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Hi there anglers! I have a few questions about salted bait.
For example I have some frozen squid, will it work best if I defrost it and ad salt on it then freezit up? or what is the main purpose of salting the bait, can it be any kind of bait? and what kind os salt? thank you very much
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I've known guys to salt their bait, but it was to keep them from going ranced, not to intice the fish. I use squid as well and just refreeze what I don't use that day.
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Yep, the salt is for preservation of soft flesh baits. Squid is naturally freezable, so no salt necessary.
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Hi, I like use fresh shrimp or cuttlefish. some time I use small fish frozen. But fresh fish is better
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salting baits will make them last longer but will also take away from its swimming action. i like to use the bionic brine on my dredge baits and teasers but no salt on my hook baits.
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LOL, I use nothing but fresh, with the exception of using frozen cigar minnows for trolling for kings when there's no Pogey's around. But, I buy those prepackaged from the tackle store, and they are not salted. Ballyhoo is the same way.
Bottom fishing, i'll use frozen cigar minnows until I catch a few scraps, and then i'll stow the cigars and use the fresh scraps; live or filleted.
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Salting (Brining) is extremely common, especially for offshore fishermen. Sometimes you can find a solid source of blast-frozen baits, which is the best way to go. Anyway you look at it, if your bait isn't fresh or live, it needs to be in the best and most natural shape. Would you eat a burger if it looked horrible and smelled like rotten eggs?
My experience is mostly with stocking up on ribbonfish early in the season and keeping the freezer stocked so I continue to have them throughout the season. Though, its the same case for anything from cigar minnows to ballyhoo. The best possible thing you can do, is catch your own bait or buy it as soon as it hits the bait shops. Get home and get ready to preserve it, if not done properly, a bait will "wash-out" very quickly.
I would always soak the baits in a mixture of salt water, kosher salt and ice. If at all possible (Ballyhoo) Id try to rig them after soaking. After each bait was rigged and rinsed in salt water, I'd place it in a cooler between layers of cubed or crushed ice. I'd then pour/sprinkle the ice and baits with baking soda and more salt I'd usually put the rigging in baggies "zipping them closed as much as possible to keep them from sticking to the ice. As the ice melted mixing the salt and baking soda, a near-freezing mixture (brine) is created, this strengthens and preserves the bait. The brine was maintained by adding ice and salt as necessary and periodically draining the cooler as often as possible, usually daily to make sure the bait stays in top condition.
Thawing them out is pretty simple, as soon as you step foot on the boat, lean over the side, fill a bucket with fresh saltwater, put 6-10 in the bucket to let them thaw, every 10-15 minutes pick them up, and bend their backs, moving them in a "snakelike" action, it'll keep them flexible.
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That sounds like a heck of a lot of work just to preserve some bait. I'm sure it's the best way though, so don't think i'm knocking it. But I rarely have an issue with a bait washing out, and I don't do anything special. I pick up a box or bag of bait the day before a trip, and on the way out I thaw it in a bucket of saltwater. That's it. Now, I don't go just anywhere and buy bait either. I spend a few extra bucks and get the better quality stuff. The Boatersworld in Murrells Inlet is where I use to get my cigars and hoo's, but they closed down. What a bummer.
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Oh I agree, doing something like that is usually only done prior to tournament days to ensure if no livebait can be caught, we still have something to drag behind the boat. Live bait is almost always the way to go. On that note, hows the bait running down your way? The bait is running the coast south now, king bite should be insane this season, especially if the water temp will drop.
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thank you very for all the info.
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