# Curing Skein



## Ojh (Sep 4, 2019)

I don't do it myself, my fishing buddy does the curing, I am wondering when to it. Should the eggs be cured quickly when fresh, age them for a week? vacuum pack and cure them just before you need them?
Are there different cures that work for different waters of fishing methods?
Do you open the skein up and flatten for curing or cut unto chunks?
lots of questions and methods, how do you do it and how long you been doing it that way?


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## dirtyfisheyes187 (Jul 12, 2017)

Best method is to just do it and adjust it to your needs. It sounds like you already know how to do it


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## fishrod (Oct 3, 2008)

How do you and is it a good way to cure, water or river curing.
Ive heard of it but have not seen it done.


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## MoJoRisin' (Jan 30, 2004)

Water cure...river cure for me is a few rinses in cold water primarily to rinse off any blood from dcraping the skin's off.

Of course I'm doing loose eggs only for steelie bags. Other guys that are using borax or other cure mixes are mostly going for kings.

Some do a longer river cure by putting eggs in pantyhose and dunking them for a longer period of time.


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## nighttime (Nov 25, 2007)

So many ways and cures. River cured loose eggs for steel, cure or fresh for salmon. Best to cure ASAP up to a few days depending how it’s been kept. Kings get lock jaw but aren’t very picky about eggs. Pro cure or fire cure both produce plenty of salmon and steelhead bites. Follow directions not to hard. Most guys have their favorite recipe.....


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## Bob Hunter (Jan 19, 2016)

Ojh said:


> I don't do it myself, my fishing buddy does the curing, I am wondering when to it. Should the eggs be cured quickly when fresh, age them for a week? vacuum pack and cure them just before you need them?
> Are there different cures that work for different waters of fishing methods?
> Do you open the skein up and flatten for curing or cut unto chunks?
> lots of questions and methods, how do you do it and how long you been doing it that way?


 Bleed the fish out immediately, and cure skeins as soon as possible. So not let water touch the skeins before you cure them.


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## Bob Hunter (Jan 19, 2016)

Ojh said:


> I don't do it myself, my fishing buddy does the curing, I am wondering when to it. Should the eggs be cured quickly when fresh, age them for a week? vacuum pack and cure them just before you need them?
> Are there different cures that work for different waters of fishing methods?
> Do you open the skein up and flatten for curing or cut unto chunks?
> lots of questions and methods, how do you do it and how long you been doing it that way?


I have both chunked first, and cured the whole skein. Butterfly the whole skein before applying the cure, and make sure to massage the cure in between the individual folds of eggs.


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## Ojh (Sep 4, 2019)

Treat with Borax too? or just Procure?


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## Bob Hunter (Jan 19, 2016)

Ojh said:


> Treat with Borax too? or just Procure?


Cure with pro cure, dust with borax after curing


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## Ojh (Sep 4, 2019)

Dunno if its me, you know how fishermen are, I think the best working skein is from the previous year after vacuum packing. I like the early female with the membrane still thick & tight, cure them and vacuum pack for next year. When you use them they give off a cloud of flavor in the water, the later females with thin skein just don't hold up after vacuum packing, esp when using an eggloop.
Am I right or just a fisherman superstition?


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## Bob Hunter (Jan 19, 2016)

I


Ojh said:


> Dunno if its me, you know how fishermen are, I think the best working skein is from the previous year after vacuum packing. I like the early female with the membrane still thick & tight, cure them and vacuum pack for next year. When you use them they give off a cloud of flavor in the water, the later females with thin skein just don't hold up after vacuum packing, esp when using an eggloop.
> Am I right or just a fisherman superstition?


The skeins i use most are from fish we catch trolling in August, and yes, they hold up much better than eggs harvested from river fish. I haven’t noticed a difference in fresh eggs, or previously frozen egg from last year.


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## jmaddog8807 (Oct 6, 2009)

Bleed fish, butterfly eggs, sprinkle fire cure on eggs, rub all over and on both sides. Into a bag for 24 hours in the fridge. Then, take eggs out, lay on paper towel, sprinkle borax over them, let them dry for an hour or two. Wrap in new paper towel and into the freezer. 

