# Egg Curing problems



## cordesr1 (Jan 17, 2014)

I'm having problems with curing eggs. 

The eggs seem to be very soft and pop very easy. 

I started with fresh skein Saturday night. Caught the fish around 4 pm. Let her bleed out in the river. Then into the cooler she went. By 7 pm i had removed the two skeins from the fish and into a clean plastic container and back on ice. Shortly after i scraped the skein with a plastic spoon to turn them into loose eggs on paper towel. I put loose eggs in a clean mason jar with Pautzke Fire Brine Clear. The eggs were in brine from 10 pm-8 am at that point i put them back on paper towl in fridge for about 20 hours. this morning i put them back in a clean mason jar so they would not become too dry while i was at work today. 

The eggs look great but are still softer than i would like them. They seem to pop pretty easy. 

Where did i go wrong?


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

*I have tried various ways to treat and keep eggs. Some worked some failed. The best way that I did find was to put enough skein, for about 20 spawn bags into a sandwich bag and when you have about 10 bags put them into a freezer bag and freeze them. They will last about a year this way and are perfect every time. *


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## nighttime (Nov 25, 2007)

Let them sit in cure longer and when I first apply cure leave eggs out of fridge for one hour or maybe two in sealed container. I use the powder also borax after cure has soaked.


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## nichola8 (Oct 7, 2013)

nighttime said:


> Let them sit in cure longer and when I first apply cure leave eggs out of fridge for one hour or maybe two in sealed container. I use the powder also borax after cure has soaked.


I pretty much do the same thing, helps to go a little overboard with cure too.


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## The Ghettoblaster (Jan 22, 2014)

I've tried a bunch of different methods (Borxofire, Fire Cure, Borax) on salmon eggs in the fall that I was trying to keep for steelhead in the winter/spring and always seem to get soft eggs that don't last and pop easily. They hold up fine for fishing skein in the fall but my loose eggs don't last for crap with any length of time in storage. I've tried glass jars, vacuum sealing, freezer and tupperware. 

A friend of mine said that I was using eggs that were from a fish that wasn't close enough to spawning, so the eggs weren't developed enough. He said that regardless of how I cured them, they would probably pop.That's why he usually tries to get a couple nasty boots in the fall right as they are ready to drop their eggs. They cure better and last longer according to him. He gave me a small container of bags a year or so ago and I finally pitched out the last of them this winter because they had finally gotten moldy. They lasted a long time and looked great till the end! 

Most recently this past fall I used Borax on most of my spawn to tie into bags. Dried them real well and then froze them in snack bags in the freezer (as others had suggested) so I'd have enough that I could take out fresh for weekend trips. I took a bag out awhile back and sure enough, most of the damn things had either freezer burned or would pop easily when tying bags (and I wasn't twisting them too tight). I got enough to still make up some decent bags but seemed to waste as much as I was able to use. 

Having crappy bags has pushed me to use beads more, buy store bought spawn (which I hate) and I've also tied some ProRoe into bags as well.


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## SteelieArm14 (Jan 6, 2012)

River cure the eggs before applying borax. That's all I do. Eggs will keep in the fridge for 6 months.


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## flyrodder46 (Dec 31, 2011)

I almost always river cure my eggs, and that is it. I have tried various commercial cures and if I do use anything but a river cure it has been Pautzke with fairly good luck. I always leave the eggs to cure longer than recommended, one hour+ for river cure, and at least one hour longer on the commercial cures.

D


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## SteelieArm14 (Jan 6, 2012)

I never use colored cures either....always natural. When the eggs come out of the fish they naturally have a small home in them for the males "stuff" to enter, by river curing them you seal that hole off and the egg becomes much tougher. For the most part applying the cure only adds a little scent and helps the eggs keep.


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## Lou is Blue (Sep 14, 2014)

cordesr1 said:


> I'm having problems with curing eggs.
> 
> The eggs seem to be very soft and pop very easy.
> 
> ...


You didn't go wrong, go fish those bad boys in the surf or from the pier.


