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[KarateKick]

Do some of you use sugar instead of salt for curing shrimp and fish?

Which of the two is less likely to ruin the bait, e.g., by drying it out too much?

I am thinking of trying a sugar cure using cool-aid or jello because of the nice colours.

Thank you!

[RalphH]

Sugar, though I am unconvinced sugar cures are as preferred by the fish. You can combine salt and sugar or even salt, sugar and borax to get much the same longevity as sugar alone.

Look forward to other responses.

[psd1179]

Don't use borax, though not catch fish, you can have the bait:)

[santefe]

??

[Tylsie]

??

Think psd meant if you just go with a salt/sugar cure (leave out borax), if you don't catch anything still have the bait for a snack in way home.

I depending on what kibd of bait I mix it up. For herring or other soft fish I use rocksalt. For shrimp I like the jello/sugar mix. Both are pretty inexpensive so it works.

[jim]

If you put sugar on anything it will become sticky, so there is your next problem.
 try this; boil up a cup of borax, cup of sugar and cup of salt, a bit of colored dye. let it cool to a tepid/warm temp. dump your baits in then.
leave them in for at least 20 minutes,
remove them and dry on towels or racks, for hours and hours, use a fan to speed it up.
dust lightly with borax and bag up. refrigerate and good for weeks, or bottle.

[Spawn Sack]

The 3:2:1 cure is a good go to for fish eggs. Have not tried it on shrimp. For shrimp/prawns I just use non-iodized salt (pickling or kosher salt) to stiffen them up. Personally I do not like to use Procure and so on for shrimp/prawns, but many anglers do and with success.

The 3:2:1 cure is 3 parts borax, 2 parts sugar, 1 part salt.

There is a good book on this called "Egg Cures." It's a cheap paperback. The author is Scott Haugen. I would just buy the book and experiment with some of the cures in it.

I personally use the 3:2:1 and another similar one that has a pack of koolaid in it (recipe also from the book).

I don't have an issue with Procure and the like, but I like to fish a different cure that most other people are using. Have not used commercial cure in 3-4 years. Prefer the old school recipes.

[KarateKick]

Here is an article based on a Scott Haugen recipe:
http://www.outdoorsnow.com/viewarticle.html?articleid=article100073

[firstlight]

I dont use anything on my hand peeled shrimp because i eat what i dont use at the end of the day.

[KarateKick]

I dont use anything on my hand peeled shrimp because i eat what i dont use at the end of the day.

Maybe you should cure your shrimp with some yummy spices 

I have read about carp fishermen adding hot sauce to their bait. I wonder if a vinegar-based hot sauce would be a good cure for catching other types of fish.

[jessestmars]

Shrimp cure I used which got me into Winter Steelhead this season was a 5:1 Sugar to Salt ratio with a dash of procure for color.

Ingredients:
1 cup of white sugar
1/5 of a cup of coarse salt
Tablespoon of a colored Procure (experiment with colors)

Thawed out and pat dry shrimp, add them to the dry mix, leave in fridge for 24 hours, drain liquid from bag and they're ready to fish (or freeze).