Food for thought......or fish!

[AKanders]

Good afternoon Hardwater nuts!

Here is my question.....

On a recent outing, I was having trouble in the later part of the day getting a good hooking through pieces of Herring that had frozen while we were on the ice.  The flesh simply tore apart and flaked away.  I have not had this problem when the Herring is thawed.  What ingenious contraptions have you all invented to keep your bait at a higher than frozen temperature while out on the lake?  I was thinking of buying a small insulated lunchbox (mini cooler-type) and putting a couple of handwarmers in the ziploc in with the bait bag/jar.  Any thoughts or comments on that idea?  What keeps your bait in prime form?

Thanks for any responses!
ps look for a L. Louise report in the coming days!  Soon as the pictures get to me I will share, but not before!!  (Believe me, I wanna tell you about it!  )

Cheers!

Jake

[Grizzly1]

I've heard of people salting their herring but I don't, I keep them in a bag with several paper towels wrapped around the package for insulation.  They do start to freeze after a few hours though then I warm'um up with my paws .  I'm sure your handwarmer trick would work well if you aren't a tight wad like me  ........Hey, they cost close to two bucks a pop .

Lookin forward to your report and pics Jake

[AKanders]

Grizz-
thats one of the problems I am running into.  $$$$$  Looking to do it cheap and simple, in addition to compact as I tow all my gear to the ice on foot.   

On a related note, does anyone in the anchorage area know of a good place to get any whitefish?  I have heard from some folks that it is perferred by Lakers to herring.  Any thoughts on this?  I have not fished lakers enought to have any opinions on this, but I would love to go out and give it the ole pepsi challenge!! 
 
Thanks for the reply,

Jake

[icy mike]

place them in a good ziploc bag and keep them next to your heart !  Yes, I keep mine inside my coveralls.

[nptrash]

George and Frank have been sitting out on a lake all day ice fishing. George has been having no luck at all and Frank has been pulling fish after fish out of his hole in the ice. George finally leans over and asks the other what his secret is.

"Mu mupu meep ma mape mrrm" is the reply.

"Geez, Frank, what was that?"

"Mu mupu meep ma mape mrrm" Frank replies.

"Good grief Frank, still can't understand what you're saying."

Frank spits something into his hand and says very clearly, "I said, 'YOU GOTTA KEEP THE BAIT WARM!

[AKanders]

Cheers!

 

[FrankAk]

Thats what im talking about

[Barleydog]

Try this before heading out...  I used to make a formula of 1/2 cup salt and 2 tbls. of powdered coffee creamer to about 1 quart of water.  Salt will help "firm" up the flesh and skin of the smelt.  Coffee creamer will help shine up the scales and assist in toughening up the bait.  I use this formula for toughening up herring when trolling with already frozen bait.  Good stuff!  -Barleydog

[AKKay]

AKanders---I ran into the same prob with raw shrimp.......I just put em in a ziploc and keep em in my jacket or coveralls.  Good Luck!!   

NPTrash---you're a laugh riot!!   

[AKanders]

Hey Folks!

Thanks for the input on the frozen herring problem!  I am so anxious to try them out I may have to be missing from the office tomorrow.  I will tell them I am running an important experiment involving precise fisheries harvest technologies.  They might buy that!    

Still waiting on some photos........

Thanks again!

J

[RLWagner]

AKanders,

Keep it simple Bud. Just place your herring pieces into a small onion style sack, then drop them in an extra ice hole. While in the water the flesh will not freeze, and the oils will act as a kind of chum. You may need to add a small rock or sinker so the bag sinks below the edge of the hole.

I use this set up with a can of cream corn, loaf of bread and some oatmeal when I'm going to be on the ice all day in a location without structure. The "chum bag" is lifted and dropped every now and then. The water column as deep as you want will fill with food that attracts small forage fish and micro-organisms.
Last year I made a bet with a buddy while fishing in Michigan that I could catch a catfish/bullhead through the ice. I employed the above chum bag with a crushed Bluegill as well, and waalaa, six cats in an hour and a half. Presto!

[Grizzly1]

Barleydog,

How long do you soak the herring in the "brine"? 

[Barleydog]

AKANders,
OK, first things first....  Salt will "firm" up your fish!  If you leave them in fresh water, they will soften up.  

I posted this recipe on MyFishFinder about 2 years ago... I learned it from a charter boat capt. in Puget Sound who was our fishing club president.  It's a great little trick to keep bait on your hook and not frozen on the ice.

This recipe is fantastic for salt curing smelt, herring, alewives, and sardines!!! 
First get your bait and never let it get warm.  Warm bait will start to deteriarate rapidly which leaves you with mushy bait that's hard to thread on a hook.

1.  Take a cooler and fill it with 2 1/2 gallons of ice cold "non-chlorinated" water.  If you don't have a way to remove the chlorine, leave the water out on the counter overnight and it will be gone by morning.

2.  Mix about 3 Tbls. of Mrs. Stewarts liquid blueing into the water.  This will give the fish a really shiney look that is quite impressive!  If you can't get liquid blueing, try green food coloring, but it's not as productive.

3.  Mix in 4 cups of Non-Iodized salt, rock, or even kosher salt until diluted.

4.  1 cup of powdered milk.  This will help keep the fish firm and fresh, and helps if your working with soft fish.

5.  Let the fish sit a couple hours or a couple days.  You can add chopped garlic, garlic oil, or about 2 tbls. of anise oil for extra flavoring. 

This recipe is a bit labor intensive, but trust me it's worth it!  You should wait until after the fish have firmed up before performing any cuts for the purpose of cut-plugging etc...  Enjoy!  Barleydog

[Barleydog]

Sorry Grizz,
Usually overnight, but sometimes a couple nights...