Curing Skein

[fishinguypat]

I caught a nice female chinook on the piers today, had lots of eggs but in skein form, how do i cure it to get it loose to use in roe bags? they aren't that tight, also i caught 2 other males on my home made glow spoons

[wallacio]

The eggs can be separated from the membrane (with or without curing them first) by scraping them. I use a spoon for this...don't be a afraid to use a bit of force, a few will break but most will separate intact.

 

As for cure there are many, many variations using salt, borax, sugar, commercial cures etc and they all work. Personally, I like just a bit of coarse pickling salt. I sprinkle on enough to lightly cover the skeins, put them in a sealed container for 24hrs, drain off the excess liquid and then either scrape (then freeze) or just freeze them intact (to be scraped later).

[fishinguypat]

I know how to cure them (i use salt and brown sugar), i just wanted to know if there was a specific way to separate them, is it better so separate them then cure them?

[wallacio]

I would use your cure on the skeins and then separate them. I find that curing them toughens them up a bit so they'll be more likely to stay intact when you scrape them.

[fishinguypat]

the eggs on the skein are kind of deflated now , what should i do leave them still in the juices?

[BillM]

Scrape them, then store in ziplocks in the freezer.

[fishinmortician]

The eggs can be separated from the membrane (with or without curing them first) by scraping them. I use a spoon for this...don't be a afraid to use a bit of force, a few will break but most will separate intact.

 

As for cure there are many, many variations using salt, borax, sugar, commercial cures etc and they all work. Personally, I like just a bit of coarse pickling salt. I sprinkle on enough to lightly cover the skeins, put them in a sealed container for 24hrs, drain off the excess liquid and then either scrape (then freeze) or just freeze them intact (to be scraped later).

 

 

Tie a few containers of uncured bags. I've caught 90% of my fish in the last 3 years on these. Worth a shot if you have a belly full!

[12footspringbok]

Probably a little late for you but heres how I do mine:

 

http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=36222&st=0&p=384592&hl=skein&fromsearch=1entry384592

 

I don't "cure" 90% of my eggs, but everyone has their preferences. Spent 2 hours yesterday and 1 hour on saturday scraping and prepping eggs. Sometime I wonder why I bother.

[wallacio]

the eggs on the skein are kind of deflated now , what should i do leave them still in the juices?

 

Yes, leave them in the juices for a little while longer...they'll readsorb most of it.

[wallacio]

Tie a few containers of uncured bags. I've caught 90% of my fish in the last 3 years on these. Worth a shot if you have a belly full!

 

Is this because you fish uncured eggs 90% of the time??? I catch 90% of mine on cured. Despite what many people say, it makes little difference...Steelhead will take both readily. The primary reason I cure my eggs is that it extends the "shelf" life of it when I'm not fishing. Cured eggs will not spoil if left in the refrigerator for weeks (even months) while uncured eggs can go off in days if not frozen immediately.

[fishinguypat]

thanks for the info guys, some people say the salmon hit the lure out of aggression on the piers but the female I caught had the glow spoon down its throat almost

[wallacio]

How'd the skein turn out now that it had time to readsorb the liquid?

[fishinguypat]

its came apart but some small pieces still attached, I'll just leave it as is and jar it. the eggs aren't as mushy now

[fishinguypat]

Here she is

[GoneFishin]

I stopped removing mine from the skein. Just cut up roe bag size chunks out of your skein. Can only be thawed one time so I put about 15 chunks in a bag or so, then tie the bag up making sure no air is left inside.

 

If you do want to scrape them then just pull them off gently with your fingers, and again try not to be thawing them out repeatedly.

[fishinmortician]

Is this because you fish uncured eggs 90% of the time??? I catch 90% of mine on cured. Despite what many people say, it makes little difference...Steelhead will take both readily. The primary reason I cure my eggs is that it extends the "shelf" life of it when I'm not fishing. Cured eggs will not spoil if left in the refrigerator for weeks (even months) while uncured eggs can go off in days if not frozen immediately.

 

 

I fish both. I'm suprised how long they last being thawed, then frozen, thawed then frozen... Fish in the midland area love pink roe bags, must be the water colour.