Try This Super Easy Egg Cure for Northwest Salmon

By: Todd Daniels

I’ve been guiding 21 years for salmon and steelhead in the Northwest. Every day on my boat people ask me how I cure my eggs. While there’s countless way to cure eggs, I’ve been doing the same thing since I started almost 22 years ago. I use Fire Cure, usually red or pink. While some guys do, I don’t add a ton of other things during the curing process. And the final product has remained consistent since the day I started running trips.

What I’ve learned is keeping it simple is the best method for my clients. My clients see the same eggs on the boat every year. And they catch fish on them consistently.  Meanwhile, there are steps to follow to get the best, and most consistent eggs every time.

The Stay Simple Egg Cure

*When you catch a fish the first thing you do is bleed it out immediately.

*Harvest the eggs at the end of your fishing trip. That means cut them out of the salmon before you go home. Then put the eggs in a Ziploc without them touching water. You don’t want them to touch the water because it keeps the impurities away from the eggs.

*Cure your eggs within 24 hours of harvesting the fish. Just like food you don’t want bacteria to set in. Salmon and steelhead smell in parts per millions. Anything other than fresh is a deterrent. If you can do this, you are light years ahead of the competition.

*I use Fire Cure. It’s a proven cure that doesn’t require over thinking. With that said you want to take care of your eggs before curing them. This means removing as much excess blood as possible from the skein.

After removing the blood butterfly open the eggs. I like to chunk them into halves, or thirds, depending on the size of the skein.

Then put them into a gallon Ziploc and shake 4 to 6 heaping tablespoons of Fire Cure per pound of eggs in the bag.

*This year I’ve been using pink. Pink Fire Cure has been working best because of the clear water conditions we’ve experienced. On the other hand, I’ll switch to red when the water is murky. Personally, I don’t use orange and never use natural for salmon. The only time I use natural is for summer steelhead. Nevertheless, when targeting salmon pink is best unless the water is off colored. Then brighter is better.

*After adding the cure I’ll take one heaping teaspoon of Fire Power (pure krill powder) and sprinkle it into the bag. Everything in the ocean eats krill. You are adding a natural food base to the cure. The Fire Power smells like krill and tastes like their natural food in the ocean.

*Many anglers do add scent to their cure. I’m a big believer in this. You can either do it now or just before you make a cast. With scent I only use Atlas Mike’s. My favorite is Shrimp UV Gel Scent, but I do use others like the Lunker Oil, which we will talk about later. You don’t need add half the bottle, perhaps just a squirt or two. After adding the scent, seal the bag and gently massage it. This gets the curing process started.

*I leave the bags out at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours. It is important to massage the bag every one to two hours. What that does is expedites the egg curing process quicker. After 8 hours put the Ziploc in the fridge for 24 to 48 hours and they are ready to fish.

*Here’s where the important part comes. I’m a big scent guy. At this point I’ll add more Fire Power, if need be. Or different scents like Atlas Mike’s herring, shrimp and sardine Lunker Gel or Lunker Oil. Sometimes I’ll add scent in the bag when we get on the water. Other times, I’ll wait and have everyone on the boat bring their piece of roe over to me and squeeze a different scent on to each angler’s bait. The fish tell you what scent they like that day. Some anglers like other scent flavors, but I’m set on the above. I don’t deviate from this because they work every day and have forever. The saying keep it simple is real.

Editor’s Note: Todd Daniels operates Tall Tails Guide Service. To learn more about his guided fishing trips please visit: https://talltailsguideservice.com.