Reel Time Fishing
Toby Wyatt
2131 Critchfield Road
Clarkston, WA 99403
509-758-9160
turbotoby@cableone.net |
TECH TIPS
CURING EGGS
When curing eggs the most important thing you can remember is to
start with fresh eggs caught within 24hrs. Your Salmon and steelhead
must be bled for the roe to be blood free. If not, you might as well
feed them to the dogs. Under any circumstances never freeze the eggs
before you cure them. The best eggs to use are fully matured eggs taken
from fish that are close to spawning.
You can use several cures on the market. I recommend Priddy Dam Good Egg
cure, TNT, Amerman, Wizard, Last Supper, Atlas and Pro Glow. Other cures
may work also, but these are the ones I’m familiar with. The curing
process is the most important part that takes time to master. To produce
a good fishable egg, you must spend a considerable amount of time curing
the eggs. Start by cutting the eggs down the middle exposing the inside
of the
 eggs
(see pic 1). I like to cut the eggs in half down the middle of the
membrane or using the butterfly process by cutting down the middle of
the egg exposing it like a book or a butterfly be careful not to cut
completely through the skein. You actually do not cut the skein at all
(see pic 2). In a quart jar add One tsp cure then place a layer of eggs
(approx ½ cup of roe) into a jar and sprinkle cure onto
them (approx 1 tsp). Repeat this process until the jar is ¾ full. You
will have to play with the amount of cure used to get your desired
color. I like bright eggs, almost fluorescent. Scents can be added into
the jar if desired. Let the eggs sit for an hour then shake the jar to
spread the cure evenly. A few hours later, shake the jar again and
repeat the process until the eggs become the desired color and appear
firm. This usually takes 24 hrs you will notice the eggs will become
very juicy and then seem to suck up the juices and firm up again. Do not
refrigerate unless outside air temperature is above 80.
 Remove
eggs from the jar and strain for 1 hr. Proper drying is also important.
Lay down several layers of paper towels and spread the eggs out to dry
(see pic 3). Cover the eggs with another layer of paper towels to keep
flies, bacteria etc away. You can speed up the drying process by using a
fan but keep a close eye on the eggs. Proper drying time usually is 12
hrs for a wet soft fishable egg, 24 hours for a firm durable egg and 30
hrs for a very durable egg used best for back trolling or back bouncing
in heavy current.
Storage of the eggs is very important. I roll the eggs in paper towels and
place them in a vac bag. Then I freeze the egg without vac locking
because if you try to vac lock a non frozen egg they will all smash and
be useless. When the eggs are frozen then I vac lock them. Eggs will
keep in the freezer for up to a year and fish just like the day you
cured them. Another great way to store the eggs is fill a vac bag with 2
cups of Borax. Shake the eggs to spread the borax. Freeze the eggs then
vac lock. This is a great method but there are plenty of others that
work well too. Scott Haugen has an excellent book about curing eggs that
I recommend for other cures: His book called Egg Cures is available at
www.amatobooks.com.
|
)
)
)