Posted by: Anonymous
Simulated eggs, scents, and other egg savers - 02/24/02 05:11 AM
Excerpt from my manuscript:
Although the last couple seasons have provided an abundance of eggs to cure for salmon and steelhead fishing, I still think there is a place for simulated egg clusters. They are good to use for nates, because the fish will chew a little longer; whereas they will sometimes swallow chewed real eggs that are softer and have a sudden yummy egg milk out. And during future times of lean run cycles these will come into there own. Some of the newer rubber eggs are really good! Smelly Jelly, Seducer, and a few others have finally arrived as they should. [There was a brand I found at the Bob's (Longview) booth at the Portland Outdoor Show recently that were just great. I wish I had bought some of them, but I'm sure I will see those and other newer ones in the near future]. They not only have the right sizes and shapes, they are now soft and opaque like the real deal. And great colors too; some impregnated with scent. You can also add OTC (over the counter - tackle shop) egg scent and/or shrimp scent. One of the best scents to add to these, or other lures, is the juice from a broken single salmon egg from your container. The natural juice in them is not only the real deal, the resulting egg oil film stays on longer than some OTC bait oils. This was my favorite lure scent when I got serious about salmon and steelhead fishing many years ago, and it is still very effective. Some come in small strings of rubber eggs, but I prefer the ones that are already shaped into a soft cluster. I push them over the hook point, around the bend, and up the shank. With smaller size 1 and 2 hooks, keep about 2/3 of the rubber cluster on the outside of the shank, away from the hook point side, so they don't bounce the hookpoint away from the jaw. Otherwise, use a 1/0 for faster water steelheading. They usually stay there pretty well, but you can add a thread bobber-stop below them on the shank to keep them in place. I use the chatreuse colored ones and leave 1/2" to 1" tags; both as an attractor/teeth grabber and for tightening the 'stop'. Of course adding yarn is as effective for the rubber ones as the real ones. You can also put the imitation eggs above the hookeye. Or add a corkie or small Spin N Glo above them.
The imitations still don't fish as effectively as well cured real egg clusters, especially for chinooks in slower water; but for fishing faster water for steelhead they are 'in the game'. And they save real eggs overall, and for slower water applications. As with using one or two 'Jensen Eggs', they are also great to fish with a small real egg cluster above them in the leader loop. That way you are getting real egg softness and juice milk out while keeping the look 'bright and right' with a bit of the rubber ones along for the ride. I also like to fish the better rubber eggs on a hackled jighook, as I would a pink worm - they work.
Although the last couple seasons have provided an abundance of eggs to cure for salmon and steelhead fishing, I still think there is a place for simulated egg clusters. They are good to use for nates, because the fish will chew a little longer; whereas they will sometimes swallow chewed real eggs that are softer and have a sudden yummy egg milk out. And during future times of lean run cycles these will come into there own. Some of the newer rubber eggs are really good! Smelly Jelly, Seducer, and a few others have finally arrived as they should. [There was a brand I found at the Bob's (Longview) booth at the Portland Outdoor Show recently that were just great. I wish I had bought some of them, but I'm sure I will see those and other newer ones in the near future]. They not only have the right sizes and shapes, they are now soft and opaque like the real deal. And great colors too; some impregnated with scent. You can also add OTC (over the counter - tackle shop) egg scent and/or shrimp scent. One of the best scents to add to these, or other lures, is the juice from a broken single salmon egg from your container. The natural juice in them is not only the real deal, the resulting egg oil film stays on longer than some OTC bait oils. This was my favorite lure scent when I got serious about salmon and steelhead fishing many years ago, and it is still very effective. Some come in small strings of rubber eggs, but I prefer the ones that are already shaped into a soft cluster. I push them over the hook point, around the bend, and up the shank. With smaller size 1 and 2 hooks, keep about 2/3 of the rubber cluster on the outside of the shank, away from the hook point side, so they don't bounce the hookpoint away from the jaw. Otherwise, use a 1/0 for faster water steelheading. They usually stay there pretty well, but you can add a thread bobber-stop below them on the shank to keep them in place. I use the chatreuse colored ones and leave 1/2" to 1" tags; both as an attractor/teeth grabber and for tightening the 'stop'. Of course adding yarn is as effective for the rubber ones as the real ones. You can also put the imitation eggs above the hookeye. Or add a corkie or small Spin N Glo above them.
The imitations still don't fish as effectively as well cured real egg clusters, especially for chinooks in slower water; but for fishing faster water for steelhead they are 'in the game'. And they save real eggs overall, and for slower water applications. As with using one or two 'Jensen Eggs', they are also great to fish with a small real egg cluster above them in the leader loop. That way you are getting real egg softness and juice milk out while keeping the look 'bright and right' with a bit of the rubber ones along for the ride. I also like to fish the better rubber eggs on a hackled jighook, as I would a pink worm - they work.