09-01-2003, 11:41 AM
[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#336699][size 6]Make your own spawn bags[/size][/#336699][/font] ![[Image: spacer.gif]](http://ndteaser.tripod.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/layout/spacer.gif)
[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 3]I am certainly no expert at fishing with salmon roe. I found this and some other material on the web and thought I'd pass it on. It is consistent with many articles I've read about the presentation.[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 3]Getting the Most out of Spawn -
By: Ed Clements[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 2]It is a cool fall day and you have just scored big time on the fish. As you head back to your vehicle you start to wonder what to do with that nice female Chinook, Steelhead, or Brown Trout that is in the cooler. Read on, as I will provide some sure fire tactics to cure that spawn.
The first thing to make sure that you do is getting your catch on ice, especially if you have a long ride home. Not only is there the possibility that the meat will spoil but those precious eggs are in peril of becoming the garbage can's lunch. Many fisherman make the mistake of not getting their catch on ice fast, and it is a common misnomer to think that since the eggs are deep inside the fish that they will stay fresh for a longer amount of time than the flesh. As we all know many fall and spring days can reach into the 60s and destroy that prize in your cooler. OK, so you iced your catch and now you are at your destination with cutlery in hand and ready to go to work on carving up that beauty. I usually start by filleting the fish as normal. After the fillets are removed break through the rib cage to cut the skeins out of the fish. There are two skeins and usually can be removed without turning the carcass over. The skeins are attached towards the head of the fish, simply reach up and cut where they are attached, after doing this the skeins should pull out easily. Now you should have two skeins, if you are pinched for time before treating them you can wet some paper towels and wrap the skein in the towels. Make sure the paper towels are saturated and layer them with about three wet ones and three dry ones. Wet ones first. Then put them in a zip bag and throw them in the refrigerator. This will keep them moist and fresh for about a week. One mistake often made is freezing an untreated skein. In all my experiences they seem to come out of the freezer black. Make sure you treat the eggs before you freeze.
Now you are ready to treat the eggs for great fishing in the future. If you are going to be fishing soon the eggs should keep for about a week untreated. These are the best eggs to fish, simply cut them up into dime or quarter size squares and tie them up into spawn bags or throw them in a jar to put on the hook whole. I will cover spawn tying in another article. If you are not going to be fishing for a while the eggs should be treated, there are a couple different ways I like to do it. No matter which way you treat them the spawn should be thoroughly rinsed first. I use river or lake water to rinse my eggs. If you don't have river or lake water available you can use tap water but don't use too much, the chlorine in the tap water will turn the eggs white. Run them under the tap for about a minute or two. I usually take an empty gallon milk jug each time I go fishing; I fill it up and then have a supply of river water available. One way is the Borax treatment. You can buy Borax at any grocery store. A common brand is Twenty Mule Team, with the kicking mule on the box. One word of caution: borax is pretty strong stuff and should be handled with care, you may want to wear latex gloves if you have any open cuts on your hands. Also do not ingest borax, the stuff can kill you. Using a spoon scrape the eggs out of the skein and onto a paper plate, this may take some care and practice, don't get discouraged if you make soup out of one skein. After scraping the eggs out you should have a bloody membrane that should be thrown away. Put the paper plates with the eggs in the refrigerator for about an hour or two, this lets the eggs dry. Using a paper plate is crucial, as it will soak up moisture and juice from the eggs. After the eggs have dried for 1-2 hours pour the eggs into a plastic bag add the appropriate amount of Borax to the bag and shake like crazy. Shake until all the eggs are covered, this not only treats the eggs but also dries them further. Now pour out the contents of the plastic bag through a strainer, you should be left with nicely Borax coated eggs. Spoon the eggs into jars, small mayo or tartar sauce jars work best. Top the jars off with Borax and the treatment is complete. The Borax treated eggs will last for about a year in the refrigerator or about 3 years frozen. This is the best method for preserving longevity of the eggs, but I feel the borax takes a little of the fish catching ability out of the eggs. Don't get me wrong I have caught many salmon and trout using eggs treated in this manner, but remember fresh is always best.
