Egg cure recipe?

[fishsauce]

Hello OFFers! Was wondering if anyone was willing to share their egg cure recipe? I've successfully cured lots of eggs with Amermans, ProCure, etc., but was wondering what people have added to theirs. I want to hear what a lot of you fisherman have come up with. Thanks!

 

[fishingfreak]

Pure Anise oil

 

[cobias]

Old school

Old school

i know on the next batch of eggs i get im going to do all home made cure stuff. I dont think that the shaker cures are consistant. I mean, there is not exactly an FDA for fish...if they want to skimp on certain products in a cure to save $$$ they will. I have had the same brand of cure with a different batch give different results. The best thing to do is buy the whole products : Borax, sugar, salt, sodium sulfite, sodium meta bisulfite ( stronger), sodium nitrate, ect and build your own. My next batch will probably be Borax sugar salt and sodium sulfite. Oh, and color...Procure bad azz UV bait dye. a lot of people over emphasize milking ability of an egg cure. Salmon can smell 1 part in a billion and good roe has a strong smell...you can over do it on a soft, milking egg. Id rather have the eggs last a few more casts. The thing that makes them milk is sodium sulfite...adjust that amount for how much you want it to milk. And ALWAYS use sugar in your cure. If you check out the pro-cure dvd ALL the homebrew cures have sugar.

 

[fish_4_all]

1/2 cup borax
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup non-iodized salt
quart of non-chlorinated water
add color to suit, I use about 1/16 cup of pro cure or whatever I find cheapest. Food coloring works but is hard to find it strong enough to really add enough color and not spend too much.

This does up a nice sized Coho hen. Can leave out the cure/coloration, has never made much difference. My best results have come from boiling the salt, sugar, borax mixture and then letting it cool completely before adding eggs.

 

[Coho Kid]

The fish eat Pautzke's Krill Powdered eggs like crazy. I add about 1 tbs to 1 cup of my egg cure.

Here's a good one from an egg cure book by Scott Haugen

Buzz Ramsey's Cure

3 parts borax
2 parts sugar
1 part non-iodized salt

Roll the cleaned, cut and patted dry egg clusters in this cure paying attention to get the cure in all the folds of the skien. He adds scents like pure anise oil, shrimp oil, etc. once the baits have set in the fridge for 24 hours and the eggs have released their fluids. He claims that this is the time to add the scents or dye because it will mix well with the eggs natural juices than if added at the beginning or at the end. This cure works well with all eggs, and keeps for about 1 year in the freezer. It's resistant to freezer burning as well which most commercial cures aren't. My favorite commercial cure is Beau Mac's, but I find this cure only works well when you use the eggs with out freezing. The colors are vibrant, it takes just a small quantity of this cure to do up a quart of eggs, and they fish quite well even if fast water. I'm guessing it's because of the non-iodized salt in the cure which toughens the eggs.

 

[Coho Kid]

i know on the next batch of eggs i get im going to do all home made cure stuff. I dont think that the shaker cures are consistant. I mean, there is not exactly an FDA for fish...if they want to skimp on certain products in a cure to save $$$ they will. I have had the same brand of cure with a different batch give different results. The best thing to do is buy the whole products : Borax, sugar, salt, sodium sulfite, sodium meta bisulfite ( stronger), sodium nitrate, ect and build your own. My next batch will probably be Borax sugar salt and sodium sulfite. Oh, and color...Procure bad azz UV bait dye. a lot of people over emphasize milking ability of an egg cure. Salmon can smell 1 part in a billion and good roe has a strong smell...you can over do it on a soft, milking egg. Id rather have the eggs last a few more casts. The thing that makes them milk is sodium sulfite...adjust that amount for how much you want it to milk. And ALWAYS use sugar in your cure. If you check out the pro-cure dvd ALL the homebrew cures have sugar.

Sodium Nitrate is being banned in Oregon, because it's been proven to kill fish, even if they are only in the milk stream of an egg cluster. I used to use Sodium nitrate in my egg cures but stopped because of the article I read on the ODFW website about the chemical.

 

[cobias]

Sodium Nitrate is being banned in Oregon, because it's been proven to kill fish, even if they are only in the milk stream of an egg cluster. I used to use Sodium nitrate in my egg cures but stopped because of the article I read on the ODFW website about the chemical.

Its actually sodium sulfite that they are still trying to ban. I know two guides that were actually involved with the testing and the only smolts that died were the ones that were force fed sod sulf cured eggs. No conclusive evidence about Sodium sulfite to make a decision. Another thing, straight plain borax cure is so underrated these days. That's all the old timers used.

 

[beaverfan]

The study you speak of DID have conclusive evidence. The results of the study showed that some of the smolts that ate sodium sulfite died. The ones that did not ingest sodium sulfite did not die. That's pretty conclusive! The study also used multiple test groups ALL showing the exact same thing. Some cures were worse than others but ALL cures with sodium sulfite killed a some smolts.

 

[cobias]

Really ?

Really ?

