All Around Angler

If you’ve ever ended up with eggs…unused, cured salmon eggs after a season of chinook attempts and endevours and would like to be able to use them for steelhead in the winter then read ahead. I have a way for you to do this. I’m also aware that many of you will be keeping said chinook/silver eggs for the springer season ahead in which case you don’t really need this tip. But if you’d like to make steelhead candy out of those eggs, like me, here’s how I’ve successfully done it this season.

I’ve created a post cured egg process featuring Nate’s Baits BorRoe (natural color only as to not overpower or equally lessen your current cure/dye) and some TLC on those cured up skeins you’re not using.

Step 1: Locate a large deep pan suitable to the size of your egg stock being used to covert to steelhead candy and two smaller plastic containers. I got everything in this picture below at the dollar store. Five bones total.


Step 2: Purchase a suitable amount of Borax for the stock on hand. I recommend buying MULE TEAM Brand Borax at Safeway. Cereal sized box runs about 4 bucks. 4 bucks worth will liberally treat 3 for 4 quarts of roe.


Step 3: Filling half of the main tub with Borax…grab your first cured skein and drop it into the tub….


Step 4: Drop the skein into the plain Borax laying flat and begin to coat the eggs with the loose Borax. Massage the Borax into the skeins….into every nook, cranny and crevise. Do so while gently handling the roe. Then lift up the skein and and prepare to cut your small steelhead size baits which will drop right back into the tub once cut.


Step 5: Using gravity to gently stretch the skein begin making cuts vertically up the skein and start to cut into rows to be then cross cut into small steely pieces. Like so:


Step 6: Continue this process until all of your eggs are cut into a formidable steelhead sized bait…allowing a little extra size you may cut down later according to method. Once you’ve cut everything you’ll have a nice full tub as shown here…..and now you’re ready to grab your Nate’s BorRoe for the final preparations.


Step 7: Take the smaller containers you began with but haven’t used yet and fill them halfway with the Nate’s Bait Brand natural colored BorRoe. Then proceed to fill the container with the pre cut pieces of coated roe from your main tub. Take time to make sure each piece is adequately covered with BorRoe before you put in the next piece. A finished container should look like this:


Storage and preservation: From this point on simply keep each container in the bait fridge. If your previously cured skeins haven’t been frozen by this point you’re welcome to freeze them as well. They’ll fish better kept refrigerated though.

These eggs, once BorRoe’d for 24 hours….will milk out and stay together unbelievably. Drifted or dogged they’ll surprise you at the length of life for each bait. As a last step you’re welcome to add a little sugar as an option. Steelhead like sweet stuff. At times. Best not to sugar the whole batch rather split some up and try that way.

You’ll end up with a beautiful bait like this:



AllAroundAngler.com is a seven year old angling resource founded and operated by Christopher “H3llcat” Heller promoting education, entertainment and networking for a better angling community in mind, body and spirit while maintaining the anonymity of our treasured waters. Thank you for reading my blog.

TeamSalmon2013
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