Egg Cures for Summer Steelhead
As summer progresses and low, clear water prevails, catching finicky summer steelhead becomes even more challenging. While steelhead can be fished a number of ways this time of year, when it comes to bait, the egg is arguably the best natural bait.
Sand shrimp, prawns, salad shrimp, crawdad tails and other baits work well, but more summer steelhead are caught on cured eggs, or roe, than any other bait. Knowing this, what delineates a good summer steelhead egg cure?
Because most steelhead fishing with eggs takes place in fast water, many anglers consider taste to be the primary target in a good bait. For this reason, it’s important to present a bait steelhead like the taste of and will hold in their mouth.
I consider sight to be the second most important factor in a good egg cure. Because steelhead have superior vision, they have the ability to detect minute particles floating downstream. A good color combination of eggs, yarn and a drift bobber of choice can mean the difference in making a fish move, wanting to bite, or remaining closed-mouth. This is why many anglers prefer bright orange, pink or red dyed eggs.
Smell would rank third on my list of priorities when trying to achieve a good steelhead cure; for salmon, smell is the number one factor in obtaining a well-cured egg. Steelhead don’t crave the same mineral contents as salmon, so cures carrying less chemical scents are often used on steelhead. Mind you, this does not mean scents should be neglected. I use them religiously.
Borax cures are the most common among steelheaders, due to their ability to harden eggs. In addition, borax cures are clean and easy to work with. There are two options when searching for borax cures: commercial products and homespun recipes.
Pro-Cure has a variety of borax cures on the market, ranging from natural to flame orange and fluorescent pink. I’ve used these cures and they turn out a very good egg. Other companies make cures specifically for putting up steelhead eggs.
Many home recipes call for powdered borax, a box of which can be purchased at most grocery stores. If working with this type of borax, be sure to get the powder form, not the course-grained variety. The finer the grains the more completely they will penetrate the eggs to make a better cure.
The colored borax cures on the market already have dyes in them, which the eggs absorb upon curing. If the color of the finished product is not what you envisioned, you can introduce additional dyes.
If it’s the natural look you’re after, no dyes need be applied. A natural looking egg can be obtained by working with some of the prepackaged, natural colored-cures on the market or by concocting your own recipe.
Obtaining a well-cured egg begins the moment you catch a hen. Once dead, bleed it by cutting the gills. The quicker you can get the blood out of a fish, the less likely it is to pool around organs, egg skeins included. Blood that pools and coagulates around the eggs results in exposure to bacteria, organisms that will taint the smell of eggs and decrease their effectiveness no matter what curing recipe is used.
Some anglers forego the bleeding, opting to immediately remove the eggs from the fish instead. Others go so far as to remove the eggs with rubber gloves on, to avoid contaminating them with human odors. Blotting the skeins with a paper towel removes blood that may harbor bacteria. Placing the skeins in a baggie and in a cooler is ideal if you’re set on removing the eggs.
Once home and ready to cure, I like cutting my skeins into bait sizes I know I’ll use when fishing steelhead. I do this for two reasons: I believe it allows them to more completely set-up during the curing process and I don’t have to spend time cutting them to bait size when I’m fishing.
If using a store-bought cure, follow instructions to obtain the best results. If using a homemade recipe, be sure to rotate the eggs once or twice a day to ensure the ingredients are making their way into the eggs.
Once removed from the cure, air drying is a vital step in securing a quality finished product. Remove each bait from the cure and place them on plastic racks or paper towels in a shaded, cool area. Avoid letting sunlight hit the eggs, as this will turn them too dark to fish. On warm, summer days, drying time may only be a matter of minutes. In cool, moist or warm, humid environments, drying may take a day or two. Some folks will position an electric fan over the eggs to expedite drying.
The objective of air drying is to achieve a firm egg that will resist punishment delivered in fast-moving steelhead waters. Attention must be paid so the eggs don’t dry to the point they become too dry and are severed when your egg loop is cinched tight. As a rule of thumb, I prefer eggs that are dried to the point that when I squeeze them between my thumb and forefinger, they retain that shape. I don’t like them so soft they return to their original shape, nor so hard they crack when squeezed.
Once the eggs are cured, I place two to three dozen baits in a baggie. This is approximately the number I’ll use during a morning of fishing. If I’m going to be gone all day, I’ll toss a few more baggies of baits in a cooler.
When on the river, take extreme care to keep your eggs in a cool, shaded area. If fishing from a river boat, a cooler is the ideal location to store eggs not in use. If bank fishing, you may want to carry a little cooler along, or keep one in your vehicle.
Any eggs I’m not using will be kept in the refrigerator or freezer. If I know I’m going to use them over the course of the next month, I’ll leave them in baggies in the refrigerator. But, if I have a healthy supply of eggs, I’ll keep them in the freezer for up to a year. If your freezer creates a lot of moisture, it’s a good idea to pack the eggs in borax to retard against freezer burn.
There you have it, what to look for when curing eggs for steelhead fishing and how to manage them. This summer, don’t let low, clear conditions keep you off the water. With some well-cured eggs and a bit of dedication, you’ll discover that catching the most finicky of summer steelhead can also be the most rewarding ones.
Note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s popular book, Summer Steelhead Fishing Techniques, send a check for $17.00 (includes S&H) to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489, or visit www.scotthaugen.com.
If steelhead don’t like the feel of an egg, they can spit it out before most anglers detect a bite. This steelhead gobbled these eggs, proving it liked the taste and texture; the alluring pink dye may have had something to do with it, too.
From size to color and texture, curing the perfect summer steelhead egg is as much a science as an art. Knowing what type of water you’ll be fishing helps determine what texture should be achieved.