How to brine anchovies for salmon fishing

What’s up, guys?

Just thought I’d share how I brine my frozen tray anchovies for salmon fishing. Brining makes the baits much tougher, so each bait lasts longer and spins truer. It also makes them shinier and helps keep the scales intact.

Here’s my recipe:

- 0.5 gallon distilled water (or any water that’s free of chlorine/chloramine)

- 1.5 tsp Mrs. Stewart’s Liquid Bluing (available at Ace Hardware and probably other local stores, too)

- 1 cup kosher salt

- 3 TBSP powdered milk (non-fat / skim)

- Scents (optional - 1 tsp or so of oil or water from a jar of chopped garlic, water soluble bait scent, etc.)

Do this THE EVENING BEFORE you go fishing:

1) Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl.

2) Pour into gallon-sized ziplock bag (double bag it...)

3) Add one or two trays of frozen anchovies (do NOT break apart the baits if they’re frozen together - you don’t want to damage their shiny scales)

4) Seal up the bag and put it in the fridge. (My wife appreciates it when I use a loaf pan in the fridge for “secondary containment” in case of any leakage or drips.)

5) GENTLY swish the baits around a time or two before crashing for the night.

Bring the whole bag of bait/brine with you on the water and keep it cold if possible. I just drop it into my kill bag with ice.

Give it a shot! I think you’ll like it. You can also use commercially available brines, of course, but they’re much more expensive.

Cheers,

~Alex






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Thanks Alex.
Just thinking of doing that to my bait stash.
Danny

By the way, can you brine unused bait from yesterday's trip?
Or just dispose them and don't be a cheapo? 

Thanks for sharing 👍

By the way, can you brine unused bait from yesterday's trip?
Or just dispose them and don't be a cheapo? 

It’s worth a try, I guess, but I’m picky about my bait... I always start with fresh trays for each trip, and only brine up what I think I’ll need for the day. If I have any left over when I’m done chasing salmon, I either drag it on the bottom with a 3-way rig on the way back in (halibut or RF!), give it to shore fishermen at the launch if I see any, or toss it...

If you’ve got a chest freezer you could save your leftovers for crab bait next season. Or use it as chum if you’re ever doing some shore rockfishing.

thanks Alex! ever heard of using Anise oil for scent?

By the way, can you brine unused bait from yesterday's trip?
Or just dispose them and don't be a cheapo? 

you can toss them back to brine. 

Yeah, I’ve heard of that.

This recipe is mostly “borrowed” from the Salmon University website, but I’ve scaled it down from a 2.5 gallon batch to a 1/2 gallon batch and tweaked it just a little. That webpage mentions anise oil, but I haven’t tried it.

I usually add a little garlic scent to the brine, then I’ll sometimes use a dab of Pro Cure gel (Krill or Herring) when I’m on the water. DO NOT try to add oily/greasy gel scents to the brine. They won’t mix in, and you’ll end up with a mess of gooey globs floating in your brine and gumming everything up... (Don’t ask me how I know...)

By the way, can you brine unused bait from yesterday's trip?
Or just dispose them and don't be a cheapo? 

It’s worth a try, I guess, but I’m picky about my bait... I always start with fresh trays for each trip, and only brine up what I think I’ll need for the day. If I have any left over when I’m done chasing salmon, I either drag it on the bottom with a 3-way rig on the way back in (halibut or RF!), give it to shore fishermen at the launch if I see any, or toss it...

If you’ve got a chest freezer you could save your leftovers for crab bait next season. Or use it as chum if you’re ever doing some shore rockfishing.

Thanks Alex! I'll be picky as well. I do have a chest freezer and can do what you suggested.

you can toss them back to brine. 

We maybe in the same boat, Darius. 

Kuya D

After fishing I put my brine bait back in the Freezer. the salt prevent the brine from freezing and when you toss the unused bait, they freeze instantly.

What does the powdered milk do?

Supposedly adding the powdered milk helps to “shine up” and “firm up” the bait.

It’s cheap and many “old school” brine recipes call for it, so I use it.


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That is the ticket. Catch you own chovies and throw them on ice immediately. Then quick brine and freeze. I can't remember my exact order of what I did but my caught chovies turned out like the tray bait.

Freshly caught and brines chovies. Saved me a ton of cash.

That’s one way to do it!

I don’t have a ton of time to fish these days, and I’d rather spend the time I DO have actually fishing for salmon/halibut/RF/lings. I don’t mind dropping $10-$15 bucks per trip on bait.

Those ‘chovies do look nice though...


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