But really, when curing skein, there are a lot of ways and the kangs aren't nearly as picky as steelhead are, so they don't have to be the best cured eggs. Just my opinion.


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## Clum (May 11, 2015)

I do the Bloody Sunday cure.

Take one skein put it in a ziplock bag, don't worry about removing any blood, sprinkle a generous amount of red kool-aid and zip it up. Place it in the sun for three days, then give it to your buddy to fish with.


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## dirtyfisheyes187 (Jul 12, 2017)

Clum said:


> I do the Bloody Sunday cure.
> 
> Take one skein put it in a ziplock bag, don't worry about removing any blood, sprinkle a generous amount of red kool-aid and zip it up. Place it in the sun for three days, then give it to your buddy to fish with.


that’s definitely a new one


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## nighttime (Nov 25, 2007)

Before you cut anything, flip membrane side up and first sprinkle cure generously. Typically I then butterfly cut in three pieces then sprinkle cure over rest and in between rows.


Clum said:


> I do the Bloody Sunday cure.
> 
> Take one skein put it in a ziplock bag, don't worry about removing any blood, sprinkle a generous amount of red kool-aid and zip it up. Place it in the sun for three days, then give it to your buddy to fish with.


lol I have try that. But seriously I’ve caught kings off some rough looking stuff, even ran out during hot bite. Packed left over borax from bag on hook and ever so gently toss it out there, bam! darn things were still biting that day..... now other days you wonder if a fish is in the hole... GL guys packing gear headed north


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

I literally chunk my skein, dump shake n cure in, shake it, let it sit over night. It’s ready the next morning. Put some borax in a new baggie, throw skein in, mix it and catch fish. 

Salmon are not picky and the simpler the better on curing. How you rig is way more important than fancy eggs.


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## Ojh (Sep 4, 2019)

ausable_steelhead said:


> I literally chunk my skein, dump shake n cure in, shake it, let it sit over night. It’s ready the next morning. Put some borax in a new baggie, throw skein in, mix it and catch fish.
> 
> Salmon are not picky and the simpler the better on curing. How you rig is way more important than fancy eggs.


Good point, you use an egg loop?


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

Ojh said:


> Good point, you use an egg loop?


Only for harbor fishing


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## nichola8 (Oct 7, 2013)

Yup....au sable and jmad....

Kings ain't picky, sloppy skein, pretty skein, washed out skein wheres it's mainly membrane and no eggs. Doesnt matter for the most part.

That's why I love the king skein bite. River wise the next favorite is fall steel, 4 or 5 egg bag in a hole, they will move 6' to smash it.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Michigan Sportsman mobile app


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## Ojh (Sep 4, 2019)

The theory I like is that Kings hit the skein to kill off other fish's spawn so their own will have a better chance to survive. Thats why I like the eggs that release that cloud into the river and keep the eggs fresh for that reason.
Why do you think they bite what the do?


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## nichola8 (Oct 7, 2013)

Just because......

Sent from my SM-G950U using Michigan Sportsman mobile app


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

Who cares why? It is enough to know that they do. 

Fish are about 2 steps above algae on the evolutionary scale. I highly doubt they give any real "thought" to biting/eating eggs.


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## Bob Hunter (Jan 19, 2016)

Ojh said:


> The theory I like is that Kings hit the skein to kill off other fish's spawn so their own will have a better chance to survive. Thats why I like the eggs that release that cloud into the river and keep the eggs fresh for that reason.
> Why do you think they bite what the do?


Because everything pisses them off! They get kangry!


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## Ojh (Sep 4, 2019)

Bob Hunter said:


> Because everything pisses them off! They get kangry!


No doubt thats why they hit crankbait, it pisses them off.


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## nighttime (Nov 25, 2007)

Eggs are a natural draw for such river species like salmon and steel. Sure steel feed but also chase competition like salmon. The change in the gums and jaw also most likely part of it. Of course aggression is big part of salmon bite. They’re in the river to spawn and they smell it and makes em curious. Light perch/ goby bites are common by kings as they sniff and chew. Just like salmon Porpoising, several things cause that also. 
My thoughts at least


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## AdamBradley (Mar 13, 2008)

“It’s just fish doing fishy stuff”. Not my original content, but I sure do think it’s the best answer to a lot of the “why do fish ________?”


