# Salted Bait: sandfleas, fish strips, crab, etc



## John Smith_inFL (Nov 22, 2009)

I have tried several ways to preserve different kinds of bait . . . 

Last month, I had some good sized Fiddler Crabs left over and took them home to experiment with.

Prepared a very heavy Salt Brine with hot water and Kosher salt: Chilled it in the freezer to +10*f. 
Let it sit an hour or so in the freezer to allow undissolved salt settle to the bottom.

Into a small tupperware container, I put in the live Fiddlers and added the very cold salt brine.
Put in an additional tablespoon of fresh Kosher salt - put on the lid - shook it around gently and put in the freezer.
Every couple of days, I would shake it around a bit to keep the salt in solution.

One month later, took the salted Fiddlers fishing !!! yesterday, fishing for Sheepshead. Bought 4 dozen fresh live
crabs at the bait store. Caught 12 with 4 keeper Sheepies on the fresh live Fiddlers.

The preserved Fiddlers were PITIFUL !!! Soft shells, legs fell off, seems like their bodies just turned to brittle jello.
Very disappointing results.

The fresh live Fiddlers had very hard shells vs the very soft and brittle shells of the preserved specimens .....

So now I am wondering, I did not pay attention to the salted crabs when I bought them if they had soft and brittle
shells before they were salted for a month. Could they have been fresh out of a molt ???? I am thinking that would
make them have thin shells and brittle legs.

anyway - LOL - this experiment of Brined and Frozen Fiddler Crabs did not fulfill my expectations.
NEXT TIME; I will keep the mature older hard shelled crabs, brine for a couple of days in the freezer, then transfer them to a
dry salt tupperware container.

and yes, I am a PREPPER !! LOL - preparing for the lean times when there are no sandfleas or fiddler crabs to be had .


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## akhan (Mar 17, 2011)

Johnny - from what I have seen, online and esp from JetSkiBrian - you take the live fiddlers put them in a vacuum sealed bag and seal them then freeze - no salt required...

Haha based on what Brian catches, I am SURE that works.


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## John Smith_inFL (Nov 22, 2009)

I have been keeping up with J.S. Brian but have not seen how he keeps his bait.
He always talks about live eels and such.
I have a Food Saver so I will try the vacuum next time (and on sandfleas as well).
Thanks !!!


I'm sure someone will chirp in saying that suffocating them is horrible !! LOL
I really don't have an ice pick that small to stab them between the eyes first
to humanely dispatch them.


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## akhan (Mar 17, 2011)

check this thread http://www.pierandsurf.com/fishing-forum/showthread.php?104338-Scary-Fish!&highlight=frozen


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## rwh (Dec 10, 2012)

I haven't tried them yet, but last month I caught 100 or so and vacuum packed them with a Food Saver like Brian does so that I can try for togs if I can't get live crabs when I need them. I put them in the refrigerator for a few hours before hand. That slows them down and kind of puts them in a dormant state so that they aren't running all around the kitchen and to make it at least seem like it's a better way to go for them, but hey, it's just bait, right? I did 3 bags of 3 dozen each. I had to re-do two of them because on each, the tip of one of the claws poked through the bag when it was vacuumed. The 2nd time, I folded a paper towel and put it in the bag so that both sides had a paper towel pad between the crabs and the bag and it worked well. If that didn't work, I was going to put them in a plastic bag 1st and then vacuum that with the Food Saver Bag. I've never used fiddlers as bait, but reading around, some people remove the claw and some don't and it seems like you can catch fish with them either way. If you wanted, you could remove them before packing them. Hopefully I'll get a weekend soon with decent weather to try them out and post a good report on how well they worked.


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## surfmom (Nov 3, 2012)

I have 2 batches, the first one I did the soak in brine then salt. They have turned almost black by now but still seem to be in good shape. I got a bunch more the other day, brined them for a couple days then just put in a plastic baggy( I don't have a vacuum sealer) and stuck in freezer. Im going to try them Friday. 

And Johnny? I have sewing needles I use to pierce their wee little brains


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## John Smith_inFL (Nov 22, 2009)

The way the world is going - with the invasive species devastating the marine life, the traumatic climate changes
from 50 years ago til now, what we used to take for granted on being around for ever is no longer the case.
I will never rape the beach for a bucket of fleas or bulldoze the rocks for a bucket of fiddlers. But, if I find a plentiful
area, I will definitely take a bunch extra to preserve for those lean times. My last trip to the surf at Titusville FL there were
no adult fleas to be had. But, kazillions of 1/4" babies. I hope that most of them make it to adulthood. 
But a flock of shore birds can decimate a bed in a day or two. (IMO).
I have thought about the vacuum seal thing before. but in my mind, it is putting pressure on their little shells and legs and may
cause problems when on the hook. But will try it with mature larger adults that appear to have hard shells.
The sheepshead were feeding so aggressively under the dock that my wife just put a large white claw on her hook and caught a
10" sheepie !! LOL so now, nothing goes to waste.
We were using #4 Beak Hooks (nickle) with 1/4oz splitshot. Small 5' spinning rods with 14# line with 3' of 20# fluro leader.
This was our 4th attempt to target just sheepshead and quickly found that reusing hooks from the last fishing trip was only
hurting our chances of catching fish. So now, we never keep hooks from one trip to the next. and if we feel that the tip
has become dull, it is changed out for a new one on the spot.
LOL that is our strategy. 
Re: padding the vac bag. Yeah, I think that some kind of padding inside the vacuum bag is a good idea.
Larry Finch of www.fishmanfinch.com says that he has the same results with or without the large claw. Just a personal choice.

I have a college background in Oceanography and Marine Biology. So it is only natural for me to pay attention to what is
happening to our oceans and marine life - especially in my own back yard !!!

TIGHT LINES !!!
Johnny

Thanks Akhan for the link to Brian's technique. I have looked at that page a couple of times and my mind just did not
focus on the bait bag !!! LOL His awesome photos draws your mind's eye to the FISH !!! ( AWESOME JOB BRIAN ).


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## surfmom (Nov 3, 2012)

so I used both the salted sand fleas and the ones I just brined a few days then froze. Both held up well both were gobbled up by the pin fish and probably baby pomps. As there hasn't been a lot of other fish in the surf these days its hard to tell if they will attract other fish when the fishing gets better, Im hoping to get some more fleas today with the weather warming up. After today or tomorrow I doubt any will be found without a shovel


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