Salted pilchards

[Volitan]

Pilchards seem to be the best bait where I fish but their lack of ability to stay on the hook makes them a bit of a pain to use. I tried the salted version today - for Zilch.

I see a lot of conflicting views on salted pilchards (I did a search).

what do the experts think. In comparison to frozen unsalted pilchards, are salted ones just as attractive? Are the shop ones any good or do you have to do your own ?

if I do my own, and stop the process before all the oil and juices has been sucked out of them, can I freeze them, or do I have to use them straight away? How long will they keep?

 

cheers

arron

 

[blaxland]

I am a fan of the humble pilchard unsalted. I also use a half hitch to tie the bait to the hook mainly use just the tails and berley or fish for yakkas with the rest. Failing that gang hooked pilchard also stays on well gang hooks come in a variety of sizes. Iam not an expert but if im not using lures or live bait pilchard is always my first choice.

 

[kingfishbig]

I wouldn't worry about salting them. I don't think the salted version is as attractive to fish. It doesn't hurt them breaking up in some cases as it acts as burley. If you need a tougher bait just switch to something else, eg squid or a fillet of a fish with a tough skin.

PS: thawing them out in the fridge overnight on a layer of newspaper toughens them up somewhat.

 

[Volitan]

I should have pointed out i'm land-based, so I need to be able to cast a bait a fairly long way.

[DaveTheBoy]

Mate I salt all of my pilchards & seem to do ok. Definitely helps me as most of my fishing is casting from beach or rock. I get them from the coop & salt them for about 2 days in a bucket before use in pool salt. Also keep the salt (now full of goodness) and mix with sand & bread for burley. They can be frozen once salted too. Others may have different experience, but it seems to work ok for me. 

[rickmarlin62]

if using half pillies try the half hitch round the tail or with heads I thread the hook thru the eye socket twice then pin the hook into the back of the pillie..they stay on pretty good that way..if salting  break block apart then wrap ten pillies in newspaper with salt and leave in bottom of fridge for 48hrs then freeze..they should be tuff then..rick

[HenryR]

if you're using pieces - smaller than half, pin the hook carefully through the backbone. It only takes a little bit of practice and when you get it right they sit pretty tight on the hook

[Guest Guest123456789]

Salted pilchards are much more attractive.   Reason being they're cured so you prevent  Trimethylamine from being produced. They also present much better as they stay on the hook.

the shop salted ones are good but more expensive.

you definitely can do a quick salting and freeze them again if you like. They keep for a few months partially salted and fully salted can be stored in a freezer for at least 12 months.

most important thing is to to thaw a block in the fridge (not room temperature) and to salt them in the fridge (not room temperature). Reason being is to restrict Trimethylamine and bacteria formation. You should store them in the freezer too and when fishing keep them in a cool esky (not in a rock in the sun!)

[Fufu]

1 hour ago, flatheadluke said:

Salted pilchards are much more attractive.   Reason being they're cured so you prevent  Trimethylamine from being produced. They also present much better as they stay on the hook.

the shop salted ones are good but more expensive.

you definitely can do a quick salting and freeze them again if you like. They keep for a few months partially salted and fully salted can be stored in a freezer for at least 12 months.

most important thing is to to thaw a block in the fridge (not room temperature) and to salt them in the fridge (not room temperature). Reason being is to restrict Trimethylamine and bacteria formation. You should store them in the freezer too and when fishing keep them in a cool esky (not in a rock in the sun!)

So you think salted ones from the tackle shop are ok?

Never tried them. Might have to now

Fufu

[big Neil]

6 hours ago, flatheadluke said:

Salted pilchards are much more attractive.   Reason being they're cured so you prevent  Trimethylamine from being produced. They also present much better as they stay on the hook.

the shop salted ones are good but more expensive.

you definitely can do a quick salting and freeze them again if you like. They keep for a few months partially salted and fully salted can be stored in a freezer for at least 12 months.

most important thing is to to thaw a block in the fridge (not room temperature) and to salt them in the fridge (not room temperature). Reason being is to restrict Trimethylamine and bacteria formation. You should store them in the freezer too and when fishing keep them in a cool esky (not in a rock in the sun!)

Amazing what you can learn on this site Luke. Looks like you have a good knowledge of the process of "salting" bait. Does the Trimethylamine have an adverse impact on the fish which may eat the pillie, or does it deteriorate the pillie's quality in some way? The salted definitely stay on the hook better, eh? Lots of good suggestions for keeping the half / part pillies on the hook, in this article too. Cheers mate, BN

[DaveTheBoy]

From my understanding, trimethylamine oxide is produced normally in parallel to fish spoilage.  You'll commonly recognise its presence as it causes the "rotten fish" (or sometimes ammonia) smell!  Reduce it's production, you reduce fish spoilage (hence salting as a preservation method) - the bonus here is that moisture is withdrawn from the fish leaving it a little less likely to break up when using as bait.

[Volitan]

Luke do you have any references to trimethylamine being unpalatable to fish?

just interested.

cheers

Arron

Edited May 13, 2017 by Volitan

[Guest Guest123456789]

9 hours ago, Fufu said:

So you think salted ones from the tackle shop are ok?

Never tried them. Might have to now

Fufu

The tweed bait variety are good.

 

42 minutes ago, Volitan said:

Luke do you have any references to trimethylamine being unpalatable to fish?

just interested.

cheers

Arron

My evidence is personal experience. I like experiments and I've experimented with salted and unsalted off the back of the boat. Speedsters don't care so much but the sniffers (bream, snapper etc) turn their nose up at it when it's started to turn. An understanding of the target species and how they hunt helps, IMO more so than  peer reviewed scientific studies about fish behaviour which is often non existent.