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## MPOW (Dec 27, 2016)

Ojh said:


> I don't do it myself, my fishing buddy does the curing, I am wondering when to it. Should the eggs be cured quickly when fresh, age them for a week? vacuum pack and cure them just before you need them?
> Are there different cures that work for different waters of fishing methods?
> Do you open the skein up and flatten for curing or cut unto chunks?
> lots of questions and methods, how do you do it and how long you been doing it that way?


do as you like as long as it doesnt rot.....for me bobber #10 treble and hang on


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## MPOW (Dec 27, 2016)

MoJoRisin' said:


> Water cure...river cure for me is a few rinses in cold water primarily to rinse off any blood from dcraping the skin's off.
> 
> Of course I'm doing loose eggs only for steelie bags. Other guys that are using borax or other cure mixes are mostly going for kings.
> 
> Some do a longer river cure by putting eggs in pantyhose and dunking them for a longer period of time.


river curing kings in 74 degree water is not recommended


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## MPOW (Dec 27, 2016)

last weeks kings and cohos


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

I pulled out some two year old freezer skeins, with some burnt eggs on the outer edges. Cured them up, and fully expect to catch salmon as soon as they come in and stick around in my spot. Only one fresh skein all summer, and I feel totally confident.


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## MoJoRisin' (Jan 30, 2004)

MPOW said:


> river curing kings in 74 degree water is not recommended


Quick rinse on screened spawn.....not submerged for long time. Then on ice....I use for steelhead so different process


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## lostontheice (Feb 18, 2011)

2 years after jar curing..just need to dry a little and fish..


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## Ojh (Sep 4, 2019)

They look yummy enough.
Do you use canning jar then drop a piece of burning wax paper to burn off the oxygen and seal it?


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## shuttle1 (Jan 5, 2013)

AdamBradley said:


> “It’s just fish doing fishy stuff”. Not my original content, but I sure do think it’s the best answer to a lot of the “why do fish ________?”


I've never seen you overthink a thing, just simple all the time :lol:


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## AdamBradley (Mar 13, 2008)

shuttle1 said:


> I've never seen you overthink a thing, just simple all the time :lol:


“F***ing engineer.”


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## IT.Fisherman (Aug 10, 2012)

Looking for some advice.. I used Firecure however it is quite a few years old.. Some moisture got in it and clumped it up. I broke it up into dust again and used it.

Its been about a day and a half, never saw the eggs deflate and soak the juices back up. I tested a few eggs durability, and they firmed up slightly, but not much.

What are my options here? I am possibly going fishing friday and unsure what to do with them. Lay them out, let them dry off, and add some borax? Add a lot more firecure? Leave as it and tie up some small bags rather than skein chunks? Any help is appreciated so i dont waste these eggs.


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## jmaddog8807 (Oct 6, 2009)

I had the same issue the other week. I laid them on a bunch of paper towel, sprinkled borax o fire all over them, so borax, front and back, and then let them sit out for a few hours. They lost the moisture and became nice and tacky. Looked great when I put them in the freezer


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## IT.Fisherman (Aug 10, 2012)

Okay, been about 40 hours since I applied the cure, eggs still pop with ease for the most part. Just pat dried, sprinkled with borax, massaged around, hope for the best!


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

IT.Fisherman said:


> Okay, been about 40 hours since I applied the cure, eggs still pop with ease for the most part. Just pat dried, sprinkled with borax, massaged around, hope for the best!


Just leave it be at this point. You’re not curing these eggs to be hard. If you keep worrying about them, you’ll over do it and they’ll be ruined. As long as they milk and can be clustered...they’ll catch fish. 

Curing skein is one of the easiest things to do. People way over think it.


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## IT.Fisherman (Aug 10, 2012)

ausable_steelhead said:


> Just leave it be at this point. You’re not curing these eggs to be hard. If you keep worrying about them, you’ll over do it and they’ll be ruined. As long as they milk and can be clustered...they’ll catch fish.
> 
> Curing skein is one of the easiest things to do. People way over think it.


Good advice, other than cutting into chunks, im done touching. I just mentally keep comparing to when i did it years ago, and by every means they seemed perfect to me then. Going to let them sit another hour and cut them up.


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