The study you speak of DID have conclusive evidence. The results of the study showed that some of the smolts that ate sodium sulfite died. The ones that did not ingest sodium sulfite did not die. That's pretty conclusive! The study also used multiple test groups ALL showing the exact same thing. Some cures were worse than others but ALL cures with sodium sulfite killed a some smolts.

Uhh, Scott Amerman (Amerman eggs ) was one of the guides ASKED to participate in the study, meaning he was there to WITNESS ALL THE TESTING...the facts are : Only the fish that were force fed ( by hand) sodium sulfite cured eggs and one fish they INJECTED PURE LIQUIFIED sodium sulfite into, died. Those are the facts. If you want to ask him, look up his guide website and email him. It doesn't matter to me either way really. Borax or 321 works for me anyway but people need to get their facts straight.

 

[Coho Kid]

Must have been mistaken on that one.

 

[Mike123]

I'll still be using sulfite in my cures even with the ban. haha. What are they gonna do, train the OSP in taste testing out eggs to see if it has sulfite or not? lmao... Sooooo many other things kill smolt and our fish than fisherman using sulfite in cure. I see tons of jack asses keeping the damn things thinking they are trout!

 

[cobias]

^^^^yeah, that ! Write $300 tickets for keeping smolts...that will save way more smolts.

 

[SantiamDrifter]

Lets get back on track here!

For steelhead you can't beat borax cures. Buzz 321, Swanny's wet cure and Haugen's family cure will constantly put fish in the boat. If I were to fish just 3 cures it would be those 3 with all my extra scents and powders I can add. I would also add in Amermans steelhead cure.

For Salmon well anything hot. Their chemical junkies. Amermans/Pautze's/Cure all/Pro glow/Pro cure's and home cures alike. Fish crave different nutrients at different times. So being able to offer them a bunch of different cures is a must. Or maybe 1 cure but with different amount of ingredients i.e. sugar/salt/nitrates sulfites, bisulfites. Just be able to change it up when the bite goes off.

 

[fishsauce]

Just wanted to say thanks to all the guys that shared their recipes, I'll give them all a try. If anyone else has some interesting recipes please share, I'm trying to figure out if there is one special ingredient that makes a lockjawed fish bite.

 

[camosled]

sodium sulfite in cures

sodium sulfite in cures

Uhh, Scott Amerman (Amerman eggs ) was one of the guides ASKED to participate in the study, meaning he was there to WITNESS ALL THE TESTING...the facts are : Only the fish that were force fed ( by hand) sodium sulfite cured eggs and one fish they INJECTED PURE LIQUIFIED sodium sulfite into, died. Those are the facts. If you want to ask him, look up his guide website and email him. It doesn't matter to me either way really. Borax or 321 works for me anyway but people need to get their facts straight.

I suggest you revisit the issue. Your facts are not correct. I wrote the framework of the study. Submitted it to ODFW. OSU conducted the study. And I told ODFW which brands of cures to use and documented the process. Scott Amerman and the other guide you mention were NOT there to witness all the testing...The study took place over 21 weeks. They may have witnessed some of the testing, as I did. The study results concluded, as stated, when sodium sulfite was removed from the cured eggs, the mortality returned to nearly 0. The smolts were not force fed, except for one portion of the study where the scientists needed to confirm whether or not all the smolts in a population of 50, were in fact ingesting the cured eggs, to counter the impacts of aggressive feeding behavior. In that portion of the study, the mortality of juveniles was still nearly 30%.

In August of 2010, the ODFW Commission mandated that cure manufacturers remove sodium sulfite from all cures sold in Oregon by fall 2011. If ODFW and the manufacturers cannot come to terms and remove the toxin from the cures sold, the Commission will reverse it's position and move to regulation, meaning, it will be against Oregon Law to use Sodium Sulfite cured eggs in Oregon.

Those are the facts. Check the minutes of the August Commission meeting and Commissioner Dan Edge's comments. DEQ stands poised to act if ODFW cannot come to terms with the manufacturers. Technically, using sodium sulfite cured eggs violates Oregon's clean water laws.

Jeff Mishler

 

[Coho Kid]

I've seen my own sodium sulfite egg cure kill released males during coho season. I have other cures that fish as good or better, so there is no need for me to kill fish I don't intend to keep.

 

[GoldFishSlayer]

the 321 has been around since before Buzz's time. for steelhead I use straight borax and sugar most of the time. the sugar seems to help them last longer in the freezer and steelhead are sugar eatin fools I never ever put any sulfite's in my steelhead bait the 321 cure is a great starting point and after you play around with it a bit you will find what you like better for your uses by messing around with those three ingredients. If you want you can even sift your 20 mule team borax through a flower sifter you will end up with a finer pro cure type powder for a fraction of the cost

 

[crusty old fisherman]

I'll still be using sulfite in my cures even with the ban. haha. What are they gonna do, train the OSP in taste testing out eggs to see if it has sulfite or not? lmao... Sooooo many other things kill smolt and our fish than fisherman using sulfite in cure. I see tons of jack asses keeping the damn things thinking they are trout!

glad to see you respect laws and feel an overwhelming urge to protect our natural resources mike.

got to love sportsmen with a neanderthal atitude