I want to cure eggs this year.

[Mr56Jeep]

I have never done it before. Since this is a Pink year, I want to give it a shot. Anyone have the run down?  What do I need to know?  What do I need to make sure I don't do?

Thank you in advance.

[doyourtime89]

I have only done it a couple times but here are some places to start:

http://www.pro-cure.com/eggcure.html

http://www.steelheaduniversity.com/egg_cure.html

http://www.pro-cure.com/eggcuring.html

http://www.pautzke.com/products_firecure.php

[Button Nubbs]

I have never done it before. Since this is a Pink year, I want to give it a shot. Anyone have the run down?  What do I need to know?  What do I need to make sure I don't do?

Thank you in advance.

Loaded question. I reccomed Scott haugen egg cures book. Just remember when curing you can't make bad eggs good. Bleed the fish immediately, take eggs out, the sooner the better, NEVER get them wet or rinse them. NEVER freeze before curing. When curing don't put the eggs on newspaper or paper towels that will bleed ink. Lots of good curing vids on YouTube.

[Mfowl]

I've used Bor X o' Fire from Pautzke's with good results in the past. Simple and easy to use cure! As stated don't rinse your eggs, try to get them cleanly out of the fish (no blood.) You can use "Bad Azz" bait dye while curing as well, just sprinkle it on while you applying your cure. I've used the blue and red with good results. Good luck out there! I'll be curing some pink eggs this summer as well.

[270Flat]

Good advice for care above.

Always had my best success with straight borax when using roe. My dad and I used to cure all our eggs growing up. My brother actually mistook them once for aplets and cotlets once. His reaction was priceless!!

We had wire racks to cure out. Then layered them into a water proof container. Was always wet on the Penninsula.

They looked great in the water!!

Good luck!

[huntnnw]

depends on what your eggs are being used for..salmon dye them fire red

[Button Nubbs]

fire red is the go to color for salmon eggs but it never hurts to play a little with colors/types of cures. i cant tell you how many times i have been at a hole and had the bite shut off, then i switch to a different color or cure or even add shrimp or something else to my bait and the bite goes back on for me. last year i was fishing a busy river in a hole chalked full of kings with about 5 other boats, we were all catching fish, then it shut down. i took a type of "salt" that is readily available at supermarkets and sprinkled it on my eggs. first cast fish on. salmon can be very temperamental and i wont go out with at least two different cures and a couple different types of bait for these situations.

[steeleywhopper]

Borax O Fire is bullet proof for steelhead. Open up the skeins, toss em in a ziplock with Borax o fire.. fish em or freeze them
Pautzke's fire cure is my new cure of choice for salmon, open up the skein add cure and stick in fridge...Fish em or freeze them

My number one cure for steelhead is still the good old basic Salt, Borax, sugar cure. Google it and you will find a ton of variations.

[huntnnw]

I use plain ole borax for steelhead or  fresh eggs when available.

Pautzke will not get my money ever after the BS i watched on the Ronde...gutting hens for eggs and tossing their fish in the river

[Smossy]

Borax O Fire is bullet proof for steelhead. Open up the skeins, toss em in a ziplock with Borax o fire.. fish em or freeze them
Pautzke's fire cure is my new cure of choice for salmon, open up the skein add cure and stick in fridge...Fish em or freeze them

My number one cure for steelhead is still the good old basic Salt, Borax, sugar cure. Google it and you will find a ton of variations.

Exactly what I do to the T. I still have some left over from last year, Wonder if they're still any good.
Both products work for exactly what he said.

[Smossy]

fire red is the go to color for salmon eggs but it never hurts to play a little with colors/types of cures. i cant tell you how many times i have been at a hole and had the bite shut off, then i switch to a different color or cure or even add shrimp or something else to my bait and the bite goes back on for me. last year i was fishing a busy river in a hole chalked full of kings with about 5 other boats, we were all catching fish, then it shut down. i took a type of "salt" that is readily available at supermarkets and sprinkled it on my eggs. first cast fish on. salmon can be very temperamental and i wont go out with at least two different cures and a couple different types of bait for these situations.

Mixing the red with the pink turns out great results. Not exactly sure why but Its something some old timer told me about, worked like a charm. Seems like the red turns out alittle light red orange-ish and the pink is alittle too dark after application, Mixing the two seem to give a real nice red color.

[PolarBear]

I did 28 skeins of beautiful coho eggs last fall.  Half were Borax O Fire and the other half in Fire Cure (red and pink mixed).  I have almost all of them left.  I caught every single one of my winter steelhead on my home made artificial salmon eggs and yarnies.   They out fished shrimp, prawns and real eggs every time. I think that I am done messing with eggs.

