Ran out of freezer mullet early last winter and swore it wouldnt happen again. Caught several gallon freezer bags of corncob size this weekend and plan to get more. With fingers, I just cut off the head and tail and split the remaining body into two chunks, just freeze without salting. Better to filet the larger ones? Salt? Freeze whole and thaw/chunk on the boat as needed? Different ways for different species? Chunk some, filet some, leave some whole? Id appreciate greater experience and or just learning of different approaches. What would you do with a 5-gallon bucket of mullet to best be prepared for inshore/nearshore next winter or this summer on days when bait is scarce or your limited time is better spent fishing with freezer bait than catching fresh? Thanks in advance for your input.
Brine them for 4 hrs in ice and rock salt(get at lowes for 4.50 bag)after pickled lay on cookie sheet and freeze solid then put in large zip lock bags they will last and will not stick togeatherr just reach in and grab what you need we do this with 8" and use as split tails Its better if you have a seprate bait freezer as the old lady hates bait in our house freezer.We also do this with left over herring when striper fishing.
Girls,
Just catch them .they are everywhere.
big dog
Wando:
Read it again. I know they are everywhere. I did catch them. But they wont be everywhere this winter and sometimes I only have a short time to fish and dont want to waste a minute of it chasing bait. Note the thread title: Preparing/Saving Cutbait. Hoping to learn something, I posted a legitimate question for discussion and think I even managed to do it in the right forum. I dont need to get called a girl for it. I dont know if you were trying to be funny or a toughguy. I dont really care, bigdog. There is enough of that crap on here already. Half the time someone is following a thread and logs back on for new posts it a disappointing waste of time if it isnt in the funnyguy/toughguy vein, then its image building with campaign speeches for most knowledgeable or ethical angler of the year or someone pimping their business. Last week a guide was the most recent person to tell me he doesnt even go on this site anymore. He may not need to learn any more but some of us do. Read the post for comprehension, then either offer something worthwhile that adds to the discussion or even something that is actually funny. Otherwise, no one needs to hear from you.
Boatpoor, thank you for the suggestion.
I’d like to see “Wando Girl” catch mullet in the winter… Well said Hobohicket!!
As for the advice… Doesn’t get much more spot on than Boatpoor.
Any man that doesn’t know how to catch a fish, shouldn’t disgrace a fish, by catching it.
Boatpoor is dead-on…
You have a short time to fish???
Then you want to have the best baits…
Fresh and live.
We are in the spring Sally… Go catch bait and fish for better results…
Toughin up buttercup.
big dog
I think you mean well, Wando. You just can’t read. I’ll take your advice for the remainder of spring. Then I’ll repost my question just before the last bait runs out of my creek this fall and we can start fresh. Until then, we can both irrelevantly (as to my question) fish live baits, you can learn to read, and I’ll try my best to toughen up. -Buttercup Sally Girl.