Freezing Bait

[Winch101]

Anybody have experience with freezing fresh caught minnows ..

Do you dry them a bit , or not ? Thnx W101

[Big Red 250]

Put a bit of water in the containers, enough to cover the minnows, put in freezer.

[Cal]

I usualy just freeze them but drying them after you pull them out helps them stay on the hook so maby drying them before freezing them would help too. Another good way to preserve them is to salt them. This toughens them up nicely and keeps them on the hook much longer.

[Guitarplayingfish]

Originally Posted by Winch101

Anybody have experience with freezing fresh caught minnows ..

Do you dry them a bit , or not ? Thnx W101

I remember reading in the regulation book that you CANNOT harvest minnows or bait unless you use them at the same lake you harvested them from. Makes sense to me, Otherwise your fkin around with the population. Keep that in mind.

[nicemustang]

Yeah it's best to dry them for a few hours. They get a little stiffer this way and keep better inthe freezer.

[aulrich]

There was a thread a while back about salting minnows.

[aulrich]

Here is the link, it's a little more complicated than I remembered, mind you, if you brine them as if you would if you were smoking them ...


http://www.salmonuniversity.com/ol_brining_herring.html

[Mulestalker]

Bring a pail of salted water with you when you go to retrieve your catch,dump them in the water ,as they take in the water they are pickling from the inside out, last year I also added some alum to the mix ...a little too much I may add as I could hardly get them on the hook....which reminds me...better get trapp'n

[dodger]

Originally Posted by Guitarplayingfish

I remember reading in the regulation book that you CANNOT harvest minnows or bait unless you use them at the same lake you harvested them from. Makes sense to me, Otherwise your fkin around with the population. Keep that in mind.

Where do I buy the Travers or Chin Reservoir minnows? I'm getting desperate!
Dodger.