by JD on October 13, 2009
JD,
My boyfriend is driving me crazy about getting info for curing his salmon eggs. They have been sitting in the fridge for a week or so. He has used borax in the past, but was looking for something a lil different. He doesn’t go “online” so it is left up to me. I get 25,000 responses when you put it through Google. Are the eggs still good? any suggestions for curing them? Thanks all your advise is appreciated.
–Mary in Akron, NY
Hi Mary,
Well, the eggs that are sitting in the fridge for a week are starting to get towards the end of their rope. Not to say they won’t fish, but I never go more than a day or two before tossing them out. Curing the roe immediately is the key!
As far as cures go, I’m surprised you only got 25,000 results from Google! There are about as many cures out there as salmon and steelhead anglers. How your boyfriend cures the eggs depends largely on what he’ll be fishing for. Not to confuse you even more, but salmon generally prefer a saltier egg (upstream, of course, but lower in the system sweet is better…ah, never mind!) while steelies seem to like it a little sweeter egg. The most basic cure that’s been working for eons is the ol’ Borax method.
The easiest way: cut the eggs into bait-sized chunks and them shake them — a few at a time — in a bag of Borax until the eggs are completely coated. This is a good steelhead and trout cure and will sometimes take salmon as well. If salmon are his main target, probably the best way to go as a neophyte egg curer is to buy a commercial cure like Last Supper or Wizard from Pro Cure or Pautzke’s Fire Cure.
If he wants to do his own, check out the book on Egg Cures by Scott Haugen by Amato Books.
Good luck! And make sure your boyfriend knows that he’s a lucky man to have a woman that let’s him keep the eggs in the fridge!
by JD on September 1, 2009
JD,
For curing roe to use as bait, where do I find borax? And how is it different from Boraxo?
–Bill E.
Bill, you get it in the laundry aisle of the grocery store…20 Mule Team Borax is the most common brand. Comes in a big ol’ box that will last you quite awhile. For egg curing, NEVER EVER use Boraxo, which is borax with laundry detergents mixed in…unless you like your eggs coming out tasting like a flowery meadow after a spring freshet :)
by JD on September 1, 2009
JD,
I would also appreciate a little lesson in popper fishing for stripers. What should the action look like? Does it sit on top of the water or underneath? I’m an ultra novice who wants to learn. Thanks!
–Frank.
The action depends on the style of surface lure you’re using. “Walk-the-Dog” type lures like Zara Spooks should have a zig-zagging motion. Poppers, on the other hand, have more of a…see if you follow me on this one…straight chug…chug…chug action to them. Yes, true surface baits stay on the top, though wake baits are very popular too and the fish right under the surface film.
When you get bit…here’s really the tough part….don’t set too quickly. Let the wight of the fish pull the rod tip down before you hit ‘em.
Hi JD, I am new your site and wanted to ask you about the surf fishing for striped bass in or around Santa Cruz/ New Brighton Beach. I noticed on your site you said to uses poppers in the morning and swim baits later in the day. If you think the surf fishing is still good at these locations, can you expand on what the poppers are and how to use them for this area.
–Jim T.
Jim,
I’ll do a complete post on popper fishing later this fall on the site, but for now I’ll run the Cliff’s Notes by ya….
You’ll need a 9+ foot rod (spinning or casting) with 30-pound braided line on it. Grab some poppers like Cordell Pencil Poppers and head for the surf. Cast to holes between the breaks.
With your rod tip held high (to keep the line off the water) twitch the tip with your rod hand and reel with your other. You want the popper to pop and spit. When a fish blows up on it, let him take it down…wait until you feel the whole weight of the fish before you set the hook.
Good luck!
