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[Gooey]

I am not sure why but every now and then I get a batch of roe that cures up nice...eggs look great -  they're are stained and dry, rolled in borax, and stored.  But once they are thawed and out on a trip, you can see the eggs are releasing water into the borax.  Sooner or later its just one big heavy mess.

I have a batch of steehead roe like this.  I am thinking of doing a new wet brine with procure to wash off the clumpy borax and add a bit more color...anyone ever to that?  May ad some scent at the same time....

[chronic_topdawg]

sometimes strawberry jam is lights out even though its a pain in the my friend to deal with.  I will usally pull it all out and re borax it.  Sometimes even putting a little color back in it (pink borax) mixed with the cheap cupcakes.
I hope there are a couple more responses on this thread because I know I need to pick up a couple tricks even though my roe looks deadly. 
Why does the roe sweat so much sometimes what step am I missing 50% of the time, or do I just go with it.

[chronic_topdawg]

wow spellcheck sucks

[Pin-nook]

Depends on what shape the eggs are in but I do the brine thing after I have left over thawed eggs. I don't want to just put them back in borax cause they will get too dried out and become hard.

[blaydRnr]

better off just re boraxing the eggs and using it for non finicky fish ie...chinook, chum, and pinks....rebrining will only weaken the membrane even more.

[Gooey]

Here's how I cure my eggs:
1) chunks skeen into golf ball size pieces
2) roll on paper to absorb extra moisture then air dry til tacky
3) cure in glass jar with procure for 48 hours (refigerated)
4) repeat step 2
5) coat in borax, add a little extra to the zip lock
6) cool in fridge
7) store in freezer

The slower things freeze, the bigger the ice crystal are that form inside.  I have been told these ice crystal can degrade quailtiy (both bait and food) hence the cooling step.

I think that the 2nd dry step is critical in making good bait.  I think it somehow toughens the egg shells.

I follow the program every time but once in a while I get a batch that "sweats".

[Spoonman]

Your  curing procedure  could possibly use a couple of tweaks....try larger pieces  say 3"x3" flaps (skeins butterflied halved then quartered)....and shorten curing time down to a couple of hours and drain.....you may be burning them....they also reabsorb  water that was initially expelled during curing when left that long,thus making them more prone to damage when freezing.....try adding some salt and gelatin to your cure to toughen the membranes.......Having said that I still get the odd batch that wants to weep.... I usually attribute it to overhandling the eggs during the post-cure boraxing.

[FlyFishin Magician]

I too have observed this problem.  I found that this is more likely to happen with "immature" eggs.  Chinook eggs seem to be the most resilient.  However, I've also found that using "sweaty" eggs provides more scent in the water, and I've had terrific success with them in the past.

[Johnny Canuck]

Always the same species of roe "sweating"? I have found that coho roe is notorious for "sweating" after being out of the freezer for a while. I think your curing process could use a lot of tweaking unless if you're intentionally leaving out some very important points. I think that your cure is actually too dry and that the borax is popping the eggs by rubbing against them while you fish as the borax is dry like sugar rather than moist like flour. I for one never ever dry my eggs at any poit while curing them.

[Gooey]

Couple of comments: I have not left anything out of the process I use and while there might be something to add that could improve my bait a little, my bait fishes very well and doesnt need much improving.  Keep in mind I use this process for all my eggs and only the rare batch sweats.

Spoonman, my eggs aren't burnt, burnt eggs are hard and crunchy, not soft and if anything wet.  And what differnece would larger chunks make, if anything its harder for the cure to penetrate when the roe is in big pieces.

When curing, eggs first let go of their liquid, it mixes with the cure and then gets pulled back into the eggs. If your eggs are tracky/dry when you start then whatever liquid juices out, it mixes with the cure and gets sucked back in.  Having too much liquid outside the eggs in the beginning will mean that when the cure mixes up, not all of it will be reabsorbed.  I find that at the end of 48 hours, my eggs will have soaked up virtually all the liquid they originally gave up, everything has been reabsorbed including all the color from the cure. 

I think its the drying process (ie rushing it) before I borax that somehow fails.  Maybe there is nothing you can do and it is just the nature of the specific batch of eggs?

either way, I think i'll rinse this batch off in river water and recure them just ot see what happens.

[Bandit420]

I just make sure my roe is as dry as possible before throwing it in the freezer. After curing I will let the roe sit in the fridge for up to 2 days and 're-borax it right before throwing it in the freezer. This seems to help a bit.

[Spoonman]

.........

Spoonman, my eggs aren't burnt, burnt eggs are hard and crunchy, not soft and if anything wet.  And what differnece would larger chunks make, if anything its harder for the cure to penetrate when the roe is in big pieces.
...................................

      I would have to argure that freezer/borax burnt eggs would be hard and crunchy but roe that was chemically "burned " during curing (too much/ too long)  would be soft and mushy(weakened/collapsed membrane) after thawing......my suggestion of larger chunks coupled with a shorter curing time would lessen the chance of a chem burn.....I would also have to argue  that it's not necassary to absorb all the cure applied to produce good bait....just throwing out suggestions.........everybody has their own version of "the recipe"

[Johnny Canuck]

Gooey do you freeze your roe in borax or just in its own juices?

[Gooey]

Spoonman, when I first started using procure, I would put a lot of powder in and leave it for a short time.  On occasion, the eggs would be hard and crunchy yet there was lots of liquid around it.  this is what I consider a chemical burn. 

I have been using procure for as long as I can remember...15+ years so what I experienced led to using less powder and leaving them sit longer.  That never chemically burns them and yields nice stained eggs that holds its color...it doesnt wash out like the shorter cured batches. 

Sometimes fish will hit anything and it doesn't matter but I can tell you that often I'm hooking fish and good rods around me aren't, so I am confident in my bait.

And yes, I dry, roll in borax, then freeze.

[HOOK]

I just slap mine willy nilly into a glass jar with some extra scent. Bang ! fish on 



I do like drying mine a decent amount before bagging it for the fridge or freezer, I like dry to the touch roe because I hate sticky/gooey hands, pink fingers and disgusting looking gear. Sorry I mean its tacky to the touch but feels dry after being in the Borax


I could probably be due to learn how to make excellent roe but seriously I might use it a few times a season so I could care less because it works when I use it.




HOOK - would rather toss a fly anyhow !!!