I read on another forum, that alot of guys will salt their bait. It’s actually posted to their ‘bible’ or sticky section. Just wondering if anyone around here does that?
From what I’ve read over there, alot of folks will buy their bait for the year and salt it. Squid, Shrimp, Haden etc. They say it will stay, unrefridgerated, all year and fishes ‘better than live bait’ and also stays on the hook better because it toughens it.
Sounds like alot of pro’s and the only con I can see is getting thumped about the head for putting cut squid/shrimp in your wife’s good tupperware. That and maybe the initial upfront cost, but the general concensus is that it saves money because you can reuse the bait more than live.
I’m a firm believer of freshest bait possible…but this was more than intriguing…
Anyone try it around here and can speak to the success/failure of it?
I’ve fished salted shrimp quite a bit and yes it still catches fish. I throw the cast net for bait, so my daily leftovers (if there are any) either go into the freezer or into salt.
There is nothing - absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Kenneth Grahame
BadBronce, Years ago when I worked on a Fluke (summer flounder)Boat up on LI NY, we would purchase huge blocks of frozen squid every 2-4 weeks. After defrosting them I would clean the squid and lay the white sheets of squid in five gallon buckets with some salt sprinkled in the bottom. I would then alternate, a layer of squid and a layer of salt, until the buckets were full. I would leave the salted squid in the cabin during the summer months for up to weeks at a time, removing sheets of squid as we needed them. There was no smell in the cabin and the squid never spoiled. The cabin reached temps into the 90’s and low 100’s at times. We would cut the salted squid into strips and fish them alone or preferably with live or fresh bait fish. They worked very well. We also salted Skimmer Clams in a similar manner for bait in the Fall and winter for Cod, flounder and Tog.
would you prefer it over fresh bait? Just wondering since you said ‘it still catches fish’
Is it not as good as fresh bait from what you’ve seen?
Steve
I prefer salted shrimp to fresh unless the fresh is still alive and twitching. Salt shrimp for even a day and it toughens up to stay on the hook better.
There is nothing - absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Kenneth Grahame
Here is the process I found on another site (p&s) and it includes various kinds of bait. Pretty much covers it I think. Doesn’t tell you how to grow live bluefish though
Salting Squid: Thaw a frozen box of squid, separate the squids and remove heads(these can be salted aswell). Make a slit from top to bottom And open the body. Clean out all of the guts and the clear Pen-quill. Flip the body over and gently scrape or peel away the skin. Now cut up the squid in strips or cubes slightly larger than the size you normally use(this allows for shrinkage to occur during curing). In a medium tupperware, layer Salt, Squid, Salt, Squid, etc. until all of your bait is in the tupperware, as i said the heads may be salted aswell. Allow to cure for at least one full day before using(i generally let it go for a few days before use shaking up the tupperware occasionally to ensure constant salt contact). This will last up to a year, less if you use more squid than i do, but it lasts a little longer on the hook, and a box lasts about a year for me done this way…
Salting Shrimp: 1lb of e-z peel shrimp(small ones) from farm fresh. Peel the shrimp. Two ways to cut it. 1: Cut it into about 1/2" long chunks, or 2:Cut in lengthwise to make two longer thinner pieces. Either way is fine but i prefer the chunks. Again layer Salt, Shrimp, Salt, Shrimp, etc. until all the bait is used. Same curing time, with occasional shaking to ensure constant salt contact.
Salting Strips of Fish: Fillet fish as normal leaving scales on. Now back-fillet as if you were going to make a skinless fillet, but make sure you leave some meat on the skin(usually half the thickness of the original fillet). Strip out the fillets, and again layer Salt, Strips, Salt, Strips, etc. THIS TIME using about twice as much salt as fish strips (this is because the fish has more liquid content than the other two baits described above) Curing time is a little longer, maybe three days max shaking occasionally to ensure constant salt contact. This will last as lo
BadBronce, Years ago when I worked on a Fluke (summer flounder)Boat up on LI NY, we would purchase huge blocks of frozen squid every 2-4 weeks…
Thanks. I’m thinking I might give this a try.
