frozen minnows

[portclintonangler]

Been out perch fishing several times this year. Several times this year I have done the shiner shuffle in the morning before the crew gets there. Every time I find them I get an extra scoop or two. When I’m finished I place the extras on a cookie sheet salt them down and put them in the freezer. Once frozen I place them in zip lock bags. When out fishing keep them on ice double hook them and they work pretty good. Anyone have any other ways they freeze them that works good ?

[Mark]

Scroll back down about 18 threads and you'll read things about this topic. One guest responded that he uses cornmeal to freeze them in. I want to try that. (Hmmm, should I use yellow or white meal? Would instant Grits work too?). And BTW, I was watching some Perch Videos of Lake Michigan Perching, due to another responder using frozen Crawfish Claws. Don't know what they were using on those videos, but they were nailing JUMBO'S big time. Has anyone here used "claws" on Lake Erie? And if you should watch one of those videos, check out the colors of their Perch....a little different markings than what we see here on L.E.

Been out perch fishing several times this year. Several times this year I have done the shiner shuffle in the morning before the crew gets there. Every time I find them I get an extra scoop or two. When I’m finished I place the extras on a cookie sheet salt them down and put them in the freezer. Once frozen I place them in zip lock bags. When out fishing keep them on ice double hook them and they work pretty good. Anyone have any other ways they freeze them that works good ?

[wakina]

Been out perch fishing several times this year. Several times this year I have done the shiner shuffle in the morning before the crew gets there. Every time I find them I get an extra scoop or two. When I’m finished I place the extras on a cookie sheet salt them down and put them in the freezer. Once frozen I place them in zip lock bags. When out fishing keep them on ice double hook them and they work pretty good. Anyone have any other ways they freeze them that works good ?

I put them in a colander and drain as much of the water off of them as I can, cover them with a heavy coating of kosher salt, shake them around to get an even coat on them then transfer them to a large plastic bag. I place the plastic bag in the fridge for a couple of days then dump them into the colander again to drain off the liquid that has been pulled out of the minnows and rinse them to remove the salt and let them drain. I put them in the dehydrator just until they become leathery tough and then put them in a clean plastic bag and freeze. They seem to work better than golden shiners and almost as well as fresh shiners. Just keep them on ice while out fishing and then put the let overs back in the freezer when you get home.

[sloch24]

When we get home, we dump the extra minnows on some newspaper (If they're still jumping around, lay another piece on top of them so they don't go everywhere). After about 15 minutes or so, the excess water is absorbed into the newspaper. I then dump some regular old table salt into a zip loc bag, then scoop up the minnows and put them in the bag. I shake them around and coat them as best as I can, and throw them in the freezer. The salt keeps them from freezing completely, and sticking together. I don't see any absolute need to freeze them before salting them. If you put enough salt in the bag, it absorbs some extra moisture too. They end up being a little dehydrated and kind of tough. They actually stay on the hook very well and seem to work just the same as fresh shiners.

When we take them fishing, we keep them in a very small cooler filled with ice. It works well, just keep a towel next to the cooler to wipe the salt off of your fingers..

[Moeannie]

Let me start by saying I've never tried this. I had a conversation with an old timer yesterday on this subject and he said the best way to preserve them is to put the live minnows in a zip lock bag with a can of regular coke then straight in the freezer. According to him, he has done this and three years later pulled them out and the shiners still have the same color and texture they went in with. Something about the coke formula that prevents it from completely freezing. All I know is I'm ready to try anything after Using pinheads on Saturday. Has anyone used this method?

[BILLY JOE]

what sloch says is the fastest way used some I had from last year and still worked well I do one step extra and put live into a salt water brine. I think they get brined from the inside a little to. have a lid on your bucket when they hit the salt water they jump all over salt water will kill them in a few then dry and throw in your bag of salt. a old window screen works well to dry them on also

[Mark]

Moe,
A little food science from a retired chef....
There's a lot of sugar in a "regular" Coke and that slows down the freezing process and the more sugar in a solution the harder it is to freeze. Kind of like salt in water. I wonder if the sweeteners in "diet" Coke would have the same effect?

Let me start by saying I've never tried this. I had a conversation with an old timer yesterday on this subject and he said the best way to preserve them is to put the live minnows in a zip lock bag with a can of regular coke then straight in the freezer. According to him, he has done this and three years later pulled them out and the shiners still have the same color and texture they went in with. Something about the coke formula that prevents it from completely freezing. All I know is I'm ready to try anything after Using pinheads on Saturday. Has anyone used this method?

[Moeannie]

Mark,

He said it has to be Coke Classic. It won't work with Diet Coke or even Pepsi. Like I said, I will try anything the next full moon cycle to avoid the pinheads. I might try this coke method with a batch and then another batch of the dried and salted recipes others have posted here and then post the results. We're planning to get out Wednesday and hopefully we get some good shiners and I'll start my experiment afterwards.

[wakina]

Mark,

He said it has to be Coke Classic. It won't work with Diet Coke or even Pepsi. Like I said, I will try anything the next full moon cycle to avoid the pinheads. I might try this coke method with a batch and then another batch of the dried and salted recipes others have posted here and then post the results. We're planning to get out Wednesday and hopefully we get some good shiners and I'll start my experiment afterwards.

Just so you know the full moon has little to do with the pinheads(YOY Emerald shiners), we may be stuck with those pinheads for awhile until they grow some. Just depends what the netters can draw into their nets as to what is available for bait. The next full moon will be August 29th and named (Sturgeon Moon) Credit to the Farmers Almanac.