Another method I like to use is the salt and sugar treatment. Follow the same washing and scraping procedure as described above, you can skip the drying procedure. In a large bowl mix ½ cup of sugar and ½ cup of salt, then add 1 gallon of river or lake water. Mix this thoroughly. Add your eggs to the mixture and put the bowl of eggs in the refrigerator for six hours. Next pour the eggs through a strainer. Spoon the eggs into jars. They will keep for about six months refrigerated and about a year frozen. This treatment gives the eggs a nice sweet smell that can turn on the fish. The only drawbacks are the procedure can be messy and the eggs do not keep as long.
If you are lucky enough to get a pumper fish; a fish where the eggs are loose. The eggs may be loose inside or may be spewing out of the fish when you land her. If the eggs are pumping out onto the bank quickly find a twig to plug the rectum, do not waste those eggs! These eggs are what I call gold. These eggs only need to be treated with river water. They should be as hard as a rubber ball and are real easy to tie into spawn sacs. If you are fishing out of a boat and the fish starts pumping eggs out throw her in the cooler and let her pump them into the bottom or try to catch the eggs with a plastic bag. After the fish is done doing her business simply treat the eggs with river or lake water. I usually carry a nylon bag with me. I put the eggs in the bag and let them hang over the side of the boat or tie them to my waders for a couple of hours; this seems to harden the eggs up nicely. If you don't have a nylon bag you can throw them in a pail of water and let them sit for 4-5 hours. Make sure the water is cold, either add ice or throw them in the refrig. After treatment put them in jars and they should keep for about 6 weeks in the refrigerator or about 6-9 months in the freezer.
A few final thoughts on preserving spawn. Brown Trout eggs are the best, followed by steelhead eggs, and salmon eggs work too. Remember that treating spawn is like everything else; practice makes perfect. If you could have seen my first few batches of spawn you would probably fall out of your chair laughing. After a few years of practice I now have buddies calling and asking if I have any eggs for them to borrow. Don't get discouraged if some of your eggs turn to soup, it may not be you, the eggs inside the fish may not want to cooperate. Sometimes the eggs are just too green to be of any use to a fisherman. Eggs are important for trout and salmon fishing on Michigan's beautiful rivers, but remember these eggs are also important to replenish wild stocks. One 6-10 pound female will yield about 4-6 jars of eggs; this should be plenty for many trips. There is no need to keep every female you catch, be selective and only keep what you need. Also remember that taking fish for the sole purpose of eggs is illegal. Salmon, steelhead, and trout are excellent table fare. In upcoming articles I will provide recipes, spawn tying tricks and techniques, and rigging tips. Until next time good luck and good fishing.
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[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 3]Do It Yourself Spawn Bags - By: Ed Clements
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[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 2]I would like to share with you my favorite way to tie spawn. There are many ways to tackle this sometimes-tedious task, but my favorite way is the good old fashion hand tying method. I do not use any machines or other mechanical devices.
The first step is to get a baking sheet, and please don't plan on using this to cook on ever again. After tying one batch of spawn on a baking sheet it will forever remain a spawn tying baking sheet. The juice of the spawn really hardens and is tough to remove. I would suggest purchasing an inexpensive new one. On the baking sheet lay out your netting, a very important aspect is to buy the netting already cut into squares. The netting that comes in a roll is made for use in the Spawnee machine. Mix and match the colors of your netting, some days the fish will want orange and other days it may be pink or chartreuse. After laying out your netting now put some eggs in the center of each square of netting. The key is not to put too many eggs on the net, I usually like to use about the size of a nickel. Now pick up the corners of the netting and pinch into a bag. Holding the corners twist the sac of eggs a couple of times. This comes in very handy for wiping off your hands. Pinching in between your fingers you should have a nice round sac of eggs. The next step is to tie the bag. I use Atlas Magic Thread, there is no knot needed with this thread. Take your thread and wrap three times in one direction and three times in the other direction and pull the ends as hard as you can so the string snaps and presto you have a spawn bag. This thread is awesome stuff and will not come loose without a knot. One trick I like to use is a string dispenser. It is easy to make, just take a jar or a coffee can and cut a hole in the lid. Drop your spool of string into the jar or can and feed the end out through the hole in the lid. Fasten the lid on and you have a string dispenser. Now trim the excess netting above the knot and drop your spawn bags into a jar and refrigerate.
