creek chub what a blast

[rackman]

they are not bad eating

[patvetzal]

As kids we ate them by the dozen, fried until the bones were crunchy, mostly 4-6" long.

[steelshot]

What do they taste like....Are they boney....I woke up this mourning and i think the bigger chubs commited fish-a-suicide last night...I didn't have the top on tight enough on the container and they jumped out....My german short haired pointers had a good breakfast! Either that or they helped the chub escape to the river....

[sherlockbonez]

Used to catch tons of them behund my house when i was a kid.

I used to salt them in layers in those 5L ice cream tubs from knob hill farms. A layer of salt, a layer of minnows. This way i can reused the salt a few times before its too gooey.

[rick_iles]

http://www.lakemichiganangler.com/ti...ed_minnows.htm

I use the method above....

[smitty55]

http://www.lakemichiganangler.com/ti...ed_minnows.htm

I use the method above....

Interesting. So Rick, do the minnows totally freeze or do they remain still a bit flexible with this method. Generally if minnows freeze solid they will be mushy when thawed.

Kinda off topic here but we seem to have wandered some...
For many years starting in the mid eighties a gang of 8-12 of us would go to Kipawa for a week. Mostly Laker fishing, specially for some guys who were more into partying than fishing the late pickerel bite. So I knew the local bait whole seller. Every Feb/March when he had his largest Emeralds in I would grab up 24 dozen or so and salt them for all the boats, as by then there was no live bait allowed. Like has been said the main thing is to use just enough salt to keep them from freezing solid while removing just enough moisture. In our case it was critical not to dry them out too much, as there would be no belly left to to put the needle through for the leader behind the gang troll. After the initial heavy salting to dehydrate them I would dry them, lay them out flat on pieces of butcher paper, sprinkle more salt on them and store them in layers in ziplock bags. Worked pretty good and the minnows were nice and straight so they tracked well.


So after all that, here's my tip of the day lol.
About seven years ago I finally tried a new method that I had been told about many years before. I bought 4 dozen Emeralds and dumped them in a small cooler with a jug of -40° windshield washer fluid. I kid you not, it works great. What I do is leave them in for 15 minutes, the vacuum seal them nice and flat. They never freeze, remain nice and pliable at O°F, and the stomach hangs in there pretty well. So 4 years ago I get a call saying "I got a nice batch of 3 1/2"+ "fish". So I bought a whack of them and still have some left. Here's what they look like as of today. I still wouldn't hesitate to use them for summer laker trolling, maybe drifting or bouncing a spinner rig for eyes, and jigging summer and winter for sure, whether whole or in pieces.



Now I'm a huge believer in most fish liking salt, specially Lakers, so for example when I go to Charleston an hour away I put them in a bag with salt before leaving. Bait shop doesn't open till 8:30. Duhh. No prob. I'm also a huge fan of Emeralds as a prime bait for Lakers, Whities and Walleye, dead or alive.

Back to steelshot, those 11" chub are too big for Constance Lake lol. But like 35wailing said, Pike bait through the ice. Quick strike rig. In late Feb/March on the Ottawa near some spawning grounds those chub would be a prime bait. Shirleys is a good spot.

Cheers