 

6 hours ago, big Neil said:

Amazing what you can learn on this site Luke. Looks like you have a good knowledge of the process of "salting" bait. Does the Trimethylamine have an adverse impact on the fish which may eat the pillie, or does it deteriorate the pillie's quality in some way? The salted definitely stay on the hook better, eh? Lots of good suggestions for keeping the half / part pillies on the hook, in this article too. Cheers mate, BN

Thanks BN. I think I just answered your question above.

[Fab1]

19 hours ago, Fufu said:

So you think salted ones from the tackle shop are ok?

Never tried them. Might have to now

Fufu

As someone said they are dearer at the tackle shops.Salted baits will not freeze and can be kept in a sealed bucket without going off for ages.If your going to get into salting grab a bag of pool salt as it's perfect for it and cheap.

Also hope there's no Samoans on here with a user name like FuFu.

Cheers.

[Fufu]

On 5/13/2017 at 11:53 AM, flatheadluke said:

The tweed bait variety are good.

 

My evidence is personal experience. I like experiments and I've experimented with salted and unsalted off the back of the boat. Speedsters don't care so much but the sniffers (bream, snapper etc) turn their nose up at it when it's started to turn. An understanding of the target species and how they hunt helps, IMO more so than  peer reviewed scientific studies about fish behaviour which is often non existent.

 

Thanks BN. I think I just answered your question above.

Cheers 

Fufu

[Fufu]

23 hours ago, Fab1 said:

As someone said they are dearer at the tackle shops.Salted baits will not freeze and can be kept in a sealed bucket without going off for ages.If your going to get into salting grab a bag of pool salt as it's perfect for it and cheap.

Also hope there's no Samoans on here with a user name like FuFu.

Cheers.

I'm guessing it's some sort of swear word lol

Fufu

[Guest Guest123456789]

14 minutes ago, Fufu said:

I'm guessing it's some sort of swear word lol

Fufu

It means 'small penis'

[Fab1]

It can mean a few things but the most common one is wanker.It's funny how words mean different things in other languages.

[Fufu]

Well neither translates into anything good lol

Fufu

[macca02]

Some of the salted Pillies you buy at the stores have been salted to the point of being leather, at this point there's almost no oil/juices left in the pilchard making them a pretty poor bait IMO.

If you salt them yourself they're cheaper, better quality and you get to control the level of stiffness you want.

I just get a block of pillies  (although a bag where they're loose in is easier) and a bag of pool salt (about $6) sit them in a container in the fridge, let them defrost and then give them a nice sprinkle of salt. Leave in fridge for 24 hours and then drain the liquid (could be used for berley if you want).

You can then repeat, or even using them after salting once for 24 hours is much better on the hook.

I usually just salt and drain once or twice and find that's enough to keep them on the hook (and prevent them from ripping off during a big cast) yet still remain juices and the appeal to fish.

 

[Rob81]

I find alot of people will say salted is better or frozen, from my personal experiences I find it depends on the fish that day. There have been days where they only take the salted and on other days the same species will only take the frozen.

My usual ritual is that if I do not have salted pillies at home waiting to be used, or I'm low on them, I will buy a block of frozen pillies. At the end of the session I will have a fair bit left over.

For those left over Ill salted them for future fishing. As their thawing, Ill collect the liquid and take the pillies that appear to be mangled then chop them up and place into the liquid to freeze (this is after thawing complete and before salting - PS, salted liquids does not turn into ice). The pillies that make it through is then salted for 24hrs. You can keep salted pillies outside but must make sure its its enclosed and in the shade at all times but I left mine in the fridge.

End result, I have salted pillies on standby and a couple of burley bombs. Also I have made a slow release burley bomb. Basically a cut down PVC pipe with holes in it. Also use another piece of PVC pipe to make the cast to throw the liquid into before freezing.

I believe everyone has their own way of doing it but all agree that is is far cheaper and have control when you do this yourself. I might consider some of the above methods to give a go as never thought of doing it in that way before.

[dfmdab]

Here's my view from over here in the UK, however I have spent many a hour fishing Wanda beach, South Cronulla beach, Flinders Point, Salmon Haul Bay and Bundeena as my daughter lives in Cronulla and we try to get over each year, 9 weeks over last Xmas and another 12 weeks planned from October. I've had success with both and I just use the frozen ones bought at Fishing World at Tarren Point. If I want to present a full pilly I find salted are best if whipped onto a double hook pennel rig with elasticated bait thread. If I want a smelly bait, a half unsalted pilly bound on very tight onto a single hook again with bait elastic so that all the juices start to ouse out . Over here in the UK bait elastic is used to present all sorts of baits in a natural way and it has done well for me on your patch.

[Scratchie]

I think raiders Blaxland and rick are spot on! Half hitching the tail near the eyelet on single hooks are an effective way to maintain bait presentation! This also helps fishing from a boat when there is a strong tidal flow. (Eg Hawkesbury) 

I use this method often and it also works on other baits such as prawns, squid strips, strip baits etc and stops them from bunching on the hook! 

I also find that salted vs unsalted is a day to day thing like using different coloured sps! One day it works next day its the other one! 

Cheers scratchie!!!

 

[Penguin]

I have never had much luck with salted pilchards over the years. IQF pillies seem to work the best for me and are a little more tougher than thawed block pillies. I used IQF for bait and frozen block pillies for berley.

 

Cheers

[Welster]

8 minutes ago, Penguin said:

I have never had much luck with salted pilchards over the years. IQF pillies seem to work the best for me and are a little more tougher than thawed block pillies. I used IQF for bait and frozen block pillies for berley.

 

Cheers

I like the IQF ones.   You can defrost a few at a time. I have never felt confident with the salted ones.