A couple of tips on tying by hand: this method is little messy due to eggs breaking. I wear old clothes and usually do it in the basement or the garage. I also like to keep a wet rag close by, between each bag it really helps to wipe off your hands. This keeps your hands damp and also removes the sticky egg juice from them. This is the fastest method to tie spawn. This method also produces the nicest, tightest bag you can imagine.
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[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 2]Another way found on the net[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 2]* Keep roe that you've harvested in the refrigerator. When ready to process open your package and pat roe dry with a paper towel. Always cut your fishing roe with a knife or scissors. Tearing the roe will damage the egg skein. Depending on your intended catch (i.e., salmon, steelhead or trout), cut your roe into 3 to 12 egg clusters. .
* It is important to add powdered borax to the roe. You can always use a plastic, tuperware style, container with a lid that seals. Just add some borax in the bottom of the container, then the roe, and finally, sprinkle borax over the top.
* Additionally, adding borax will allow you to freeze the roe and reuse it at a later date (up to two [2] years).
* If you want your fishing roe to be sweet, add desired sugar and borax only on the roe that is going to be used for fishing. Remember, adding sugar will cause your roe to ferment if the product is stored after fishing, even if frozen.
* REMEMBER - Always keep your roe cool when fishing. It is a good idea to keep it in an ice chest, or at least in the shade whenever possible. Roe will spoil quickly when left in the HOT sun.
* The most effective way to secure salmon roe to fishing hook is with a salmon roe knot.[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 2]And another way of preparing salmon roe[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 2]Spawn sacks can be particularly effective when the water is still a bit murky and scent is really needed for the fish to locate your bait. This is another way to prepare spawn sacks. This method works much better than store bought sacks or treated eggs.
What You'll Need:
You can find the mesh and magic thread at many bait stores. The Rodmakers shoppe in Strongsville also carries it. Items shown are the magic thread, mesh, and a completed spawn sack (six eggs), about the size of a dime.
1. Orange nylon maline veil (mesh).
2. Magic thread
3 Salmon or Steelhead eggs
4. Small containers (old film containers work well)
5. Small zip-lock baggies
6. Scissors
Using eggs natural be very effective (using no cure product). Here we go:
1. Separate the eggs from the lining of the skeen.
2. Put small amounts in separate baggies. This is very important so you only unthaw and wrap what you plan to use at one time.
3. When your ready to wrap, unthaw a baggie in luke warm water, keeping the eggs in the baggie and dry.
4. Once unthawed, pour the eggs into a small disposable tupperware container. The egg film that's left behind is virtually impossible to wash off.
5. I use a small cap off a bottle to scoop a few eggs out of the tupperware container and place a few in the mesh. I used 6 eggs per sack.
6. Pull the mesh up over the eggs and wrap magic thread around 3 times and pull snug, again wrap 3 times and pull snug again and cut the excess. No tying necessary with the magic thread which makes the job much easier and faster.
7. Do this for the entire amount and keep in refrigerator if being used the next day. If you plan to use them more than 24 hours from the time of wrapping, freeze them. You can freeze the eggs in the film container. I've found 2 film containers or 20 sacks will usually last me all day.
