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!