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+--- Thread: Preserving Bait (/showthread.php?tid=94210)
Preserving Bait - Hutch00 - 01-15-2004
[#0000a0]Years ago an old timer taught me a trick for keeping bait fresh enough to use without the benefit of refrigeration or even ice. The system works best with menhaden or shad but I have used it on small mullet also.[/#0000a0]
[#0000a0]Grab the old cast net and a box of some sort (I use a 48qt cooler) and head for your favorite menhaden netting spot. You'll also need several pounds of the cheapest possible non-iodized table salt. Expect to use a pound of salt for no more than five pounds live weight of bait.[/#0000a0]
[#0000a0]After covering the bottom of the cooler with bait about an inch thick, cover it liberally with the table salt. (leave the plug out on the cooler so the water drains out quickly) The bait should look like it got snowed over. Then go ahead and lay on more bait and more salt until you're done.[/#0000a0]
[#0000a0]Let this whole thing sit and drain for 24 hours with no refrigeration. (Do NOT put any ice in there with the bait!) You'll be amazed at how much water the salt pulls out of the bait.[/#0000a0]
[#0000a0]After 24 hours, rinse the majority of the salt off the bait with fresh water and let it drain.[/#0000a0]
[#0000a0]If you're using the bait almost immediately, skip the rinse and just use the bait straight out of the salt. It'll actually stay fresh enough to use for several days if just left covered with salt and no refrigeration. (Don't lay it out in the sun, naturally!)[/#0000a0]
[#0000a0]If you plan to store (refrigerate) the bait, place the rinsed and drained menhaden in zip-loc bags about the right size for fishing trips---sandwich size is about right---and stick them in the freezer.[/#0000a0]
[#0000a0]If you've ever frozen bait without this treatment, you know that it tends to be really mushy when you thaw it. Bait treated as above will remain a lot fresher and not mushy.[/#0000a0]
[#0000a0]If the bait was properly salted before freezing, it will never actually freeze solid because there is not much water left in it. Straight out of the freezer you can reach in and grab a single bait because they won't freeze together.[/#0000a0]
[#0000a0]Haven't tried it, but I'm told that the menhaden can come straight out of the salt and go into one of those home food dehydrators and then be stored virtually without refrigeration for up to a year.[/#0000a0]
[#0000a0]Personally, I save bait like this during certain times of the year for use during those times when fresh bait is very scarce, like mid-winter.[/#0000a0]
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