


----------



## baitguy

Dagojoe said:


> Hi Jeff. I finally got out yesterday with my grandkids. We fished a while for perch and used live and the salted minnows and the salted ones held up great, no mush. Unfortunately we did not catch perch with either. Switched to trolling.


Dagojoe ... thanks for the info, glad to hear the salting worked out ... heard the perch haven't been biting much yet this year, I've been limited getting out at all so far this season, still trying to get my friends new to him boat out at all ... we've had several outings scheduled that had to be canceled due to working and the weather, work can screw up a good time every time  won't be trying this weekend, the 4th, not interested in fighting the boat and fishing traffic on what looks to be a nice weekend for a change ... hoping to get out next week ...


----------



## Dagojoe

I know what you mean Jeff. I retired a few years ago and thought I would be fishing a couple times a week. Yeah right, busier now than when I worked helping out the kids and grandkids. Oh well, its better than work!!!! I had some blood clots in my leg a couple weeks ago so fishing was out of the question (had to pass up a trout fishing trip at a resort in Arkansas with my son). Hoping to get out next Thursday. I'm with you, I learned my lesson trying to get out on holiday weekends. Hope you get out and get your limit.


----------



## Dude5285

I found what works best for me. As soon as I'm done fishing I pour curing salt in my minnow bucket. Wait till they are all dead us ally about an hour. I then throw them in sink and rinse them off. Put down some paper towels and lay them on the towel then pat dry. Once dry put some more curing salt on them. I us ally let them sit like this for a few hours. I then scrape them off the paper towel throw them in a zip lock and add some more curing salt and shake them up. The key to being correctly done is to be sure they are completely dry. Throw them in freezer and enjoy later in the lake. They don't get mushy and they stay on the hook for quite awhile. I caught 4 or 5 perch on 1 last year.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


----------



## Papatim

Misdirection said:


> We freeze ours in cheap vodka. Put the shiners in a quart size freezer bag, fill with vodka so when laying flat the vodka just covers them. Then put them in the freezer.


 Can GIN be used instead of vodka? Both are clear liquid.


----------



## Misdirection

Papatim said:


> Can GIN be used instead of vodka? Both are clear liquid.


Never tried Gin. The old guy who showed me how to freeze em said cheap vodka.


----------



## Slikster

If you use salt, especially the coarse curing salt, put it in a container to catch all the liquid drawn out of them. Go get ya container to keep that liquid in, preferably something air tight. After you cure enough minnows and have a decent amount of that juice saved up, go get one of those things used at Thanksgiving to separate the turkey juice from the oil in the pan... it looks like a measuring cup with a funnel. Separate any liquid, and keep that oil. 

You can dip the cured minnows in the oil while fishing, pour some over plastic baits etc... good stuff


----------



## Amuzme2

I salt mine
http://www.lakemichiganangler.com/tips/general/how_to_make_salted_minnows.htm


----------

