# Mullet & Spot - how to store it?



## fishhead (Oct 18, 2004)

I'm pickin up 15lbs of fresh mullet (1-2lb fish) and 10lbs of fresh spot (1/2lb fish) tomorrow, along with some kosher salt.

Before freezing, what should I do with them? For instance, should I cut off the heads? Fillet all of them, or just some of them? Cut into chunks? Salt the pieces and/or fillets? Wait a few hours after salting before freezing?

We're off to OC and AI on October 26th, so we want to prepare the bait for drum (the tail end of the run) and stripers (beginning of the run), and blues.

Any expert advice from you seasoned veterans?

Thanks in advance,
fishhead


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## fishhead (Oct 18, 2004)

I really need advice ... 15 hours till I pick up the bait


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## cygnus-x1 (Oct 12, 2005)

I am all ears. I would have guessed that vacuum sealing them would work prior to freezing. I would guess that keeping them intact would be the best.

Any body else?


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## AtlantaKing (Jul 7, 2002)

I'd say leave them whole, and cover with lots of salt. Bait is expensive, salt is cheap. My thinking to leaving them whole is that it'll keep the skin and scales intact to combat the dehydration and keep the bait firm(er). Keeping them whole would probably keep more of the slime layer. Then, when you get to use it, keep on ice the whole time, taking out only enough to use in an hour, no more. 

BTW, where are you getting the spot from?


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## KT_UMCP (Oct 11, 2005)

From my experience it is always better to freeze fish whole rather then to cut it up in fillets cause it keeps it more fresh. I would just cover them in the kosher salt and seal that baby up.


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## Surf Fish (Dec 16, 2005)

fishhead said:


> I'm pickin up 15lbs of fresh mullet (1-2lb fish) and 10lbs of fresh spot (1/2lb fish) tomorrow, along with some kosher salt.
> 
> Before freezing, what should I do with them? For instance, should I cut off the heads? Fillet all of them, or just some of them? Cut into chunks? Salt the pieces and/or fillets? Wait a few hours after salting before freezing?
> 
> ...


I've had no luck freezing large mullet. Why, I dunno, small ones freeze great. Filets freeze worse than whole fish; large mullet are mushy when you thaw them, filets are useless. I'd leave them whole.


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## fishhead (Oct 18, 2004)

OK, sounds like the experts are saying "freeze them whole and in salt" ... and I ain't one to argue with the experts  

By the way, I'm getting the bait from Hadfields. They are right on the PA/DE line on rt 202, just above Wilmington. They routinely have spot, but mullet is a "special order", meaning you call it in the day before, and they add it to their "buy list" for the next morning at the Philly fish market. I've been buying fish to eat at this place for 30 years, and it's always been fresh, so I figured maybe it was a good place to get some bait.

Bait isn't cheap, but one thing I really hate is to get down to AI and not find the bait I want because they've sold out, or they have bait and it's stuff that they froze at about the point it was going bad  

Thanks for the great advice folks!
fishhead


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## BubbaBlue (May 11, 2004)

I didn't jump in yesterday because I was wanting others to chime in with their words of wisdom.

Anytime you freeze and thaw bait fish, it will be mushier than fresh. Some fish hold up better than others. I think you'll be dissapointed with the mullet. The spot may come out ok, but its iffy.

I salt cure a lot of bait and have had good luck with it. 

I usually cut the fish up to fishing sized chunks and coat liberally with Kosher or sea salt. Let it sit in a colander in the fridge or out in the sun for awhile to let the salt do its work. (Couple of hours in the sun, overnight in the fridge.) The goal is to let the salt draw moisture out of the meat. Add more salt if it looks like it needs it. After curing, just put in a zippy freezer bag and freeze.

The salt curing darkens the skin a bit and if you want to minimize that, add baking soda to your salt in about a 1/4 soda to 3/4 salt ratio.

I usually use smaller sized chunks in the bay than you'll probably want to use for reds. Because of this, I suggest you try this method with part of your bait to give it a try and freeze whole the rest. That way, you'll be able to compare the cured/not cured results.

Good luck!
.


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## fishhead (Oct 18, 2004)

Thanks to you too BubbaBlue ... I was pondering that very plan of action on the drive into the office this morning ... take some and cut it up and leave the rest whole.

I had tried that once before with bluefish chunks and found that salt curing them really made a difference, as they held on the hook nearly as good as fresh cut. However, I didn't let them sit as long after salting before freezing as you suggest, so I'll give that a shot  

I definitely won't do what I did one time, and that was to fillet (leaving the skin on) and then immediately freeze without salting ... ended up with pure mush  

fishhead


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## fishhead (Oct 18, 2004)

Picked up the bait this afternoon and am having a blast preparing it ... OK, I'd rather be fishing, but this is as close as I'll get to fishing today  

Filleted some of the bigger mullets, cut them into real good sized finger mullet shaped chunks, and rolled them in sea salt. Man, those things are tough as leather and stiff as a board ... I was going to see just HOW TOUGH they were by taking them out back, putting them on a tee, and taking out a two iron ... nah, it would just give the dog one more thing to eat out of the lawn  

I can't believe how much liquid the salt drew out of them in just one hour ... I'm going to roll them in one more layer of salt and freeze them up in a couple hours.