Quite contrary to what my wife contends, a guy can’t have too many boats! After all, there’s no one perfect vessel. I mean, you’ve got to have the jet for running shallow rivers…then something that can handle a little chop out on the bay. Well, then, of course you’ll need to have some weather protection when you’re running offshore and then…
See what I mean? Anyway, here’s my current list of 5 boats you just can’t live without…
Maritime 23 Voyager
Okay, so the MSkiff Voyager 23 would be the perfect all-around rig for bay halibut, salmon (when they come back), rockfish, close to home tuna… and would even make a good Lake Tahoe jig boat! I also love the fact that you can duck out of the weather…a very nice feature.
Maritime Boats
2410 Bay Ranger
Fishing the big waters of the California Delta, I love the idea of being able to move around to distant spots quickly — like I see the guys in the bass boats do. I also like how much deck space and fishing room bass boats have…However, I don’t want to be anywhere near one of those low-sided affairs when the wind kicks up and the tide starts running against it. Luckily, Ranger has come up with the perfect solution: The Bay Boat!
Ranger Boats
Willie Predator
While all that deep water stuff is great, I still have a tough time finding anything cooler than running up a wild river…going 30 mph in 3 inches of water. And really the only way to do river fishing right is to fish out of a tiller boat like Willie’s 23′ 6″ Predator. It’s nothing but open fishing room!
Willie Boats
FishRite
What’s that you say? You can’t decide if you’d rather have a jet for river running or a prop for the lakes and saltwater? Well, the good news is you don’t have to! FishRite’s 21-foot Explorer Outboard Jet/Pro combo is just the ticket! In an hour’s time you can switch out the lower end and transform this thing from an offshore salmon troller to an in-river side-drifter!
FishRite Boats
Klamath Swimbait Boat
Then, when I don’t feel like burning a bunch of fuel and just want to get out for a quick and easy day of striper or smallmouth fishing, I’d bust this sweet little number…
Klamath Boats
I know I said these are the 5 boats I can’t live without, but actually, there’s one more that I’d drop ‘em all for…
Fly fishing with spinning gear may sound a bit funky at first, but it’s one deadly trout technique! And what’s really cool is you can take just about any popular fly fishing technique — be it floating dries, indicator nymphing or stripping leeches and streamers — and you can get it done with spinning tackle. In some cases, you can do it in a much more efficient and accurate fashion, too!
That’s right, you can do just as well – or better – tossing little wads of feathers and glue on light spinning gear. Welcome to the brave new world of fluff chucking with the short rod. Come on in, I’ll show you around… [click to continue…]
JD-
I’m looking for a new Hot Shot rod. Was looking to add to the HSR collection but forgot that the 930 is spinning only. Wanting to keep things light, what do you think about the HS 795C from Rogue or the Lamiglas G 1336 T. The Lamilgas seems a little short at 7′6″ and I’m not sure what ” Flame Tip” means? What’s your take?
Thanks, Derik
Hey Derik,
A sweet little number for plugging steelies with small plugs is the XCF801 from Lamiglas. It’s 8 feet long and rated for 6-15 pound line. The coolest thing about this rod, however, is the fact that it’s fiberglass. Glass is truly the way to go with plug rods — you get much better plug action and tip “readability” with glass, plus hooks stay buried better…which, of course, is always a huge plus when you’re plug fishing!
And this isn’t your granpapy’s old clunky glass, either. Modern manufacturing processes make it much lighter and thinner than in the old days… Check out ‘em out at: monsterfishingtackle
Hey JD,
My dad’s 50th birthday is coming up, and he really wants a GPS/fishfinder combo for his boat. He is looking for something that can show an aerial view of the water and something that can mark structure as well as good spots. Anyway, I figured you would be the guy to ask. Our limit is around 350-400 dollars.
Anything you could recommend?
Thanks a ton, Josh in Omaha
Josh,
The new HD units from Lowrance are super cool, but not quite in the range you’re talking about. I’ve been extremely happy with my Lowrance LMS 527C DF with internal GPS. Here’s a review I did on it if you want to read more.
It’s a couple years old now, but does everything I need…
