Preserving Minnows???

[Mike M (Sask)]

A couple of days ago I posted a question and somewhere along the way it was lost. So I will try again. Does anybody have a receipe for preserving minnows? Some say to use salt but what kind? Also, is it best to start with live minnows or can you start with frozen ones?

Thanks for your input.
Mike M (Sask)

[Mike M (Sask)]

no message

[wood]

Hi Mike
I do minnows all the time.I use 80%cource salt and 20% borax.
Dry your minnows and cover them with the mix and freeze thats it thay never really freeze but thay stay nice and firm.
good luck Wood

[Mike M (Sask)]

Thanks for the response "Wood", but do you start with fresh or frozen minnows? The problem here in Saskatchewan is you must have a comercial bait fishing license to trap live minnows.

Thanks again,
Mike M (Sask)

[skr]

Mike, These instructions are per james/loch lomond from Feb. 10th:
1) Put the minnows live in a strong solution of formalin/water,this will kill the minnows and as long as there is plenty of room in the tub they die and remain straight. Leave them in the solution for 24 hrs.
2) They are then taken out and washed thoroughly. Sometimes a bluish scum forms over the minnows. This should be rubbed or scaped off. Dry coarse salt rubbed on the bait is excellent for getting rid of this film. The fins of the minnows may have turned white and will be sticking out. These can be cut off if you don't want the minnow to spin.
3) The minnows are now put into a sugar and water solution (1 part sugar/ 4 parts water) and allowed to stand in this solution exposed to air until the formalin smell has disappeared. They should then be washed and finally put into a jar containing glycerine, they are ready to be used.

PS Should be able to fine all that you need to do this at a pharmacy.
Good Luck and good fishing
skr

[Mike M (Sask)]

Thanks for the information "SKR". I'll give this a shot & see how it works.

Thanks again,
Mike M (Sask)

[SUPERTROLLER]

Mike, I just take live minnows and cover them with table salt. They will keep in the fridge for a week or more, if that's long enough for you. Sometimes I just add a little more salt when they start to get soggy again. I typically only do this for the weekend I go trout fishing for the opener each year but also worked for a short trip two years ago. If you want a method to keep them longer you could freeze them until needed too. One drawback is that some minnows get stiff with a severe curl to their body and you probably don't want that for use with walleyes. Stream trout seem to eat'em well enough but walleyes take a much more relaxed view and it wouldn't look natural. Never tried salted minnows on walleyes but now that you've peaked my curiousity, I will have to give it a go. Hope this helps to make up your mind as to a method.

[Mike M (Sask)]

"Supertroller", last year I was in Nothern Manitoba fishing the mouth of a river on Lake Athapap and there was this older gentleman taking Walleye left, right and centre. We tried minnows, leeches, night crawlers, and only caught a few. I finally asked the guy what he was using. His reply was salted minnows. This is the first time I've seen anyone use salted minnows for Walleye as well......but it worked there. Just thought I would share this with you.

Good Fish'n
Mike M (Sask)

[SUPERTROLLER]

Thanks for the reply Mike. Could be a river thing. When the fish has less time to make up their mind whether to hit or not they possibly just smack it and let go if it's not something edible. The salted minnow must still tickle their taste-buds. Now I've got to find some river dwelling walleyes to try it out on. I mostly fish lakes for walleyes and smallies and small streams for trout. Not too much experience on bigger rivers.

[wood]

Mike this is wood I'm from Sask please email me I would like to talk to you about Athapap
Thanks wood

[jb]

last year I preserved a 1/2 gallon of minnows by layering them in a five gallon bucket with 10# of coarse salt. Left them in the garage outside temperatures for 8 days; then shook off salt, packaged in zip-locks and refrigerated for our fly in. Four of the six people in our fly in party wanted nothing to do with them the first few days (we had a half flat of crawers along) but they almost fought over who was getting to use the last of them. They really worked well!

[Mike M (Sask)]

Wood, I can't find your email address? Please post it or send me an email.

[Mike M (Sask)]

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