[Smossy]

I did 28 skeins of beautiful coho eggs last fall.  Half were Borax O Fire and the other half in Fire Cure (red and pink mixed).  I have almost all of them left.  I caught every single one of my winter steelhead on my home made artificial salmon eggs and yarnies.   I think that I am done messing with eggs.

Do they hold out good over a year being frozen?

[PolarBear]

They seem to.  I vaccuum pack them right after curing.

[Smossy]

They seem to.  I vaccuum pack them right after curing.

Mine are just rolled up in some ziplock freezer bags, Hopefully they'll still be good. Ive even got 2 packs that have been sitting in the fridge since last november I think to. woops.
I cure/color them then just fill a container with borax and drop them in there, make sure they're nice and covered.

[PolarBear]

The borax cured eggs are packed in regular vacuum bags.  The more wet cure are vacuum sealed in jars, all go in the freezer.  Year before last I found some eggs that I cured and vacuum sealed in Alaska back in 1993.  I thawed them out and they still fished well.  I even hooked fish on them.  I think that biggest thing is how you handle them prior to curing and then making sure that there is as little air as possible around them when you freeze them.

[Smossy]

The borax cured eggs are packed in regular vacuum bags.  The more wet cure are vacuum sealed in jars, all go in the freezer.  Year before last I found some eggs that I cured and vacuum sealed in Alaska back in 1993.  I thawed them out and they still fished well.  I even hooked fish on them.  I think that biggest thing is how you handle them prior to curing and then making sure that there is as little air as possible around them when you freeze them.

Yup may have to re-evaluate my storing this year when I hook some hens. Ill attempt to fish my eggs I have stored this year and see what the results turn out.

[huntnnw]

I have eggs in my fridge from last year in glad containers and are still fine and caught multiple springers on..Amermans and anise

[RadSav]

Back in my guiding days I would make up three types of eggs; Springers (bright red sweet cure with honey or sugar), Falls (dark red salty cure with sand shrimp oil), and Steelhead (Plain pink borax with Crawfish oil).  Haven't fished them much in Washington State but it always held true in the three Oregon rivers I fished (Siletz, Wilson & Trask) and also up north on the Vedder.

One big warning on the sweet cure - Never ever use artificial sweeteners in your cure.  In the food processer I would powder Sugar in the Raw or use Sue Bee honey.

[PolarBear]

We use to sprinkle in a little light brown sugar.  It worked really well.

[RadSav]

We use to sprinkle in a little light brown sugar.  It worked really well.

A buddy of mine does this for springers with great success.  He fishes them as a cocktail with sand shrimp.  He just might be the best Springer fisherman I know.

[huntnnw]

I ran into a retired guide on the slamon river this year...he was using coho eggs he cured..and ahi tuna chunks he was doing quite well..told me when I am on the coast to buy tuna bellies.

Also have any of you heard of Proxy? this guy was telling me to buy it..had a website. I cant seem to find it anywhere

[RadSav]

I ran into a retired guide on the slamon river this year...he was using coho eggs he cured..and ahi tuna chunks he was doing quite well..told me when I am on the coast to buy tuna bellies.

Fall fish or Spring fish?  Was he salting his bellies?

[huntnnw]

spring...no just cutting up a chunk and adding it to his hook

[PolarBear]

I use tuna in oil inside of Brad's Superbait Cutplugs for fall kings.  I don't know why but kings seem to love tuna.  Tuna balls or chunks fished like eggs works well also.

[addicted2hunting]

straight natural pro cure for me on steelhead. fire cure for kings. like stated above its not so much the cure as it is the handling and curing process. you can screw some skeins up quick before you even get cure on them.

[BigGoonTuna]

i don't use eggs much for steelhead any more(i save them for kings and silvers), but when i do i prefer to either do a traditional dry pack borax cure(either plain, or that borax o fire stuff), or a wet brine with 3 parts sugar, 2 parts borax and 1 part pickling salt, with color added if desired.

for salmon fishing, most of those commercial cures work well, but my favorite is pro glow.  it seems to produce a nice bait with good color, and it doesn't stain the hell out of everything like pro cure, wizard, etc which is nice.  i primarily bobber fish so i just sprinkle it on the split skeins, shake them up, and put them in the fridge.  i'll give it one more good shaking up after about 12 hours and then leave them to reabsorb all of the juice.  after 2 days they're ready to fish.

[WSU]

Lots of good hints.  It really depends on what you plan to fish for.  In general, salmon like cures with more chemicals (like procure, fire cure, etc.) and steelhead like more natural cures.  Personally, I don't use eggs for steelhead very often.  Let us know what you are fishing for, when, and where and we might be able to give better advise.

