I just cured some eggs for the first time today. I used pro-cure because I bought it like two years ago but never used it. I am interested in people's opinions of which cure is better, or is it just personal preference?

I recieved the eggs from a friend that caught these fish yesterday. The fish was sitting on ice the entire time and was just cleaned this morning. As soon as I recieved these eggs I took them home and washed them. First question is how do I know I washed all the blood off of the eggs? I then pat dried the eggs with paper towels and sprinkled pro-cure "red hot double stuff" onto the eggs and placed them in a glass jar. I placed these eggs into the fridge and rotated the glass four times (one time on each side). Each side sat four 30 minutes totally 2 hours. Afterwards I drained all the juices and put the jar back into the fridge. I plan on letting it sit for one day standing up, then flip it upside down and letting it sit for another day. After this the eggs should be ready to fish.

Was there anything I did incorrectly and should the eggs be fresh enough?

Matt

Looks like ya did good. I never let the eggs
touch water, fresh or salt. They are a cell,
water on eggs before cure prevents a full amount of cure to fully penetrate the egg.

Regards,

John

Matt,

It would have been better to get the eggs out immediatly because it makes it easier to get the blood out of the eggs. Remember, blood clots and after time it is tougher to get it out of the eggs. But, it just takes a little more time to get it out when they are a day old. There is a main vein on the inside of both skeins, it is important to lightly press some scissors (what I use) against the vein and force all the blood out of it. That main vein is all the blood you have to get out, it takes some time but you will have a cleaner bunch of eggs and they will last longer if you get all the blood out. Blood is what breaks down the egg when it is curing. Also, let those eggs cure for 3-5 days in the fridge, and draining the eggs like you did will make them more firm at the end of the process. It's not something that I do because if you overcure the egg it will turn out harder at the end of the process. Remember this with all cures that you use, even ours when it hits the market. I'd also recommend pro-glow over pro-cure, it's a lot less tempermental and easier to get the proper amounts in to the amount of eggs you are curing, in other words it's tough to overcure a pro-glow egg. Which is similar to our cure, it's tough to overcure it also.
Keith

I prefer the pro-cure wizard cure over regular pro-cure and pro-glo.
The trick to having good clean eggs is to bleed the fish as soon as it is caught. Just whack it on the head hard enough to take the kick out it. Cut some or all the gills and hold the fish head down to bleed. The heart will pump out most of the blood. Leave the eggs in the fish until you get it home.

Keith, I just want to get this one fact correct. You don't drain the juices off because it hardens the eggs, but you let it sit for 3-5 days? How do you know when the eggs are completed? By checking firmness or color?

As of right now the eggs are still dark. Is this true with all eggs? Will they lighten up in color? With the extra juices I had I placed a half-dozen sand shrimp in. How long so I let those sit in the cure?

Matt

I'm a firm believer in procure wizard its great stuff.I lay my eggs out in a pan and treat them with the wizard.Then let them air dry until they feel soft and sticky dry.Then either roll them up in paper towels a skein at a time,or vacuum pack them in a jar.

You can cure eggs for a day or two and they will turn out just fine. I guess I'm just a bit lazy and let them cure a little longer. Anyhow, you should boil sandshrimp to cure them.
Keith

[ 09-03-2001: Message edited by: stlhdr1 ]

Rip- That jar method works wrll, I have had good success fishing eggs cured by that method. If the eggs are still too messy, you can dust them with borax for easier handling on the water. You can also pack them in damp borax too. My buddy swears by Pro Glow but I have always used Pro Cure and I also prefer the Wizard.

Hey Stlhdr1,

Could you elaborate (why, how) a little further on the boiling part for sandshrimp, never heard that before?

Thanks,

Thomas

Here is another tip on using Pro Cure, Less is better! I usually use less than what Pro Cure recomends. I cut my eggs into bait sized clusters and place them in a large plactic bowl. I sprinkle just enough cure to give the clusters a light dusting. After they start juiceing out I roll the baits around in the juice to get them all colored. The longest I leave them in the juice is about an hour. I pull the baits out and let them drip dry in a strainer until most of the juice is gone. Then I either air dry them (if Im not in a hurry) or I lay them out on a plastic tray that has a light coating of borax on it. Then I sprinkle borax ver the baits and let them set anywhere from 4 to 12 hours. The time they sit out is dictaed by air temp and the humidty. I like my eggs dry to the touch but not hard. After the eggs are dry I shake of as much of the borax as I can, Then I put the baits in jars or freezer bags. With the jars I vaccum seal them if my sealer decides it wants to work. If I use the bags I use the poor mans vaccum sealer. I fill the sink with cold water. After I put the baits in the bag I close the zipper about ¾ of the way. I then slowly submerge the bag in the water, The water pressure forces the air out of the bag. After The air is out of the bag Ifinish closing the zipper. Viola! semi vaccumed sealed eggs. Just dont get in water in the bag!
Hope this helps.

