Keep cutbait fresh?

[Caviman2201]

Does anyone out there have any tips or tricks for keeping your cutbait fresh?

Last weekend, my buddy and I were hitting the spot pretty regularly for a while and cut up a bunch of it for bait. Within an hour or so, though, the bait was all dried up and the meat had turned to mush... Unfortunately, we had to use it for a while as the spot bite had dropped off and we weren't catching fresh ones anymore... Once the spot started biting again, we were good to go, but if there's some way to keep the bait from drying out like that, please do tell :)

:popcorn:

[cygnus-x1]

Keep them out of the sun and in cooler with ice. This heat will mess them up real quick.

You could also bring a white bucket ;) fill it with saltwater and let your bait swim for awhile until you use it.

My daughter loves when I do this so she can play with the fish in the bucket.

[Caviman2201]

fish in a bucket - duh... good call on that one... I think I'll try that next time...

[Fishbreath]

Hey Cavi, do a search here on preserving bait or salting bait. If you're catching spot and you want to preserve, salting is the way to go.

If you're fishing for a couple of days and still want to preserve your bait, again, ice and salt. Don't use regular salt though, use Kosher salt. I like the large crystals. Not totally ground. Place your fish in the cooler, belly down (it keeps the stomach enzymes from seeping into the meat of the fish), salt the backs and sides of the fish, cover with ice, repeat process. Keep the fish separated.

Your bait will keep much longer and stay on the hook better. Good luck! :beer:

[Caviman2201]

Thanks fishbreath... I was primarily talking about short-term preservation such as a few hours so I'm thinking the white bucket is the way to go... I just wish there was a way for me to catch a bunch of spot, cut them up and then keep the cut up bait fresh somehow for a few hours... Its kind of a pain to get your hands all messy cutting up a spot and then having to clean off your hands so you don't get blood and scales all over your rod and reel... I was thinking of bringing some latex gloves next time... or would that just be wrong? :p

[ilovetherock]

ok.. got some good advice for this one!

Don't cut the bait until you need it and keep it in a cooler with ice... but don’t let the icy water get to it. Put it in a freezer bag 1st.

BUT, if you’re talking about keeping it fresh for another day, by far the best strategy in my experience (please no one get offended) I use the "FoodSaver". That thing is awesome! It’s a vacuum pack machine thingy... I’m sure a lot of you have seen the infomercial back in the day. You can get one at Wal-Mart for like 20 bucks. VERY good investment. I use if to keep herring frozen for months, and its still firm and bloody once you thaw it out. try it!:fishing:

[ilovetherock]

no latex gloves.... thats for pansies! LOL j/k I do however always have a bottle of that hand sanitizer stuff. I know... kinda wierd, but anyone who has fished with fresh herring knows, that stuff stinks!! You cant even wash the smell off for days if you dont clean it off right away.

Just a thought... Im open minded and will try anything. Thought about latex gloves once, but its just to hot to fool around with those.

[Caviman2201]

yea I agree about the no water hand sanitizer... I have some in my tackle box too. Nothing wrong with that. The only problem is when you have dried blood and fish scales stuck to your hands, you really do need running water to get it all off...

[cygnus-x1]

... I just wish there was a way for me to catch a bunch of spot, cut them up and then keep the cut up bait fresh somehow for a few hours... Its kind of a pain to get your hands all messy cutting up a spot and then having to clean off your hands so you don't get blood and scales all over your rod and reel... I was thinking of bringing some latex gloves next time... or would that just be wrong? :p

It depends ... if you have a lady fishing with you (that you want to impress or you don't know that well) I might go the route with the gloves ... otherwise keep a rag around for wiping your hands and keep some saltwater in that White Bucket ;) to help out.

Now I have heard that people go so far to use the latex to keep the 'human' scent and oils off the bait to keep it at its most pristine condition ... I don't buy that however ... at least up in our waters.

[Caviman2201]

true... if I'm going to have a bucket full of salt water, a rag would do me just fine... good call - again :p

[TunaFish]

If you plan on fishing for a long night, in addition to the "White bucket", you may want to buy an aerator to keep them spots alive for a while. They usually die in the bucket due to low oxygen within 20-30 mins or so.

[Caviman2201]

haha... I didn't care too much about the smell... I just dont' like getting fish guts all over my rod and reel... I'll go with the rag & salt water method i think...

[jcreamer]

Keep them out of the sun and in cooler with ice. This heat will mess them up real quick.

You could also bring a white bucket ;) fill it with saltwater and let your bait swim for awhile until you use it.

My daughter loves when I do this so she can play with the fish in the bucket.

again with the bucker:p :p
I have them in different colors does that count.:D :popcorn:

[justinfisch01]

Not to get off topic but one good technique that I use and seems to work the best outta all of them is was your hands with Toothpaste. Just put about a quarter size amount in you palme and rub until feel its gone and rinse. Works great!

[surffshr]

keep on ice.
don't let bait get wet cause it leatches the blood out, and softens it.

[Woodchuck]

For cut bait/fish storage I use a medium cooler, not sure of the size but its about half the size of a 70 qt. Pack that bad boy with ice and bury the fish into it as I catch them. Just remember to open the drain now and again to keep water off the fish. I also have a six pack sized cooler, actually like 10 cans or so will fit. I keep ice on the bottom, maybe 1/2 of the cooler. I have a cutting board that will fit inside, with a hand hole and it fits easily but not snug in it. I toss a fish and some shrimp (the shrimp are in a plastic dollar store basket) from the other cooler in the bottom of the small cooler, under the cutting board. As I need bait pull a fish out and cut a couple pieces of it, the bait knife rides around in the cooler. That gives me 3 or 4 baitings on the cutting board before I need to cut again. It is easy to grab and the cutting board actually stays pretty cold on top of the ice. This way I keep most of the bait nice and happy buried in the larger cooler and only a little in the cooler that is opened all the time. My current beverage also resides in this cooler, keeps it nice and cool for each sip.