Note: If you have sacks left over after fishing go ahead and freeze them. Although you can only do this 2-3 times before they harden up on you.[/size][/#000000][/font]
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[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 3]I am certainly no expert at fishing with salmon roe. I found this and some other material on the web and thought I'd pass it on. It is consistent with many articles I've read about the presentation.[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 3]Getting the Most out of Spawn -
By: Ed Clements[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 2]It is a cool fall day and you have just scored big time on the fish. As you head back to your vehicle you start to wonder what to do with that nice female Chinook, Steelhead, or Brown Trout that is in the cooler. Read on, as I will provide some sure fire tactics to cure that spawn.
The first thing to make sure that you do is getting your catch on ice, especially if you have a long ride home. Not only is there the possibility that the meat will spoil but those precious eggs are in peril of becoming the garbage can's lunch. Many fisherman make the mistake of not getting their catch on ice fast, and it is a common misnomer to think that since the eggs are deep inside the fish that they will stay fresh for a longer amount of time than the flesh. As we all know many fall and spring days can reach into the 60s and destroy that prize in your cooler. OK, so you iced your catch and now you are at your destination with cutlery in hand and ready to go to work on carving up that beauty. I usually start by filleting the fish as normal. After the fillets are removed break through the rib cage to cut the skeins out of the fish. There are two skeins and usually can be removed without turning the carcass over. The skeins are attached towards the head of the fish, simply reach up and cut where they are attached, after doing this the skeins should pull out easily. Now you should have two skeins, if you are pinched for time before treating them you can wet some paper towels and wrap the skein in the towels. Make sure the paper towels are saturated and layer them with about three wet ones and three dry ones. Wet ones first. Then put them in a zip bag and throw them in the refrigerator. This will keep them moist and fresh for about a week. One mistake often made is freezing an untreated skein. In all my experiences they seem to come out of the freezer black. Make sure you treat the eggs before you freeze.
Now you are ready to treat the eggs for great fishing in the future. If you are going to be fishing soon the eggs should keep for about a week untreated. These are the best eggs to fish, simply cut them up into dime or quarter size squares and tie them up into spawn bags or throw them in a jar to put on the hook whole. I will cover spawn tying in another article. If you are not going to be fishing for a while the eggs should be treated, there are a couple different ways I like to do it. No matter which way you treat them the spawn should be thoroughly rinsed first. I use river or lake water to rinse my eggs. If you don't have river or lake water available you can use tap water but don't use too much, the chlorine in the tap water will turn the eggs white. Run them under the tap for about a minute or two. I usually take an empty gallon milk jug each time I go fishing; I fill it up and then have a supply of river water available. One way is the Borax treatment. You can buy Borax at any grocery store. A common brand is Twenty Mule Team, with the kicking mule on the box. One word of caution: borax is pretty strong stuff and should be handled with care, you may want to wear latex gloves if you have any open cuts on your hands. Also do not ingest borax, the stuff can kill you. Using a spoon scrape the eggs out of the skein and onto a paper plate, this may take some care and practice, don't get discouraged if you make soup out of one skein. After scraping the eggs out you should have a bloody membrane that should be thrown away. Put the paper plates with the eggs in the refrigerator for about an hour or two, this lets the eggs dry. Using a paper plate is crucial, as it will soak up moisture and juice from the eggs. After the eggs have dried for 1-2 hours pour the eggs into a plastic bag add the appropriate amount of Borax to the bag and shake like crazy. Shake until all the eggs are covered, this not only treats the eggs but also dries them further. Now pour out the contents of the plastic bag through a strainer, you should be left with nicely Borax coated eggs. Spoon the eggs into jars, small mayo or tartar sauce jars work best. Top the jars off with Borax and the treatment is complete. The Borax treated eggs will last for about a year in the refrigerator or about 3 years frozen. This is the best method for preserving longevity of the eggs, but I feel the borax takes a little of the fish catching ability out of the eggs. Don't get me wrong I have caught many salmon and trout using eggs treated in this manner, but remember fresh is always best.
