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The Price River is opening up quickly, and I was wanting to throw a minnow trap in the drink to catch some chub minnows for bait at ice off at the local lakes.
I was wondering what the best way to preserve them is?, yep I know freezing is involved but how do you keep them from getting mushy and still preserve the fishy smell?
The ones I have purchased from the stores are way too mushy and dont like to stay on the hook.
Should I just fish for the bigger ones and use Tube Dudes method of fishy cubes? Thanks
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I put them in sandwich-type bags with a little water. I put them in the bag while the bag is underwater and remove all air bubbles. The other trick is to just thaw them enough so that you can separate a few of them and then keep the rest in a cooler with ice on them to keep them cool. This will help keep them from becoming mushy.
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[cool][#0000FF]Timely consideration. Getting ready to start throwing the cast net for this year's minnow supply my own self.
Maybe this will help.
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I've dabbled with some 'egg cure' figuring it's about the same goods. Some salt, sugar mix will draw moisuture out of the fish. Some of the egg cures include borax. And colorants.
But I really think the sugar, salt mix can serve the preservative approach.
other suggestion would be to pack 'em small. Sets of 5 minows, or so. Save you from thawing more than you're likely to use in a session.
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I've never considered using minnow traps to catch chubs in the river below Scofield. Would it be worth trying? I could fish for some small chubs at the same time. I've only used my traps to catch shiners. Would I use something besides bread balls? Dry dog food?
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Thanks for the tips, I feel a minnow trip coming on!
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[#502800]Google boy scout minnow trap, "Boys Life"..... They work.[/#502800]
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[#0000FF][cool]Cast nets work better.
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+1 Hmmm - might be time to check my minnow hole:
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Be careful going down the road behind the Scofield dam, the snow is deeper than it looks and it's quite a pull getting a stuck vehicle out of there right now.
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