Frozen Minnows

[Moldman]

I see that many bait shops sell frozen minnows, how many of you that perch fish use them and how do they work? Are they frozen in alcohol?

[Fishing Tiger]

As a last resort. No they are not frozen in alcohol.

[airshot]

Definetly last resort, the problem is they become soft and mushy when they thaw out. Very easy for the fish to steal them, so be prepared to do a lot of feeding and little catching. There are some folks that use cheap alcohol and some use salt, never tried either, most just freeze there left overs, but...mushy mess when they thaw.

[Stox]

Bait shops were out of minnows last week. I was told that minnows are hard to net during a full moon so we purchased a container of frozen minnows, salted. Many were very small.
Perched Sandusky Bay off the Cedar Point Millennium coaster using a spreader and #6 hooks, just off the bottom. Baited one hook with a piece of night crawler and the other hook with a minnow. Double hooked the minnow as they were a bit mushy.
Caught only 6 keeper perch and about 30 throw-backs. I'd estimate that about 70% of the perch caught preferred the minnows over the crawlers. It was a very light bite and I did lose some minnows but frozen minnows were definitely better than no minnows.
I'd recommend using frozen minnows only as a back-up to fresh minnows.

[buckeyezip]

Freezing them in cheap vodka or rubbing alcohol helps to preserve them by drawing out moisture from them so they're not as mushy when thawed. Using salt does the same thing.

[Mapleshade]

Live minnows are best for sure. I do freeze my leftover minnows in wintergreen rubbing alcohol. If I use them within a week they are not too mushy. Certainly better than sitting on the couch with no minnows at all.

[Ted33]

Scoop the minnows into a ziploc bag, pour rubbing alcohol (or cheap vodka), seal them up for 15 minutes. Drain all the alcohol out, then reseal and freeze them. Mine are never mushy, in fact almost leathery, but still have the same potency on the perch. I often cut them in half and still the perch will take them.

I do not see a noticeable difference between live and frozen with the way I freeze them. I've run out of live and started using frozen with no change in bite frequency. When the perch bite is on, it's on!

[rickerd]

Ted,
That's the simplist best description of freezing minnows I've ever heard.

Thank you,
Rickerd

[Ted33]

Thanks Rickerd... the alcohol displaces the water from the minnow, and if there is no water then there is no expansion of the ice crystals (which is what makes them mushy). I've used minnows frozen for two years with the same results.

Do not freeze them in a frost-free freezer if you can help it. My chest freezer keeps them frozen solid until I want to use them.