Another method I like to use is the salt and sugar treatment. Follow the same washing and scraping procedure as described above, you can skip the drying procedure. In a large bowl mix ½ cup of sugar and ½ cup of salt, then add 1 gallon of river or lake water. Mix this thoroughly. Add your eggs to the mixture and put the bowl of eggs in the refrigerator for six hours. Next pour the eggs through a strainer. Spoon the eggs into jars. They will keep for about six months refrigerated and about a year frozen. This treatment gives the eggs a nice sweet smell that can turn on the fish. The only drawbacks are the procedure can be messy and the eggs do not keep as long.
If you are lucky enough to get a pumper fish; a fish where the eggs are loose. The eggs may be loose inside or may be spewing out of the fish when you land her. If the eggs are pumping out onto the bank quickly find a twig to plug the rectum, do not waste those eggs! These eggs are what I call gold. These eggs only need to be treated with river water. They should be as hard as a rubber ball and are real easy to tie into spawn sacs. If you are fishing out of a boat and the fish starts pumping eggs out throw her in the cooler and let her pump them into the bottom or try to catch the eggs with a plastic bag. After the fish is done doing her business simply treat the eggs with river or lake water. I usually carry a nylon bag with me. I put the eggs in the bag and let them hang over the side of the boat or tie them to my waders for a couple of hours; this seems to harden the eggs up nicely. If you don't have a nylon bag you can throw them in a pail of water and let them sit for 4-5 hours. Make sure the water is cold, either add ice or throw them in the refrig. After treatment put them in jars and they should keep for about 6 weeks in the refrigerator or about 6-9 months in the freezer.
A few final thoughts on preserving spawn. Brown Trout eggs are the best, followed by steelhead eggs, and salmon eggs work too. Remember that treating spawn is like everything else; practice makes perfect. If you could have seen my first few batches of spawn you would probably fall out of your chair laughing. After a few years of practice I now have buddies calling and asking if I have any eggs for them to borrow. Don't get discouraged if some of your eggs turn to soup, it may not be you, the eggs inside the fish may not want to cooperate. Sometimes the eggs are just too green to be of any use to a fisherman. Eggs are important for trout and salmon fishing on Michigan's beautiful rivers, but remember these eggs are also important to replenish wild stocks. One 6-10 pound female will yield about 4-6 jars of eggs; this should be plenty for many trips. There is no need to keep every female you catch, be selective and only keep what you need. Also remember that taking fish for the sole purpose of eggs is illegal. Salmon, steelhead, and trout are excellent table fare. In upcoming articles I will provide recipes, spawn tying tricks and techniques, and rigging tips. Until next time good luck and good fishing.
[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 3]Do It Yourself Spawn Bags - By: Ed Clements
[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 2]I would like to share with you my favorite way to tie spawn. There are many ways to tackle this sometimes-tedious task, but my favorite way is the good old fashion hand tying method. I do not use any machines or other mechanical devices.
The first step is to get a baking sheet, and please don't plan on using this to cook on ever again. After tying one batch of spawn on a baking sheet it will forever remain a spawn tying baking sheet. The juice of the spawn really hardens and is tough to remove. I would suggest purchasing an inexpensive new one. On the baking sheet lay out your netting, a very important aspect is to buy the netting already cut into squares. The netting that comes in a roll is made for use in the Spawnee machine. Mix and match the colors of your netting, some days the fish will want orange and other days it may be pink or chartreuse. After laying out your netting now put some eggs in the center of each square of netting. The key is not to put too many eggs on the net, I usually like to use about the size of a nickel. Now pick up the corners of the netting and pinch into a bag. Holding the corners twist the sac of eggs a couple of times. This comes in very handy for wiping off your hands. Pinching in between your fingers you should have a nice round sac of eggs. The next step is to tie the bag. I use Atlas Magic Thread, there is no knot needed with this thread. Take your thread and wrap three times in one direction and three times in the other direction and pull the ends as hard as you can so the string snaps and presto you have a spawn bag. This thread is awesome stuff and will not come loose without a knot. One trick I like to use is a string dispenser. It is easy to make, just take a jar or a coffee can and cut a hole in the lid. Drop your spool of string into the jar or can and feed the end out through the hole in the lid. Fasten the lid on and you have a string dispenser. Now trim the excess netting above the knot and drop your spawn bags into a jar and refrigerate.
