Thread: Preserving Bait

I saw over in fishing Reports about the abundance of bait and mention of how to preserving so I thought I'd share how I
do it , I've got a old 36 qt. cooler that I use for this.
Fill the cooler about 3/4 with ice , then fill it with sea water , A couple/ three hand fulls of kosher rock salt (no iodine)
Mix it to a slurry, mite need more sea water or less , I prefer to do it when the bait is still alive , don't worry the ice bath will take care of them. Now put them in the slurry for a few minutes , Once they pass to the other side remove them , You may want rubber gloves for this because it's super cold , Now put some in ziplock bag don't over load it.
Slide the ziplock almost closed , now lower in the slurry to the zipper and close , The slurry pushes all the air out like a vacuum sealer , When there all done pour out about half of the slurry and put in the bait , It can freeze so keep a eye on it. Pop it the freezer when you get home ,
I never add anything other than salt , I don't want to change the scent of the fish,