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## just tryin to fish (May 31, 2004)

I've river cured loss eggs and it works great bit lose eggs for me are hard to come by. Do you guys still river cure your skein? If so do you scrap the eggs first?


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## RIVER LADY (Jun 13, 2005)

I always use Borax. If you put the whole skein sack in a bag and cover with borax,the next morning the eggs will fall right of the skein. I just grab one and shake it inside the bag. Eggs fall right off, well most of them. Just be sue to rinse well. But,don't use your tap water if you have city water or well water with a softener. Put them to dry on paper towel. After you tie your bags, most bags will actually bounce on the table and the bags last a long time. I will usually pop an egg after fishing with the bag for awhile to freshen up the scent.


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## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

This year I happened to find the mother load of coho in a certain spot. I ended up with a few loose hens one day. When I split the belly, the eggs were loose, though not ready to spawn. I river cured them as usual, but it did not take, or I didn't leave them in long enough. For a solution to this I bought some FireBrine from Pautzke and it firmed them up a bit. Borax also works


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## june bugger (Oct 28, 2015)

One thing I have noticed the"frost free" refrigerators don't keep eggs as long as the older refrigerators


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

Trout King said:


> This year I happened to find the mother load of coho in a certain spot. I ended up with a few loose hens one day. When I split the belly, the eggs were loose, though not ready to spawn. I river cured them as usual, but it did not take, or I didn't leave them in long enough. For a solution to this I bought some FireBrine from Pautzke and it firmed them up a bit. Borax also works


Borax might make a pretty batch of eggs but I have had a difficult time catching any steelhead on them once you put them in borax.


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## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

Robert Holmes said:


> Borax might make a pretty batch of eggs but I have had a difficult time catching any steelhead on them once you put them in borax.


Never noticed a difference in catch rates.


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

If you freeze eggs, put small batches in sandwich bags just enough to make bags for a day or two. Get all of the air out of the bags and put a few of the bags into a freezer bag get the air out and put them into another freezer bag get the air out and you should be fine.It works for me also I have thawed and refrozen eggs many times in the sandwich bags. I won't treat eggs again.


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## JimP (Feb 8, 2002)

june bugger said:


> One thing I have noticed the"frost free" refrigerators don't keep eggs as long as the older refrigerators



They cycle warmer air and can lightly thaw and refreeze at the surface over and over again...either busting the eggs or drying them out. Some folks use a bit of mineral oil before freezing, that helps keep the surface moist. Triple packaging as mentioned also helps prevent the drying out a little if you have no alternative freezer.


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## kellyman (Feb 26, 2014)

SteelieArm14 said:


> River cure the eggs before applying borax. That's all I do. Eggs will keep in the fridge for 6 months.


There it is. this works.


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## riverbob (Jan 11, 2011)

I don't tie bags any more, i use skein, i cut it in 3rds (about what i use on a trip) i wrap the piece in a layer of paper towel n wet it. then wrap it again with 3 or 4 plys of dry paper towel, then put it in the frezzer. i don't know how long it will last. but it stays good from spring to fall n from fall to spring.( i have a frost free frig)


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## Brado (Dec 4, 2015)

Save your self headache and go buy some trout beads and pink worms for the high water haven't use spawn in five years still catch fish with big numbers in high water


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## RIVER LADY (Jun 13, 2005)

Robert Holmes said:


> Borax might make a pretty batch of eggs but I have had a difficult time catching any steelhead on them once you put them in borax.


Not rinsed well enough. I put them on a screen strainer and run water over them. Rinsing them is the most time consuming part of the process. I repeat it several times. Also, in between the rinse, I put them on paper towel as any left over Borax will stick to the paper towel. I will also pour them from the paper towel back to the screen for the next rinse. It took me a few times to figure this one out but, since then, I have had no problems and the Steelies love them.


