I was reading some articles recently about preparing eggs for baiting and chumming purposes. Wondering how effective they are on whitefish in the spring and fall.
 


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Originally Posted by From "Whitefish 101 - Class is in session!"
A post from 9/30/2005

About preparing single salmon eggs for whitefish....

There are alot of different ways to prepare eggs for whitefish.... but I am one of the ones that likes to keep things simple and natural. I will either use fresh eggs or some out of the freezer. When I freeze them... I never use any cure of any kind. When I get my eggs I will rinse them in cold river water to "river cure" them and that is the most that I will do.

As far as boiling them... I will use well water or distilled water and boil it. I will even go so far as not to use water from the house that has gone thru the water softner. I will usually boil up enough eggs for a weekends use and maybe a little bit more so I can make some different colors or flavors. Let your eggs get to room temperature or even put them in some warm water to let them warm up even above room temperature. The colder the eggs are when you add them to your boiling water... the longer it will kill your rolling boil!!! Bring your water up to a rolling boil.... add eggs... have a clock with a second hand on it nearby and make note of the time when you add them and also make note of the time when the rolling boil starts again. I will try to keep my eggs as soft as I possibly can... but hard enough so they will stay on the hook. (personal preference) Like others I mentioned... I will have a hook closeby so I can test them. I will rarely boil them past 3 minutes... and most of the time less than that.

When they are done to the hardness that you like.... have a strainer ready and pour them into the strainer to drain the water. Then set them into some cold water and rinse them off. Pour them out onto paper towels to dry. I will divide them up them depending on how my different colors or flavors I am going to make. As far as coloring... I use plain food coloring. I use a 1 lb. butter tub plastic container and put maybe a 1/4 inch of water on the bottom.... put in the food coloring of your choice... put the plastic lid on and shake it up. The eggs will take on the color of the food coloring you chose. Again pour out onto paper towels to dry. Let dry thoroughly and then put into a container and into the refridgerator they go. One of the flavors that is widely used out on the pier is garlic... I have used garlic flavored Pam non-stick spray... and I have even smashed up a couple of cloves of garlic and added it to the container. Some days they want flavored eggs... other days they don't... some days they want one color... other days something else. (Read More)