The Egg Loop is an essential knot for steelhead and salmon fishing but takes a bit of practice to learn. One of the reasons it’s hard to learn is every video I have found shows it from the reverse perspective — as if you are watching somebody tie it in person. In this vid, we shot from that angle but also from the first person view — so you can see how it looks as if you were tying it yourself!
The Difference in Egg Cures??
JD,
I was wondering if you could explain the difference between sulfite and borax eggs cures. Furthermore, are there times when one is superior to the other, for example do Kings prefer sulfite cured eggs over borax?
Cheers,
Mike
Mike, many of the commercially-produced cures like Pro Cure, Pro Glo, etc. are sulfite cures…in that, sodium sulfite is one of the main ingredients. Usually, there’s other stuff in there too like dye and maybe some sort of “bite stimulant.”
Boraxed eggs are just that — baits rolled around in a bowl or Zip-Loc of Borax (not Boraxo). Borax helps toughen the outer membrane so the eggs will fish longer but doesn’t add any flavor or color.
Generally speaking, kings and other salmon prefer bright red salty eggs so go with sulfite eggs while chasing them. On the other hand, steelies like a sweeter egg, so Borax or Jell-o cures are better for them.
Both species will cross over and eat the other type of bait, but you will definitely do better by matching your bait to the species you’re after.
How to Tie a Tandom Egg Loop Rig
One you’ve got the hang of tying the basic Egg Loop, try the pimped version. It’s great for back-bouncing, side-drifting, mooching and more!