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## JungleGeorge (Apr 18, 2013)

I hate the eggs that Pop easily and waste a lot of them. Although those eggs have done well for me on the pier . I have found that if first bleed out the fish , then I scrape them through hardware screen to get them loose from the membrane , I have a decent batch of loose eggs. The farther developed the eggs the better they come out. First I rinse the eggs with cold tap water . Then I fill a bowl with about a cup or two of salt and half a cup or cup of sugar. Fill that bowl with cold water and mix well, dump the eggs into the solution and let it sit for 30min-1 hour. I stir them regularly and keep an eye on them. I have left them in too long and just have to pull them out and soak in clean water to revive them from being shriveled. I then take them out and rinse them and sprinkle kosher salt and borax on them and mix well. Let that sit for an hour or so then rinse well again. Put them out on paper towel to dry and they come out pretty firm.


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## LSSUfishmaster (Aug 4, 2008)

Ask 10 people and youll get 10 difference answers. I almost never fish peak times so I rarely have loose eggs. But I have found that the closer you get to the spawn the better the eggs are. A december/january steelhead with small eggs are going to break easier. A fish I got this weekend while still in tight skeins had big eggs that were hard enough to bounce off the table. You work with what you get. My cure consists of cold water saturated with sea salt and soak the eggs for 1-2 hours. Drain and dont rinse. Makes a nice natural colored egg and it works great for me.


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## nighttime (Nov 25, 2007)

Robert Holmes said:


> Borax might make a pretty batch of eggs but I have had a difficult time catching any steelhead on them once you put them in borax.


Your funny, when fishing cured eggs mine look like sugar dumped all over them there so much borax on them. Steelhead don't mind borax I have turned many people in to believers lately that look at me funny.... Years ago I didn't believe in cured eggs except for salmon, boy I was wrong and so are you


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

nighttime said:


> Your funny, when fishing cured eggs mine look like sugar dumped all over them there so much borax on them. Steelhead don't mind borax I have turned many people in to believers lately that look at me funny.... Years ago I didn't believe in cured eggs except for salmon, boy I was wrong and so are you


No need to cure eggs for me because I catch steelhead and salmon all year long even through the ice. My neighbor is a tribal fisherman that can get me eggs if I need them also. I think that curing is for the guys that have a limited amount of eggs and don't fish much. If you can get lots of eggs why bother with curing them just freeze them skein and all. In the spring I am a yarn guy and I seldom even use eggs because the yarn works so much better.


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## riverbob (Jan 11, 2011)

Robert Holmes said:


> No need to cure eggs for me because I catch steelhead and salmon all year long even through the ice. My neighbor is a tribal fisherman that can get me eggs if I need them also. I think that curing is for the guys that have a limited amount of eggs and don't fish much. If you can get lots of eggs why bother with curing them just freeze them skein and all. In the spring I am a yarn guy and I seldom even use eggs because the yarn works so much better.


 I agree with lot's of fresh eggs means no need to cure, but please tell me how a piece of yarn is going to out fish the real thing, i under stand y a person would use yarn, no eggs or if u do a lot of bullsxxx jerkin or a snaggy bottom drifting, where u rip bags or lose skein, other then that give me the real thing...... i'm not pickin just saying


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

riverbob said:


> I agree with lot's of fresh eggs means no need to cure, but please tell me how a piece of yarn is going to out fish the real thing, i under stand y a person would use yarn, no eggs or if u do a lot of bullsxxx jerkin or a snaggy bottom drifting, where u rip bags or lose skein, other then that give me the real thing...... i'm not pickin just saying


I use glo yarn much the same as people use beads except I ball it up on a small treble hook and bottom bounce it through runs and holes. I watch the line where it enters the water and when it stops drifting downstream I set the hook. Sometimes the steelhead will hit it hard but not too often that is why I watch the line. I might get one steelhead per year that I foul hook and release. I have done this for 20+ years so I know what I am doing. I know how much weight to use and how to make it work. It takes practice and don't expect to be a master at it the first time.


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## Lou is Blue (Sep 14, 2014)

i used to simply stay with fresh or very short term frozen. But with the decline in Salmon runs and my fears about the same with steelhead; I'm trying to be better about wasting spawn overall. In my lifetime I've thrown away too much freezer burned fish and spawn. I give away, on the water; or release more fish now; including hens.