2 weeks and 6 days till AI ... and counting


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## fishhead (Oct 18, 2004)

Bags of mullet heads
Bags of spot heads
Bags of mullet fillets
Bags of spot fillets
Bags of mullet chunks

I am worn out


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## fishhead (Oct 18, 2004)

OK, I got a cardboard box of bait in the freezer ... 10" X 12" X 12", sealed. It contains bags of salted:
1) Mullet heads
2) Spot heads
3) Whole spot
4) Spot fillets
5) Mullet fillets
6) Mullet chunks

Salted the fillets and chunks to the point where they get firm but don't freeze solid ... Perfect for maintaining their firmness once they're on the hook and winging into the surf ... I hope  

Oh, how did I get the air out of the bags before sealing them? I used a mini floor vac ... with the attachment thing for getting into little corners. When I went to put it away it REALLY smelled like fish ... guess I'll catch you know what from the better half the next time she goes to use it  

fishhead


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## KT_UMCP (Oct 11, 2005)

Hey Fish head, Loooks like you are surely ready to get out there to AI. I bet the anticipation is killin ya. 

I use to have the same problem with all my gears, tackle box, cooler, cutting board etc.. smelling like fish even after giving it a good clean. I resolved this issue by cleaning everything with BLEACH. I don't clean my reels or rods with them, but definately my cooler, cutting board and knives with it. It totally takes all the stink out. I reccomend try it. No matter how smelly that cooler can get, just pour some bleach in it get a scrubber and wipe all the excess and let it sit outside overnight, empty all bleech and hose it down with water. As for the end of the vac hose simply dip it into some bleach and clean off and dry. She will never notice.


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## stonemason (Aug 4, 2006)

salty bait...is thay good?


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## BubbaBlue (May 11, 2004)

stupidjet said:


> salty bait...is thay good?


Fresh or live is best. 

The purpose of brining bait is to preserve it and lessen the mush factor after freezing.

Side benefits:
Toughens it up some and helps it hold on the hook better.
Leftovers can be re-froze without much degradation.
Ready to fish out of the freezer. No need to thaw.
.


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## fishhead (Oct 18, 2004)

BubbaBlue said:


> Fresh or live is best.
> 
> The purpose of brining bait is to preserve it and lessen the mush factor after freezing.
> 
> ...


... And one side benefit of your last side benefit ... no freezing your hands trying to cut up a frozen slab of bait when it's 45 degrees out and the wind is howling


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## Fishbreath (Nov 11, 2004)

One thing I would add to this discussion when freezing whole spot or any other type of fish is to remove the guts before freezing. That way the stomach enzymes don't get into the flesh. That's what makes the meat mushy...


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## cygnus-x1 (Oct 12, 2005)

Fishbreath said:


> One thing I would add to this discussion when freezing whole spot or any other type of fish is to remove the guts before freezing. That way the stomach enzymes don't get into the flesh. That's what makes the meat mushy...


So that is what makes them mushy ehh? I will have to do that next time!


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## Fishbreath (Nov 11, 2004)

So it was told to me. I've tried it and it definitely helps to remove. Can't say its a silver bullet but it does help.


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## BubbaBlue (May 11, 2004)

Interesting.

I don't know how it affects the meat but I have a side anecdote that may back that up.

Was casting some thawed whole peanut bunker the other day and I noticed something interesting. Whenever I gave one a good heave, it came back gut free. Yup, I was slinging their guts out on the cast.  The belly was split and when you looked into it, it was clean as a whistle.

At the time I was attributing it to my casting prowess (yeah, right) but the enzyme thing may have had something to do with it.

Hmmm...
.


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## granpafish (May 5, 2003)

Some of the real old salts tell me that you should include baking soda into the mix (literally) and that helps quite a bit in the preservation process.


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## fishhead (Oct 18, 2004)

Interesting info coming in  

Will have to try removing the guts idea next time ... sounds worthwhile. As for peanut bunker coming back gutless ... I noticed that too ... but I fugured they were just a little more fragile than other baitfish ... ever notice how many scales come off them when you dump yur castnet onto the dock ... turns the boards silver  

As for baking soda ... here's a link to the Saltwater Sportsman Magazine on this topic
http://www.saltwatersportsman.com/saltwater/fishing/article/0,12746,187148,00.html

fishhead


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## AtlantaKing (Jul 7, 2002)

I can attest to the baking soda. I don't have an exact mixture, I just eyeball it  ...roughly 1 part baking soda and 4 parts salt, mixed into a slushy and very strong brine, into which I dump the bait. Earlier this year, when the herring were running down at Hains Point, I caught a few that went from the river directly into the brine, which was sitting in a cooler of ice. I left them in there to chill for a couple of days and then froze them. I took the last package out of my freezer in mid-September, and they were still firm and had great color.


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