[webster_catman]

im trying somthing new, i always have minnows left over after im done fishing, so what i did was coverd them in garlic salt and im tyinging to cure them like livers and adding garlic scent to them, has anyone else tried doing this? if so do u think it will work?

 

[Nate]

In order to properly preserve minnows you would have to gut them, cover them with garlic salt, and keep it in a real warm place for a couple days.

I tried curing them in the past a couple times and no matter how long I left them, they were all mushy and nasty.

One day I was watching a show on the Discovery Channel about mummyfication. They showed a ancient process where the organs of the body was removed, and the body cavity was filled with various flowers and other fragrant herbs. Then the body was completely covered with salt and left in a warm dry place for weeks. Later they came back, broke away all the hardened salt, and the body was perfectly preserved.

They said you must remove the insides, if not, all the juices from the guts will just be drawn out into the flesh from the salt and turn it to rancid goo. I'm sure this applies to fish as well.

So you'd probably need some rather large minnows capable of being gutted. Have you tried freezing them?

 

[webster_catman]

actully i have them frozen right now coverd in garlic salt, so i might just try them like this instead of letting them sit in the sun but ill let u know how they do

 

[Desperado]

I cured liver and I guess why not fish...I guess it will work let us know.

 

[elphaba7]

I have chunks of freezer-burned mahi marinating in garlic salt, cheese topping for popcorn, and anise seed right now. I'm goin to oven cure them later, and let you know how those turn out...shouldn't be too much different than the minnows.

 

[Desperado]

Might have to try that myself. Sounds good enough to eat now....lol

 

[webster_catman]

that sounds like it would probably worklet us know, i still havent had a chance to try these minnows out yet

 

[roofermike]

The minnows should work if you gut them and use enough salt

 

[Mr Phatkat]

Elphaba7, you are a true fisherwoman...My wife would kill me if i tried to cure anything in the oven or anywhere near the house for that matter! Although i did try to make a homeade dough bait out of sardines, limburger, garlic, rotten egg yolk...yuck the smells coming back to me just by thinkin about it. Anyway, keep us posted about the cured fish thing...Id love to have menhadden all year long!!

 

[elphaba7]

Elphaba7, you are a true fisherwoman...My wife would kill me if i tried to cure anything in the oven or anywhere near the house for that matter! Although i did try to make a homeade dough bait out of sardines, limburger, garlic, rotten egg yolk...yuck the smells coming back to me just by thinkin about it. Anyway, keep us posted about the cured fish thing...Id love to have menhadden all year long!!

LOL, my family wasn't too thrilled about the smell...I tried the mahi last night, and the cats went crazy for it. We actually went the night before, and got totally skunked, and then last night, I think about ninety seconds after I cast in, got some action. Had about a dozen hits, only pulled in four, all 1-2 pounds And I was fishing with a half asleep 7 year old, lol. The main problem I had was that I believe I let it cure too long, since the chunks never softened up like the livers will after they've been in the water. I think they were too hard...I'll make them again, but not cure them as long.

 

[TOPS]

I just put my extra minnows in a plastic bag and freeze. I use later as chum.

 

[marco88]

I just throw any extra minnows in an old 30 gal aquarium I set up. I also throw gills and goldfish in there. After a couple of trips I have a nice assortment of baits ready to go.

 

[JAYNC]

has anyone tried the packaged shad, are they real mushy or are they pretty good to use.

 

[webster_catman]

the packaged shad and shiners and other bait fish are actully really stiff but i never caught anything on them i think they take the oils out or somthing?

 

[master_cat]

the packaged shad are worthless unless u soak them in some kind of sent

 

[Crucial]

Just a couple of thoughts from a newbie here
I have cured minnows by using a half-n-half mixture of sugar and pickeling/canning salt (Kosher salt works really well too). I take use a bread pan (the pan for baking loafs not biscuts or a cookie sheet) but any thing will work and pour about an inch of the salt/sugar mixture down and then place a layer of minnows so they do not touch each other or the sides of the pan(about 6-8 depending on their size). Then pour another inch or so of the mixture, and another layer of minnows and more mixture intill I have about 3 layers of minnows. Then I place another bread pan on top so the bottom fits into the top of the pan with the minnows in it (like your stacking them) and place a 5lb bag of flower or sugar or salt or meal or what ever... in the pan to add a little weight. this helps press the water out of the minnow but not so much so that it squeeses the oils out.
Thats just the way I was tought to do it, weather its right or wrong I dont know but it seems to work for me. The minnows dont come out like freeze dryed baits, they arent carboard stiff but I've never had a problem with them being too "mushy". Oh, and you want to let that pan sit for about 2-3 days at room temp (low humidity if possible), and when you take the minnows out of the mixture you still want to refridgerate them untill your ready to use.
I have no idea how this would work if you used garlic salt in place of the canning/kosher salt. I am pretty sure that the salt in garlic salt is Iodized (im sure I spelled that wrong) and I've allways been told you dont want Iodized salt... why? Hell if I know? But I dont even use iodized salt for table salt anymore because I like the larger kosher any way

 

[BKS72]

I got up early one Sunday morning (before my wife) and covered about 2 lbs of livers in garlic salt and put them in the oven on broil to cure them. It was raining out and I was in a hurry to see if they would cure that way. Must have cooked them too long, because they were hard and crumbly and after my wife got through with me, (something about waking up to the smell of cooking liver and LOTS of garlic that she didn't like) that was the LAST experiment involving small animal organs, garlic, and the inside of my house.


Crucial, that sounds like it would work real well. About the same process as used for curing fish to eat.

I do like someone else posted and just throw whatever survived the trip into either our small aquarium or an old cooler in the garage, depending on how many are left. If there are no live ones in the bucket, they go in the freezer for cut bait later, if big enough.

 

[kspor]

We always just kept a old icecream container with a layer of salt in the bottom. As we came upon dead minnows/shad we threw them in the salt and then added more on top of em. Pack it down firmly and we used a piece of wood and a large rock to keep it all firmly packed. Add up the layers and you soon have a nice bucket of salted fish. Use the salt for livers as it adds fish oil smell and flavor.
Happy catting!