In the river, beads, yarn, rubber eggs, and mildly over cured spawn can all take fish; as well as wigglers or waxies in low water; and marabou jigs and pink worms in high water.

I save spring spawn from a couple of fish; tie it up and mineral oil it for the spring pier and surf; both with and without floaters. I try not to use the New Years spawn until last years is gone. It's let me go way easier on the fall fish, where I was too often wasting by freezing; and when I got a spring hen; I'd fail to "rotate my stock".

For pier fishing, I may have to go reinvest in a minnow trap with the alewife decline...


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## riverbob (Jan 11, 2011)

Robert,,So u fish like any good drift fishermen does, that still doesn't answer my question about y u think yarn out fishs the real stuff,ps. ive been catching steell for over 50+ plus years n i still don't have it all figger out


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## Lou is Blue (Sep 14, 2014)

riverbob said:


> So u fish like any good drift fishermen does, that still doesn't answer my question about y u think yarn out fishs the real stuff


I don't waste fresh spawn in the river; anymore ever. In low water, I'd take a jig and waxie over spawn, in normal flow; a preserved bag under a bobber or bottom bounced with a small corky; in high water a larger corky and preserved bag, marabou jig; or pink worm. Unlike Robert; I don't fish a lot of yarn.


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

I use the corkies too. The river that I fish is not too clear most of the spring that is why I prefer yarn. Even when it clears up I get lots of steel on the yarn. I mix colors a lot and find a combination that they like. Once you have the right colors on the hook it does not take too long to start producing some nice steel.


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

I've been in need of fresh eggs for awhile now, but just haven't desired to string anything. I pulled nothing but hens from the Au Sable a couple weeks ago, but never roped a one. I will likely fish mostly small water with the fly rod the majority of the spring. 

I do plan on keeping a loosie or two though, at some point. That will be from the hatchery stocked Au Sable or Big Man, as I refuse to kill the wild fish from our small tribs.


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## nighttime (Nov 25, 2007)

I don't kill many fish and time, fresh is great tho. Tie all you can and spread sacks on foil freeze then put in bag is a great way to go. Trying to tie thawed uncared the worst


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## Clum (May 11, 2015)

riverbob said:


> Robert,,So u fish like any good drift fishermen does, that still doesn't answer my question about y u think yarn out fishs the real stuff,ps. ive been catching steell for over 50+ plus years n i still don't have it all figger out


because sometimes no smell is better then smell?


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## riverbob (Jan 11, 2011)

Clum said:


> because sometimes no smell is better then smell?


 i agree,but those times that it out fishs the real thing r far n in between


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

riverbob said:


> Robert,,So u fish like any good drift fishermen does, that still doesn't answer my question about y u think yarn out fishs the real stuff,ps. ive been catching steell for over 50+ plus years n i still don't have it all figger out


Yarn works like eggs. You fish a moderate to a fast current and the fish sees the drift it has 2 seconds to react. You watch the line where it enters the water. Any sudden movement of that line in any direction and the fish is there. There are many good steelhead guys out there that cannot figure out how to get them on yarn. When you are switching from yarn, to corkies, to beads, to eggs that it can get tough because you have to change your weight and set up and sometimes the hit will be different. More often than not I just use the yarn.


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## riverbob (Jan 11, 2011)

riverbob said:


> I agree with lot's of fresh eggs means no need to cure, but please tell me how a piece of yarn is going to out fish the real thing, i under stand y a person would use yarn, no eggs or if u do a lot of bullsxxx jerkin or a snaggy bottom drifting, where u rip bags or lose skein, other then that give me the real thing...... i'm not pickin just saying





riverbob said:


> Robert,,So u fish like any good drift fishermen does, that still doesn't answer my question about y u think yarn out fishs the real stuff,ps. ive been catching steell for over 50+ plus years n i still don't have it all figger out


Robert I'm done talkin eggs... good luck go gitum


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