Freezing Fish Row

[LordoftheFlies]

I harvested two trout last weekend (released many, many more), and both of them were full of eggs. I know when ice-off occurs, row sacks are deadly and the fish can't resist them. My question is, can I freeze these egg sacks now and use them in a couple months during ice-off? Has anyone ever done that? Do they thaw out OK? Thoughts?
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[Chester]

Cure roe in borax then freeze or refrigerate, and they will last till spring.

To cure them cover in borax and refigerate. Let the borax dry the roe a little. This will preserve the roe. When the roe it dried to a consistency that you like freeze it.

Don't overlook fishing with roe through the ice. Just because nothing is spawning doesn't mean the fish have forgotten eggs. Some of my fastest ice fishing last year was with roe. It does seem to be a hot or cold bait though. Sometimes they won't touch it.

Hope this helps,
Chester
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[LordoftheFlies]

Great! Thanks for the info.

Also, I noticed I spelled roe incorrectly. Oops.[crazy]
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[lunkerhunter2]

I also use Borax and it works great.
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[LordoftheFlies]

Do I rinse the borax off after curing and before freezing?
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[fuzzyfisher]

just put them in a zip-lock bag push all the air out and seal the bag. throw it in the freezer be good for trout bait for 6 months. after that it's cat bait.. no borax needed,
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[Lundman]

[black][size 3]Time to take it up a Angie notch.....[/size][/black]

This will be good education for all you fisherman

"Cure for Eggs"

[url "http://www.thefishingoddess.com/AngieEggCure_page.htm"]http://www.thefishingoddess.com/AngieEggCure_page.htm[/url]

Please read till the end - it's a pretty good page...
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[Chester]

I just leave the borax on until I use it. Roe will last much longer if you treat it with borax to prevent spoilage, and it doesn't seem to bother the fish.

I cover the bottom of a pie pan with 1/2 inch of borax, add eggs, cover with 1/2 inch of borax and set in the fridge for a few days. The borax will leech the moisture out of the roe until it is the desired consistency. Put it in a ziplock, bleed the air, and refrigerate or freeze.
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[icing_perch]

You can also buy a podered cure for eggs from Cabelas and other outdoor stores that works well and comes in different colors. I was in Alaska before I came to Utah and I would cure mine with the powdered stuff, put it in a quart jar and freeze it and then pull it out and use it for icefishing or salmon the next summer always worked pretty good.
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