I've gotta ask this question one more time. What the Hell is wrong with good, old Borax? I use Pro Cure and Pro Glo both. I don't have any problems with either one. However, there are times that I just use staight Borax. Any time I'm using eggs for Summer runs, I'll use eggs that have been put up in straight Borax. What's wrong with Borax?

Not a damn thing wrong with plain ol borax.How many years did it do the job quite well before the dyes got popular.I also think chinook will hit boraxed eggs better than dyed eggs as often as not.

O.K., I'll ask it, for us bait-fishing newbies, what's the standard procedure with Borax? What sort of times, etc?

I've done some recently, didn't know what I was doing, so I just put the eggs on paper towels, let them dry for a while until they seemed about right, then coated them generously with Borax, then put them in those new "throw away" Glad tupperware type containers with more Borax, and put them in the freezer. Did I ruin these eggs? Will they last in the freezer? Do I need to fish them soon?

I've used the dyes before, but I don't generally fish bait, so it's an awful mess to make if you don't ever use the eggs.

Next up, I'm going to figure out how to make caviar...

Thanks in advance for answers.

-N.

Here is the latest update to my eggs. My eggs have a dark red color. I know I didn't clean all the blood out of the skiens because I can still seen some blood in the veins. As far as texture goes the eggs are fairly dry but are quite soft. I am assuming you like your eggs a little firmer? Maybe I will sprinkle a little borax on the eggs when I plan on using them. This should add a little more color, how much scent?

Matt

Rip, in my opinion the quality of the eggs and how you handle and cure them are more important than which one of the better OTC (store bought) cures you use. Although they are a factor of course. Since salmon are quite moody and picky in fresh water I suggest using Pro-Cure Wizzard (which has a little nitrate and MSG in it) on some of your fresh caught eggs and then Pro Glo cure on some. That way you have 2 of the better OTC cures that are toward the opposite ends of the chem percentage spectrum, and can see which one the 'nooks are more in the mood for on any given day (having some of both along with you). For a third cure I suggest you keep on experimenting with your own cure. Try different ratios of your base ingredients and also change up your type and amounts of additives (such as MSG or sodium nitrate - to be used very lightly - and many other secret 'stuff' to throw in there eventually). Use the best FDA aproved high quality of sodium sulfites and nitrates in your cure. Use the least costic (chemy smelling or strong tasting) dry coloring dyes you can find that will color the eggs properly. Pro Glo coloring is good. You should also experiment with different combos of dry food coloring (FDA quality - they don't just come in liquid form). Don't overdo the coloring. Some guys really like Rit brand 'cherry red' fabric dye, and it works very well - but you can do better. The most important thing you can do for developing a good cure is a LOT of testing time under different conditions, different rivers, and types of fish. You need to have a couple other skillful fishing buddies to help you test your different cures over a period of time to get the most accurate test results - which result in a better cure. I'm sure this is what James and Keith have done with their excellant cure. ...

As for the blood, Keith is right about getting it out soon as possible; both for slowing decay and to get brighter colored eggs. It is the blood that starts to turn bad faster than the egg sacks or skein. Be careful, but fast and thorough. I often will pick up the excess loose skein line that is right along with the main blood vein and laterally cut it and the vein entirely off the length of the skein. Then I will use a small spoon to gently push blood out of the smaller veins and pad it off with paper towells. ...

I also don't pour off excess egg juice as quickly or as much as many guys do (unless I use an unusually strong chemmed up cure, which I do only a few of my eggs for specific uses). This is because this 'cured' egg juice will mostly reabsorb back into the egg sacks and give you better and longer milking eggs. I do however sometimes cure up some of my eggs a little drier and harder for specific faster water use. But for deep, or murky, slow chinook holes you will do better with good milking eggs. My 2 cents worth.

I like the ProCure and add some Anise Oil and some brown sugar to the mix when there juicing up in the bowl.

I cured up a batch of pro-cure redd hot double stuff a few years ago that were out of a chum that I hooked in the saltwater. These were the best eggs I have ever used and I've never been able to come close with subsequent batches. Did I just get lucky? Back then the pro-cure came with much more detailed instructions than they do now, if I remember correctly it was a small pamphlet. I wonder if the "ripeness" of the eggs and/or the type of salmon that they are from make any difference in the quality of the finished product? Would appreciate any advice. How well does using fresh roe from a freshly caught fish work? I would think that would be the best bait, any one ever do that? Thanx -- take care and tight lines to all

Sincerely,
Roger

I have fished with roe taken right out of hens I just caught and done fine with them. But they aren't quite as good as cured roe, because salmon like sodium and other scents and also the brighter red colors on eggs.

RT

The one thing that has challenged me when it comes to curing eggs is getting good baits out of mature eggs. I'm not talking about loose eggs, I'm talking about eggs that are still in the skein but but large and mature. I've always used Pro-Cure with excellent results on smaller tight skeins but the larger mature ones always turn out like garbage Any advice on this issue would be greatly appreciated.

One word.....Brine, something like bobs, play around with it! Brines work great for big burly 40lb chinook eggs. Another thing is I almost always set those type of eggs aside for BAB.......big @ss baits.