How long can you keep wet brine bait

[el.Pereh]

Put my last two packs of 6” chovies to bring last night and am now not going out due to wind. If I keep them in the fridge all week will they be good to fish next weekend?

 

[Rain City]

Put my last two packs of 6” chovies to bring last night and am now not going out due to wind. If I keep them in the fridge all week will they be good to fish next weekend?

Re-freeze them.

 

[el.Pereh]

Even if it was a wet brine?

 

[Reeltime]

Bait buried in salt, keep it in the freezer with the bag open so it draws all the moister out of the salt and not make the bait soggy
and stiffens the bait up nice.

Edit ; just saw you post wet brine, can't help there

 

[BCI]

Even if it was a wet brine?

Enough wet salt and it won't freeze in the freezer. More like a cryogenic state. Can use it for quite some time.

 

[el.Pereh]

Enough wet salt and it won't freeze in the freezer. More like a cryogenic state. Can use it for quite some time.

So what your saying i should pop some more salt in there and stick it in the freezer again?

 

[Reeltime]

I would remove the bait from the wet brine and put it in a light coating of salt and throw it in the freezer, freeze the wet
brine or fridge it.

 

[california]

I'd just buy 2 new packs of anchovies next time you go out. Why maybe not catch fish to save a few $ on some bait that went bad with all the effort, fuel costs etc a fishing trip costs.

 

[RiverBoy]

what Reeltime sed. pull them out of the brine and put them back in their styrofoam packs and put some more salt on them. they will be fine. i have some that i’m still using from a july nootka trio. i keep taking them out and when done i chuck them back in the freezer. fooled a couple chinook the other nite. i’m scottish i throw nothing away

 

[el.Pereh]

I'd just buy 2 new packs of anchovies next time you go out. Why maybe not catch fish to save a few $ on some bait that went bad with all the effort, fuel costs etc a fishing trip costs.

Only reason is that it’s hard to find 6”ers this time of year

 

[Reeltime]

I have 2 bags of bait, one fresh on brine and one with all the yellowed dried out cured on brine (salt ) the old dried out
ones are awesome , stiff as hell, they re hydrate in the water and there a good back up when coho are smacking them
you can fly through a pack, coho season is here and it's gonna be on fire on how many are out there.

The old bait works

 

[el.Pereh]

**** it I’m going out tonight

Will try these methods with whatever is left

 

[Islander57]

I save those bait, cover them in coarse salt and freeze them. However, the next time I use them, it is for bottom fish. I always buy new bait when fishing salmon.

 

[Mudshark]

Leave em in the fridge under the wife’s vegetables
That’s what I do.

 

[TanTastic84]

I just had this issue come up and what I did was a little weird but it worked.

I had my herring and anchovies in a wet brine for 2 days (rock salt, Mrs. Stewart's). I pulled the bait out of the brine, laid them on paper towels to dry them out a bit then put them in a zip lock bag with a cup or borax, a tablespoon of baking soda and about 1/4 cup pickling salt.

I rolled the bait (GENTLY) in this mix and placed the bait back in the freezer.

The bait looked AWESOME! Super shiny, and firm! I was able to fish this bait over 3 weeks worth of trips. After I got home, I put the bait back in the freezer.

I am currently curing up red labeled herring to try this mix again. What's great is, because of the borax, salt and baking soda, the bait keeps really well even when not on ice. I mean, I put it on ice but it really preserves the bait. I will post a picture when I get this batch all finished up.

 

[cohochinook]

I just throw my wet brine bait in the fridge if I'm going out in a couple days later or in the freezer if it's going to be longer. I have a big freezer so can keep it right in the cooler. Seems to perform fine when I get out there.

 

[pescador]

I haul my bait to and from my freezer to the boat daily. Sometimes I’ll have the bait 2 weeks back and forth because things are slow. Chovies get harder and harder over time. The color is still perfect. I just start off with a container and fill it with salt day one. Then over time I add water. I’m not throwing away anchovies at a buck a piece.