For baiting cleanup I have the old 5-gallon pail half full or so with salt water right there and a fish rag (again the dollar store $5 for a years supply). Bait up, rinse and wipe. As far as the smell or little pieces of fish guts and fish scales on my hands? Heck, I’m fishing not meeting the Queen of Friggin’ England! I find it also makes the cigarettes and beverages taste better. Nothing like a little bunker (or Herring) flavoring in everything at the beach! Driving home with it on your hands? Heck again, the Unit is for fishing and nothing finer than hoping into it the next morning and getting that first whiff of yesterdays bait on the steering wheel. Man, it don’t get no better than that. Scales and crap on the reel? They add traction once they dry out, like a slip resistant coating!

If saving bait for a couple days I gut them before burying them in ice. Leave the head and tail on, just a slice up the belly, reach in and clean em out. Never used salt but seems like that would be a great idea for further preservation.

Woody

[HellRhaY]

latex gloves, sanitizer, cologne, deodorant, shampoo, lotion, etc.......:eek:

jeeez, if you can't stand the smell, don't fish?
the best way to get rid of the smell is not to smell them, keep ur hands in ur pocket!:p

there was once a saying that goes, "if you cant stand the heat, get out of the kitchen..."

too many girly mans nowadays...:D
well, if frank barone was your father he would've called you, NANCY!

START THE STONE THROWING!!!!!

[HellRhaY]

I dont need to smell like a frickin stinkin bloody skanky piece of meat when I fish to be a man. Maybe you love to smell like a skanky piece of raw rancid putred piece of shyte HuH? Thats what you think makes you a man HuH? To me thats just plain stupidity. I guess you would rather be looked upon as a smelly piece of SHYTE than wear gloves to cut your bait YOU ARE THE MAN!:cool: HuH

ROFL, so much anger i sense.:eek:
harharharhar:D

[greybeard]

Back in the 70's when I was salmon fishing with herring up in Puget sound, they had some stuff that smelled like licorice that you put in a bucket of water to clean your hands. Was supposed to keep the human scent off the herring and vice versa. The old timers back then told me that salmon could smell human scent on the herring. I don't know how much truth there was in that but I had my bucket with the formula in it. I don't remember what it was called though.

[emanuel]

It's not a full moon, so why is everyone acting strange?:confused:

[can't fish today]

It's not a full moon, so why is everyone acting strange?:confused:

I was thinking the same thing. Some tough reading tonight. Prolly time to call it a night.

[surfchunker]

I'd rather smell like fish than the Railroad anyday ... grease, oil, diesel fuel and sweat ... plus it means I'm out fishin ........

I use 2 coolers .. one for fish ... one for Human comsumption ...

I'll filet one side and throw the other back in the cooler and leave the cut side out ... unless it's real slow ...

A big plastic tube of the kosher salt would also work great .... chunk it up and throw it in the tub of salt and shake it up ... You don't want table salt because of the iodine ... the salt will actually tuffen it up too

[ilovetherock]

Ive never seen somewhere where so many people get sooooooooooooooooo offended over the dumbest sh*t! LOLOLOLOLOL :popcorn:

[can't fish today]

... You don't want table salt because of the iodine ...


I a little confused by the kosher/table salt question. The ocean contains iodine, so it seems like it wouldn't matter. Perhaps the iodine changes the taste? One site I googled suggested that kosher is better at drawing the water out of meat. Would that be the main difference?

[HellRhaY]

good read, nice info.

I always thought kosher salt is for the Jews.:)
no offense intended.

[Jesse Lockowitz]

dont cut til u gotta , keep it on top of the ice in a self draining cooler .





Jesse

[FishinMortician]

Wanting to stay away from the wrangling...

I converted a round drink cooler into an aerated bait keeper, easy. It is my belief that, even though fish need oxygen, they need cool water even more. Sort of slows down their systems and they end up relaxing on the bottom. You don't even need a net to catch them, and they awaken very quickly. Add a refreezable plastic thingy every so often and they will keep all day- alive and frisky. Some baitfish need moving water to stay alive, and of course there is always a limit on how many fish you can keep before you overload the unit. Ask me a I will detail how I made mine.

When cutting bait, most often mullet, I place my pieces into a Lock-n-Lock storage container. Wally world has them for 3 bucks. Several sizes to choose from. They have locking clips on all sides and will not leak, squeak, creak, rust, bust or collect dust. Then flip it into a cooler- or in with the live bait. The bait will retain it's consistancy and it's freshness, if kept cool. Also, doesn't make your beverages smell like manly man drinks.

Latex gloves would work just fine if you are cutting up alot of bait at one time. I take a pair with me when deer hunting, just in case I get one. Sissy or not- I wear them all the time(people kind of expect me to- don't they?) Try hydrogen peroxide to clean blood off your hands, also assists in protecting you from microbes that are always present. I keep a bottle with me in case I have an accident, and use it when cleaning up for the big ride back home.

[ilovetherock]

on the charter boats they just soak a rag and lay it over the cut bait. this worked for cut fish, bloodworms, and razor clams... and it was hot as hell out. just keep the rag wet and your good to go!

[paraman72]

The way I look at it is that we have a whole ocean full of salt water available to us so use it. If you are lucky enough to have a lady with you then give her the knife to cut the bait, then you dont have to worry about it. lol. How do you cut your spot for bait?????:fishing:

[stupidjet]

i thought our salt came from salt mines, not the ocean.

[StormCaster]

I keep them in a cooler with ice.