A couple of tips on tying by hand: this method is little messy due to eggs breaking. I wear old clothes and usually do it in the basement or the garage. I also like to keep a wet rag close by, between each bag it really helps to wipe off your hands. This keeps your hands damp and also removes the sticky egg juice from them. This is the fastest method to tie spawn. This method also produces the nicest, tightest bag you can imagine.
[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 2]Another way found on the net[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 2]* Keep roe that you've harvested in the refrigerator. When ready to process open your package and pat roe dry with a paper towel. Always cut your fishing roe with a knife or scissors. Tearing the roe will damage the egg skein. Depending on your intended catch (i.e., salmon, steelhead or trout), cut your roe into 3 to 12 egg clusters. .
* It is important to add powdered borax to the roe. You can always use a plastic, tuperware style, container with a lid that seals. Just add some borax in the bottom of the container, then the roe, and finally, sprinkle borax over the top.
* Additionally, adding borax will allow you to freeze the roe and reuse it at a later date (up to two [2] years).
* If you want your fishing roe to be sweet, add desired sugar and borax only on the roe that is going to be used for fishing. Remember, adding sugar will cause your roe to ferment if the product is stored after fishing, even if frozen.
* REMEMBER - Always keep your roe cool when fishing. It is a good idea to keep it in an ice chest, or at least in the shade whenever possible. Roe will spoil quickly when left in the HOT sun.
* The most effective way to secure salmon roe to fishing hook is with a salmon roe knot.[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 2]And another way of preparing salmon roe[/size][/#000000][/font]
[font "Arial, Helvetica, Verdana"][#000000][size 2]Spawn sacks can be particularly effective when the water is still a bit murky and scent is really needed for the fish to locate your bait. This is another way to prepare spawn sacks. This method works much better than store bought sacks or treated eggs.
What You'll Need:
You can find the mesh and magic thread at many bait stores. The Rodmakers shoppe in Strongsville also carries it. Items shown are the magic thread, mesh, and a completed spawn sack (six eggs), about the size of a dime.
1. Orange nylon maline veil (mesh).
2. Magic thread
3 Salmon or Steelhead eggs
4. Small containers (old film containers work well)
5. Small zip-lock baggies
6. Scissors
Using eggs natural be very effective (using no cure product). Here we go:
1. Separate the eggs from the lining of the skeen.
2. Put small amounts in separate baggies. This is very important so you only unthaw and wrap what you plan to use at one time.
3. When your ready to wrap, unthaw a baggie in luke warm water, keeping the eggs in the baggie and dry.
4. Once unthawed, pour the eggs into a small disposable tupperware container. The egg film that's left behind is virtually impossible to wash off.
5. I use a small cap off a bottle to scoop a few eggs out of the tupperware container and place a few in the mesh. I used 6 eggs per sack.
6. Pull the mesh up over the eggs and wrap magic thread around 3 times and pull snug, again wrap 3 times and pull snug again and cut the excess. No tying necessary with the magic thread which makes the job much easier and faster.
7. Do this for the entire amount and keep in refrigerator if being used the next day. If you plan to use them more than 24 hours from the time of wrapping, freeze them. You can freeze the eggs in the film container. I've found 2 film containers or 20 sacks will usually last me all day.
Note: If you have sacks left over after fishing go ahead and freeze them. Although you can only do this 2-3 times before they harden up on you.[/size][/#000000][/font]
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