Nubbs - Does your magic ingredient happen to go well with Chinese food?

[Button Nubbs]

Lots of good hints.  It really depends on what you plan to fish for.  In general, salmon like cures with more chemicals (like procure, fire cure, etc.) and steelhead like more natural cures.  Personally, I don't use eggs for steelhead very often.  Let us know what you are fishing for, when, and where and we might be able to give better advise.

Nubbs - Does your magic ingredient happen to go well with Chinese food?

One of the few times I tried something new and it worked immediately. Happened a couple more times that day too.

[Dhoey07]

Humpy eggs are paler in color so they need some color. If ya want to go cheap use rasps bet or strawberry jello then borax

[pd]

Only after reading through many of these posts did I realize that you guys are curing your salmon eggs for fish bait.     Don't you know that chum roe is delicious?  (Coho, pink not so good.)

Am I the only one?  I would never use roe for bait.

[Tman]

I always had the best luck with tight coho eggs, red procure and sugar.

[RadSav]

Only after reading through many of these posts did I realize that you guys are curing your salmon eggs for fish bait.     Don't you know that chum roe is delicious?  (Coho, pink not so good.)

Am I the only one?  I would never use roe for bait.

 All fish eggs make me wanna 

[Mr56Jeep]

Just found this one.  Seems super easy.  http://www.gamefishin.com/wa/features/eggcure.htm

[Button Nubbs]

Super easy and one of the best cures I've used. Just be careful not to leave them in the brine too long or let them dry too long they'll turn crunchy

[WSU]

I do the same thing with a dry cure.  Button Nubbs - Do you think having it be a wet cure helps?

[Button Nubbs]

I've tried the dry cure also and they came out good I think the brine helps keep them a little more rubbery. They stay on well fish well and are still soft. Next time you get some nice coho skiens try it. As soon as you start to feel just a little bit of crust on the eggs pull them it dosent take long. Its a fine line between an awesome bait and a "friends" bait.

[The100Road]

I've tried the dry cure also and they came out good I think the brine helps keep them a little more rubbery. They stay on well fish well and are still soft. Next time you get some nice coho skiens try it. As soon as you start to feel just a little bit of crust on the eggs pull them it dosent take long. Its a fine line between an awesome bait and a "friends" bait.

Okay, So ive caught a few Pinks lately with eggs. never used them, and didnt really know what to do with them so i put them in a tuberware in the freezer because it seems like some people will kill for these things. Then i get on here to see what to do with them and how to cure them. first thing i read DO NOT FREEZE before curing. Are these things garbage now? or should i still give them a shot?

[TheHunt]

I use 1 part sugar, 1 part non-iodized salt, 2 parts water.  BUT the water is distilled so it has no chemicals in it at all.
Add dye if needed...

Last, lay the eggs out to drain.

Cover with borax and get it in all the spaces in the egg. 

Put the borax covered eggs in a sealed container in the fridge for 12 to 14 hours. 

Then freeze.

----------------------
For Steelhead
Just put borax in the eggs or use the recipe above with an additional 1/2 cup of sugar
You can added additional scent as well like anise.
 -------------------
Salmon
I use the above recipe with additional scents

[Button Nubbs]

I've tried the dry cure also and they came out good I think the brine helps keep them a little more rubbery. They stay on well fish well and are still soft. Next time you get some nice coho skiens try it. As soon as you start to feel just a little bit of crust on the eggs pull them it dosent take long. Its a fine line between an awesome bait and a "friends" bait.

Okay, So ive caught a few Pinks lately with eggs. never used them, and didnt really know what to do with them so i put them in a tuberware in the freezer because it seems like some people will kill for these things. Then  i get on here to see what to do with the and how to cure them. first thing i read DO NOT FREEZE before curing. Are these things garbage now? or should i still give them a shot?

give them a shot. Better than having no eggs. I'd go with a cure that toughens them up as opposed to making them milky. I've been playing with and mixing some differnt cures and have some real good looking eggs. Can't wait to fish them.

[TheHunt]

Just finished 3 quarts of eggs for Salmon (Kings/Silvers). 

[Ironhead]

I would never freeze my roe, I have a bait fridge in the garage.

[Button Nubbs]

Is this what your looking for?

[Smg id=12108]

[The100Road]

Yes Sir. 

[ShaneTyTrey]

I vote for the more dry than milky for kings also.

[Button Nubbs]

I vote for the more dry than milky for kings also.

Faster water yes but sometimes they can't resist a big sloppy bait in slow water.

[Smossy]

Is this what your looking for?

[Smg id=12108]

Perfect color

[TheHunt]

Nice egg's Nubbs