emerald shiners

[Fkawee]

Got about a dozen live fiesty minnows to give away.
Fisher meadowlands area.
Come grab them before I through them onto the snow bank
Cheers

[smitty55]

Why not throw them in a small ziplock with some salt. Throw them in the freezer and you can use them on a jig in the summer.

Cheers

[Fkawee]

[quote pp="smitty55"]Why not throw them in a small ziplock with some salt. Throw them in the freezer and you can use them on a jig in the summer.

Cheers[/quote]
Didn't think of that lol.
How much salt?
Are salted minnows ok in Quebec during summer?
Only place i might use them in summer
Cheers all

[Gord]

NOT ok in Quebec......feed 'em to the gulls.....or coons.....

[smitty55]

Didn't think of that lol.
How much salt?
Are salted minnows ok in Quebec during summer?
Only place i might use them in summer
Cheers all

Yea if you won't use them in Ontario no use keeping them. No longer legal in QC, like Gord said. Too bad

Btw course salt is best for minnows. I would say a moderate amount, as in just enough so they don't freeze solid because then they're mushy when thawed. Too much salt and they dry out too much and the belly shrinks to nothing, which is the worst thing that can happen when you're threading a needle though it to put it on a leader behind a gang troll. When I was doing a couple hundred or more of Emeralds a year I would give the minnows a heavy salting initially, then let them sit for maybe 3 hours. Then I would take them out and lay them flat on paper towels to soak up the moisture on the outside. Then I cut pieces of unwaxed butcher paper (I have a huge roll) to fit ziplock bags. So I finally lay the minnows flat in a row on the paper, sprinkle with fresh salt, a layer of paper, then minnows and salt, then a last piece of paper. The paper absorbed the bit more moisture but didn't freeze. Always laid on a flat surface. Those minnows tracked and looked beauty behind a gang troll, with no spin, which is critical. I would bring like 12 dozen for the other lads on our Kipawa trips. An old bud of mine swore he could catch more Lakers out of Charleston with salted emeralds than anyone using live minnows. He did do well for sure, mostly running the #1 or #77 Big Hammer on 25lb line off their rigger rods. These are heavy 4 ft long trolls and then ad a 30" leader, you need a long rod lol. Even more so if fishing alone. That's some fun netting.

Cheers

[Fkawee]

Thanks for the replies.
Nice write up on preserving minnows
Cheers eh