05-01-2003, 02:50 PM
[cool]If you can find an outlet that sells supplies for steelheaders, you will find special mesh for tieing up "spawn bags". It is available in an attractive red color, and when you tie it with hot red fly tying thread, it adds to the visibility and strike count.
In the Pacific northwest, and on streams emptying into the great lakes, a lot of anglers keep the roe-laden female salmon and steelhead just for the "fish berries" they hold. If the fish are close to spawning, the eggs are loose in the body cavity and must be bagged to be fished. If the fish are taken before they are fully "ripe" the eggs will still be contained within the membrane of the ovaries. These can be cured with a little borax and some sugar and then cut into bait sized pieces.
To keep them on the hook, you can wind on a few turns of thread...or tie your hooks with an "egg loop"...a snell knot below the baitholder barb that allows you to push a loop down through the eye of the hook. You put the cluster of eggs in the loop and pull the line tight to snug it up. That works well for soft catfish baits too.
In case you have never tried it, keep the ripening ovaries (egg sacks) from crappies, white bass, yellow perch or other species. Freeze them in a plastic bag, with a few drops of water...after removing all the air to prevent freezer burn. Thaw them the night before a trip and fish them whole for kittyfish and watch them go nuts. Unfortunately, carp and other fish like them too. Small sunfish will rip them apart, so again...wrap with thread to hold together well.
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In the Pacific northwest, and on streams emptying into the great lakes, a lot of anglers keep the roe-laden female salmon and steelhead just for the "fish berries" they hold. If the fish are close to spawning, the eggs are loose in the body cavity and must be bagged to be fished. If the fish are taken before they are fully "ripe" the eggs will still be contained within the membrane of the ovaries. These can be cured with a little borax and some sugar and then cut into bait sized pieces.
To keep them on the hook, you can wind on a few turns of thread...or tie your hooks with an "egg loop"...a snell knot below the baitholder barb that allows you to push a loop down through the eye of the hook. You put the cluster of eggs in the loop and pull the line tight to snug it up. That works well for soft catfish baits too.
In case you have never tried it, keep the ripening ovaries (egg sacks) from crappies, white bass, yellow perch or other species. Freeze them in a plastic bag, with a few drops of water...after removing all the air to prevent freezer burn. Thaw them the night before a trip and fish them whole for kittyfish and watch them go nuts. Unfortunately, carp and other fish like them too. Small sunfish will rip them apart, so again...wrap with thread to hold together well.
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