Papa D Loc: Mantweeka, Ca

You're probably wondering, "What do pigs have to do with fishing".

Actually, more than you might think. Pig lung makes great catfish bait (wrapped in spawn net). More importantly it is how pigs were preserved before refrigeration and how I store my bait.

In the trunk of my car I have a jug of squid (and sometimes shrimp) that I bought over a month ago, a jug of crawfish, a jug of cut anchovies that I bought several months ago, a jug of whole Shad/Shiner/Bluegill that I bought several weeks ago and chicken liver that I bought since over 8 months ago. None of it has seen a refrigerator or freezer. None of it stinks. All of it looks like I just thawed it out. It's also a lot firmer.

I fish a lot in order to avoid traffic but never know in advance where (or what bait to pack). Could be the ocean, the bay, one of several lakes, the aqueduct or the SJR Delta.

I also have a 5 gallon bucket in my garage that I started filling in September with fish heads, carcasses and scraps (crab season opener is next weekend). I'll top it off with any meat that's freezer-burned.

I use the same technique that my grandfather did to preserve the pork from the pigs he raised and butchered. He would throw the cut meat into an oak barrel and cover with salt brine.

I make my bait brine before I buy my bait. For a pound of bait, I bring 1 quart of water to a boil, pour in 1 cup plain table salt, turn off the heat and let cool.

I halve my anchovies--heads get used 1st. If you want to fish them whole, use in the first week. Frozen Shad and Shiners get a squirt of brine shot down their gut using a turkey injector. Live bait goes in alive (they swallow the brine--no injection necessary). Squid goes in frozen. Crawfish (dead ones from my trap) go straight in.

When I throw in the bait I usually say "if it's good enough for Granny's pigs, it's good enough for bait" Hence, the title.

The chicken liver gets dry brined. Drain the bloody juices, cut in to bait size pieces and mix in 1/4 cup (for the 1 lb/pint size container) garlic salt.


Although I haven't tried it yet, I'm sure it would work for low tide baits (barnacles, mussels, crabs, etc.).

Anytime I hear Ab hammers I ask for scraps/trimmings or go dumpster diving. (I'm not proud and thin ab strips makes GREAT bait!)

After brining for a day all of the baits firm up. I absolutely hate magic thread and now never have to. I can often fish multiple days with the same piece of bait (bait hook and leader go into the jug at the end of the day).

The only time I've had bait go bad is when I left it in the car in 95° weather (140° inside the car). When that happens, I put it in my crawfish/crab bait bucket.

It also frees up space (and aroma) from your lunch box.

One additional benefit is that the brined bait leaches when it goes into the water (on the hook) leaving a scent trail that cats and stripers can follow up to the hook. You can actually see a slick trailing behind the brined bait that you wont see with fresh.

It's cheap and easy to do, will save you a lot of money, help you catch more fish and, most importantly, make your wife happy (no more bait in the freezer).

Like Mikey says, "Try it, you'll like it".

Go out and Get Some!!
PapaD

_---------------------------
Description of picture:
Shad and anchovies are from my crab bait bucket (probably bought 4 months ago). Four plus week old squid that got left in the car for 3 days before it went into the brine when I forgot to make calamari.
The whole anchovy shows what happens if you don't halve them (or shad if you don't inject them).

Bcc1000 Loc: Cary, N.C.

Wow, this is some great info for those of us who never learned how to preserve bait--thanks so much, PapaD!!!

Flytier Loc: Wilmington Delaware

I've salted clams and bunker baits and frozen them, but I've never just salted and let then sit. I'll have to give it a try with some chicken livers too. Thanks for the suggestion.

Whitey Loc: Southeast ohio

Good to know Papa D. Thanks for sharing 👍

kandydisbar Loc: West Orange, NJ

That is excellent advice, thanks! I don't like my freezer stinking either!! Doesn't matter how much you wrap it the smell still swims over.

Papa D Loc: Mantweeka, Ca

This probably goes without saying, but don't try this on your worms!!!

kandydisbar Loc: West Orange, NJ

So if at end of day my bucket has killies and some are dead putting them in the salt water for how long before freezing?

I just read killies were the first fish in outer space. They experimented to see if fish would swim in zero gravity. They do!!

Papa D Loc: Mantweeka, Ca

Any live-bait goes straight from the live-well/bucket into the brine jug.

The brine jug goes into the trunk of my car.

If its hot (95° or more), I'll move it the tub of jugs into the garage (if I forget, I transfer the bait to my crawfish/crab-bait bucket.

The only thing that goes in my fridge are nightcrawlers. Nothing goes in the freezer.

Flytier Loc: Wilmington Delaware

I just salted down 2# of chicken livers. Trying your system. I only use kosher salt for mine. The ionized salt can darken the color of the bait because of the iodine that's added for our thyroid health.

Papa D Loc: Mantweeka, Ca

Here's another picture of bait from my trunk.

The top two are bluegills caught in my trap roughly 3 weeks ago.

The bottom one is a wired-up shad that I bought frozen 4+ weeks ago.

Both of the bottom two have been fished at least once if not more times. If you zoom in, you can see the leaders exiting their mouths.

Above the bait is the brining needle that I mentioned in the original post. I store it in the Coffee-Mate jug with the bait so I can find it when I want it.

Papa D Loc: Mantweeka, Ca

I absolutely agree with your comment about not using iodized salt. Sorry that I didn't emphasize my plain salt in my original post.

Whitey Loc: Southeast ohio

So you cover your bait with the brine for one day then put in a bucket with a lid ? Liver you drain an cover with salt an wait a day then put in a bag ?

Papa D Loc: Mantweeka, Ca

Almost... sorry I wasn't more clear...

The bait, liver included, goes into the brine as soon as I can prep it (cut the anchovies or liver, inject the shad, etc) and stays there until I'm ready to cast it out.

My "waiting a day reference" was about letting it firm up (you can use it same day, it just won't be as firm).

craig42 Loc: Petaluma, ca

I spent some time on the coast in Maine. Across the street was a Lobster dock with around 10 boats, we would buy lobster from them. The bait they used in their traps was just as you are doing. In fact they would place fish in a 55 gal barrel, salt them and wait many months before using them, to get the "taste just right" as they told me.

Papa D Loc: Mantweeka, Ca

I've also used my crawfish bait in small fine-mesh sacks on my sliders when my fresh bait didn't "smell just right". (Check your local regs regarding chumming before trying this!)