salting baits

[solid317 2]

i read somewhere that you can "toughen up" pillies as well as adding to their bait appeal by layering them in tubs with a good dose of salt between each layer then soaking that with tuna oil (or equivalent)then freezing or storing in the fridge for a few days before use.what i want to know is has anyone tried this and does it seem to work, also would it work with other baits such as worms, cockles, squid etc?making salt is my job so i have an endless supply but there seems to be only a few things it can be used for eg table, pool, cooking crabs etc and I'd love to make some practical fishing use out of it if possible

[rocknev 2]

solid317 wrote:

i read somewhere that you can "toughen up" pillies as well as adding to their bait appeal by layering them in tubs with a good dose of salt between each layer then soaking that with tuna oil (or equivalent)then freezing or storing in the fridge for a few days before use.what i want to know is has anyone tried this and does it seem to work, also would it work with other baits such as worms, cockles, squid etc?making salt is my job so i have an endless supply but there seems to be only a few things it can be used for eg table, pool, cooking crabs etc and I'd love to make some practical fishing use out of it if possible

ive been trying it as well.... works a treat, though i WOULDNT put tuna oil in the mix...the purpose of salting is to dry them out, and makes them a LOT tougher.ive only just started doing it, and ive been leaving them for about 5 days, putting in zip sandwich bags, with a hand full of salt, and freezing them again.though from the tackle shop, i was told NOT to re freeze them,but to just leave them out if they going to be used pretty quickly.bloke i bumped into salts his for 3 weeks...i use a tub lid, with a ribbed top, lay a couple of layers of paper down, layer of salt, pillies, salt pillies etc etc etc...change the salt the next day, and the next day, etc etc...im using about 6-8kg of salt, but at a buck for 2kg that pretty cheap.i used to throw the salt out, but now take it with me and use it for berley...damn it gets full of blood/oil as well...but it does make the pillies like old boots, real tuff...im going to salt up some cockles i got a few mths ago, as i caught them fresh, but damn they are soft as hell inside.BIG cockles as well.. i measured my thumb for the legal size, and never had to check one of them for size.... damn they were huge... biggest went 98mm.... im getting 5 baits out of some of them, but damn they are soft.

[Ranger 48]

Salted pillies are great, especially if you're going on long trips lasting a few days where refrigeration can prove an issue.When I was younger we used to shell and salt cockles. In a jar a layer of cockles, layer of salt, layer of cockles, layer of salt until the jar was half full and then a thick layer of sugar before continuing with cockles, salt, cockles, salt.It takes a lot of cockles to fill a small jar, and I still believe "fresh is best!"

[dutchxfisher 18]

I believe I read the same article as you about the salting. We did this on our far West Coast trip earlier in the year, and it marginally toughend up the pillies and allowed them to keep for longer, but I agree with Rocknev when he suggests leave out the tuna oil. The Tuna oil made baiting very messy and I'm sure limited the salts drying capabilites, and when you're on a long trip with limited water such a messy bait isn't the most ideal.Maybe a smaller dose of tuna oil would be more effective, and do what Rocknev did and change the salt and tuna oil over and just switch to plain salt later in the process. Also I find a finer grain of salt works better.

[solid317 2]

dutchxfisher wrote:

. Also I find a finer grain of salt works better.

i can try any grade (grain size) of salt as i make the stuff, so im open to suggestions as to what would work best. i grabbed what you would know as cooking salt coz i think it should work a treat, table salt would be my next choice as it is a bit finer but anything under that would be like coating it in flour and making the bait messy to handle (our finest grade is like flour to the touch just much tangy-er to the taste )i'm not so worried about the "wetness" of the bait i'm salting but more for the toughness. as i havent yet tried this does the salt tend to only toughen the bait when it dries it or does it also toughen it if it was wet down with tuna oil?

[rocknev 2]

solid317 wrote:

dutchxfisher wrote:

. Also I find a finer grain of salt works better.

i can try any grade (grain size) of salt as i make the stuff, so im open to suggestions as to what would work best. i grabbed what you would know as cooking salt coz i think it should work a treat, table salt would be my next choice as it is a bit finer but anything under that would be like coating it in flour and making the bait messy to handle (our finest grade is like flour to the touch just much tangy-er to the taste )i'm not so worried about the "wetness" of the bait i'm salting but more for the toughness. as i havent yet tried this does the salt tend to only toughen the bait when it dries it or does it also toughen it if it was wet down with tuna oil?

catch 22 with pillies... if they are wet, they are soft.the trick is to dry them out as much as possible...you will defintaly notice the difference between salted fish and salted fish if that makes sense,as an experiment, salt a few overnight, then salt a few for 3 days or so.then salt a few that have had tuna oil marinated into them. the salted 3 days WILL be the toughest...no moisture is what you are aiming for.salted overnight,and they still feel like dogshit.

[rocknev 2]

if you that keen on tuna oil, either use them ones as berley, or do as i do, and dig a hole at the waters edge, put tuna oil in it, then cover it up with sand.the tide and waves will draw the oil out over time making a nice slick with a time delay

[blinky55 0]

I usually salt my pillies for three days before a trip I use a brocclie box with several holes punched in the bottom I put a layer of pillies resting on newspaper salt more pillies salt more pillies etc.this way the juices from the pillies drain to the bottom of the box and out the bottom ensuring the bait is dry. :S

[Guest davidm#2]

wood u b able to to the same thing with bigger baits such as salmon, ST, mullet, sqiud.

[Softy 2,991]

Salt draws moister out so yes, 99.9% it will work on any form of meat.

[Guest davidm#2]

1 more thing does the bait have to be fresh or can it be frozencheers

[rocknev 2]

davidm#2 wrote:

1 more thing does the bait have to be fresh or can it be frozencheers

i buy mine as a frozen block...lay it out, and just pour 2kg of salt over the top.... that helps it to defrost....dont try and pull the block apart when its frozen...makes a hell of a mess of the pillies...with the salt on top, it takes 3-5 hrs to thaw out enought to seperate them.... but with the weather warming up, it should thaw quicker.its incredible how must moisture comes out of them... the paper i put down is soaked in juices...