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I'm looking for advise on curing fish roe for use later as bait. How does one "toughen and cluster" the roe. Will layering it in rock salt for a day or two work or will that destroy it? I want to save some of the trout and perch roe that is so plentiful in the winter for some summer catfish expeditions.
I read in the Proclamation that using parts of game fish (except for some specific fish on specific waters) is illegal, but using the roe of any non-prohibited fish is legal. I'd like to make use of this resource if possible.
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[cool][#0000ff]This is a good time to collect trout and perch roe for use in open water in the spring. We have had some chatter on curing and using roe before. If you use your search button you can probably find a couple of posts from the past.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Simply put, you should not cure the roe before you freeze it. At least I have better results by freezing it fresh and then processing it just before use. Put it in small plastic bags and squeeze all of the air out before freezing. Add a few drops of water if necessary, but not much.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The day before you plan to use it, thaw it at room temp (no microwaves, unless you like roe popcorn). When it is pliable, use a SHARP knife or a pair of scissors to cut the egg skeins into bait sized pieces. Spread them on a paper towel and then sprinkle them lightly with borax (laundry product). That will cure the eggs. Some guys like to also sprinkle on a little (non-iodized) salt and either white or brown sugar. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are commercially prepared roe cure mixes, with some including red coloring and all that. Not necessary, but a good product for curing salmon and steelhead roe for fishing for those species. The borax is the main curing element in all roe cures.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You can fish the roe "berries" on a treble hook, with or without wrapping a few turns of sewing thread to help hold it on. Some folks tie them up in the little mesh bags, but it is good to have a few eggs hanging loose.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The perch eggs make great catfish caviar.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]By the way, you can use any gamefish roe, but you can't take roe from "prohibited" species...like June Suckers, Pikeminnows, exotic chubs, etc. You also can't take the roe from a trout and then release it.[/#0000ff]
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Thanks Tubester,
I should have thought of using borax. I did taxidermy for years on fish and always used it to cure & toughen the skins prior to stretching them over a form.
It seem like it would be a deterent to the taste sensitive whiskers on a catfish. Have you actually used this method with success or are you relaying information you've gleaned over the years?
I'm assuming the salt would just suck all the moisture out of the eggs and make them like little raisins?
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[cool][#0000ff]Actually, if you are keeping the roe strictly for catfish, in a still water situation, I would not use any kind of cure on it. The fresher and more natural the better. I have fished crappie and perch roe for cats with good results...using the whole skein. Just thread the sac on a large hook and huck it out without any weight. Let the fish move off with it a little, with the bail open, and then whammo.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have used a ton of trout, steelhead and salmon roe, for drifting and bottom bouncing in streams. That is why you cure it, to keep it firmer on the hook when you keep casting and bouncing it in the current.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Yeah, I have cured bunches of that stuff. I used to make up two or three days worth on a Thursday night so I could fish all weekend without having to mess with more roe. When the steelhead were in, in northern California, having fresh roe was sometimes the difference between action and hypothermia.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have not tried the roe in Utah, like some folks do at Scofield. But I have been told that you really don't need to cure it unless the eggs are really loose in the skeins. Then you need to cure it and wrap it in the mesh bags. Otherwise, just cut it into bite size pieces and chunk it out there.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In short, natural is always better. But, when a catfish zeros in on the bait, a slight bit of borax is not going to spook him. After all, those bozos eat Ivory Soap and other wierd stuff. Most of the borax is going to rinse out and the natural scent is what is going to seal the deal. If you want to enhance it, squirt on some attractant of some kind. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff](EDITED IN) Forgot to address the salt issue. It would likely NOT turn the eggs to raisins. Ever hear of caviar? They are salted fish eggs. The most popular is from sturgeon but eggs from salmon and other species makes a passable snack too...if you're into salty fish eggs.[/#0000ff]
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It is against the law to use game fish like trout......Any parts.....
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Years ago while ice fishing on Piute reservoir we were catching an occasional trout, but it was pretty slow. I was watching one guy out a ways that was catching fish every few minutes. It got the best of me and I paid a visit to the neighbor. He was using the roe from the trout he had caught. Pieces of the roe had fallen off his hook and settled down to the bottom, in essence chumming the hole. Those trout had come in on a feeding frenzy on the roe and he was having crazy action. Acey
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I had never seen the part about the row I know that they have ways of curing it but I'm not sure how..
When I was in Org. a year or two ago I was talking with a fisherman that said he used jello but I not sure how....
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I heard that piute rumer but never tried it, before that I fished the kemmerer derby and practaly the only fish caught were on fresh eggs.
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