BTW, Someone else had posted in what I was reading and said they use Kosher salt or Iodized, but someone mentioned using Canning Salt. I have some, so maybe I’ll pick up some shrimp and try it this week, and bring some out this weekend…if I can get my hands on some decent shrimp from now till then.
what type of salt do you use?how would this work with mullet.would they need to be dry alittle bit?sorry about all the questions.
Good question sharky on the type of salt. I remember it being a very coarse salt. Much Coarser than Kosher salt but NOT a rock salt. I'm going back over 30 years in my head. I remember it came in 5 lb boxes and we used lots of it.Maybe a canning salt? As for Mullet? Well, Cod are salted, Herring are salted, anchovies are salted. I dont see why Mullet cant be salted. We never dried off clams or squid before salting them. But they weren't sitting in water either. Why not try a very small batch and see how it comes out. If you gut the mullet, I would salt the cavity and then make sure the mullet are surrounded with a thick layer of salt top and bottom. BadBronco,That Salting Squid process you posted is exactly how we did it. Remember that squid have those 2 fins that also make excellent bait.Pintch them off 1st. Squid tentacles also work well on some fish. ******Also be WARNED:***** If you are going to clean several pounds of squid. WEAR GLOVES!!!!!!! The ink from the squid will burn itch and swell up you hands, regardless of whether you are allergic or not. First time I clean up a 50lb box and salted it I learned that lesson.
the mullet will be in the 12-16 inch range.they will be ysed for winter months.i’ll cut them in 2 inch chunks so the guts will be out.the salt should cover 4 sides then.i’ll try and get some this weekend while i’m in charleston and salt them.i’ll post how it turned out.would it be best to use aplastic bucket or a foam cooler.i have plenty of both.
the mullet will be in the 12-16 inch range.they will be ysed for winter months.i’ll cut them in 2 inch chunks so the guts will be out.the salt should cover 4 sides then.i’ll try and get some this weekend while i’m in charleston and salt them.i’ll post how it turned out.would it be best to use aplastic bucket or a foam cooler.i have plenty of both.
We used to use Joint Compound buckets and those Plastic containers from the fish market. Heavy salt all around and a towel over the top of the bucket. We never sealed the containers. Not sure what the towel was for. Maybe to keep fly's out?
just guessing the salt is going to absorb moisture, so I dunno if leaving the lid off is going to help or not. I’m planning on trying it with some shrimp maybe this weekend, but I’m going to seal mine. Wife will shoot me if I make one more thing smell like fish in this house…lol
Sharky, definitely let us know how it goes. Just in shrimp alone for me…if it stays on the hook better, and still fishes like fresh bait…that would a real winner. I don’t use squid often, but I would do some. They sell it at the flea market here and it’s head on but I’m guessing the heads wouldn’t fair so well… not sure
I’ve done this with menhaden herring, and finger mullet I used kosher sea salt.
layer of salt layer of fish, layer of salt, layer of fish, in old cooler with drain, angle cooler so “fish juice” can drain off for about 24-36 hours then I pack in zip-lock freezer bags and stow in freezer for next trip.
Yankee sand flea on a Southern beach.
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Ok. Picked up some shrimp this morning and figured I’d take a few pics while I did this. Right, Wrong or Indifferent, this is how I “salted myy squigglies” (as my youngest calls it)
Started with shrimp. Shells/legs etc removed…
Cut them differently to see which will work best in the event I move to this method. I saved a handful as is and just froze them (incase this goes horribly wrong I’ll have some bait unsalted). I salted some whole, some cut into chunks, and some cut longwise
Busted out some salt…
Put a layer on the bottom of about 3/4" then layed some down
Started covering the little buggers.
Then I alternated until I had it covered in salt. Put in fridge for a little while, but after I see this is going good, I’ll probably move to the garage shelf.
I’ll be bringing these out this Saturday and give them a try after about almost a 3 day salt bath…
