The Egg Alternative

Steelhead love prawns (click image for detail)

The Egg Alternative 

 Well it is steelhead time and one of the most widely used baits is the use of Salmon or Steelhead eggs. With the salmon runs up and down and the with more and more steelhead regulations in place the ability to obtain these eggs is getting harder and harder. For the anglers that use eggs as one of their mainstays they have to start coming up with other things to fish with. The use of rubber eggs, yarnies or puff balls have really started to get used more regularly but at times there is nothing that beats the smell and texture of real bait. As a guide that tries to stay one step ahead of the game I am always looking and experimenting with different baits and techniques to catch more steelhead. With the lack of eggs or the cost of eggs being so high I have been looking much harder to find an egg alternative that is as good as eggs. After a couple of years and lots of destroyed bait I have what I believe is a bait that rivals eggs.

Atlantic Prawns the same ones that are so heavily used as Spring Chinook bait are catching me more steelhead then eggs. The prawns have been the wonder bait for me all summer and now all winter. You can fish these in multiple ways making it very versatile bait as well as very tuff bait. The pure toughness of the prawn makes it a bait that will a last long time while drift fishing, side drifting, diver and bait fishing or using it to tip jigs while float fishing. After curing you can just cut the tail section into small pieces and stick on a hook just like eggs.

The curing process is a fairly easy task and does not take much time to do. I will usually make small batches in that the prawns will not last more than a week unfrozen. You can cure bigger batches and then freeze what you are not going to use in a week’s time and then just pull out a small bag to fish with.

I make my own cure to preserve and toughen the prawns and so I will start by giving you the cure.

Amount                                  Ingredient

4 Cups                                     Borax

4 Cups                                     Sodium Sulfite

2 Cups                                     Sugar

2 Cups                                     Splenda

¼ Cup                                      Bad Ass Bait Dye (Pink, Red or Chartreuse)

25 drops                                  Liquid UV Bad Ass Bait Dye (Pink, Red or Chartreuse)

Mix all of the dry ingredients together. Next take a large pot and put 40 to 60 prawns in the pot and then pour 2 cups of mixed cure on to prawns. Then add water to just barely cover the prawns and put on a burner and bring to a strong boil (do not do this in your house). As water is heating up add your drops of liquid bait dye. Let prawns boil for ten minutes and turn off burner and let cool. After the prawns are cooled they are ready to fish. Take and put the amount of prawns that you will fish in one day into container and then take rest and divide up and put in freezer for future fishing.

If you like fishing with bait and you don’t have enough eggs then try some prawns and pretty soon you won’t worry about having enough eggs. Now go cure some prawns get to catching some steelhead and salmon.