Learn Easy Late Winter Cure For Trout & Steelhead Eggs

By: Kyle Deavers

It’s late winter in the Great Lakes and steelhead action is improving daily as temperatures warm. While I’ve been catching lots of trout and steelhead on BorX O Fire cured shrimp I’m also drifting spawn sacks daily. As early spring approaches and the water warm the spawn bite will only improve as fish become more active. As they begin to spawn they become more aggressive.

This winter I’ve been using mostly Natural BorX O Fire. However, as runoff increases I’ll start to use more Orange BorX O Fire. Keep in mind my local waters are shallower than most and the water tends to be clear. Colors like pink could spook those fish. Meanwhile, Pink BorX O Fire is effective in larger rivers in the Great Lakes that are deeper and have greater flows.

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We’ve covered how I cure eggs many times in the past. However, here’s a quick refresher course on what we’re doing on the water daily. This works on scraped steelhead eggs and loose trout and steelhead eggs. Keep in mind I use spawn sacks and cured shrimp. Bring both and the let the fish tell you what they want.

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The Late Winter Trout/Steelhead Egg Cure

Step 1:

I prefer to split my eggs up in small sandwich bags. I tend to fill the bag halfway. The reason why I only fill the bag halfway is because I often freeze my eggs after I cure them. When you thaw them you waste fewer eggs if you only fill a half bag.

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Step 2:

Lay your eggs on a paper towel for 15 minutes. This helps remove the excess liquid from the eggs. The liquid could be water or other components. Debris can often be found here too. The towels will help remove that too.

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Step 3:

Sprinkle a tablespoon of BorX O Fire per sandwich bag. If you filled the sandwich bag halfway with eggs this tends to make 40 to 60 spawn sacks. Make sure you coat the cure on top of the eggs. With skein you can get away with using more cure. You don’t need as much with loose eggs because the membrane is gone.

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Step 4:

Put the eggs back in the sandwich bag. Softly shake the bag. This helps to get the cure on all the eggs.

 

Step 5:

Let the bag sit in the fridge overnight. The eggs will milk and reabsorb the cure. Some guys use them a few hours after curing. Doing so doesn’t allow the cure to do what it does best.

 

Step 6:

After I let the eggs sit overnight I tie my spawn sacks. These spawn sacks are good for four to six weeks after being cured. If you don’t cure the eggs expect them to last 10 days at the most.

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Editor’s Note: Based in Southeast Wisconsin, Kyle Deavers operates Big Boy Fishing. For more info on his guide services please visit https://www.facebook.com/Bigboyfishing.