we went out tonight and caught about 5 hundred shad for coon bait and froze a bunch and we tried saltin some
we put a layer of water softner salt in the bottom of a ice cream pail then a layer of shad and another layer of salt and another layer of shad until the pail was full

my question is, is the water softner salt goin to work and is there anything else we need to do like add water to the bucket or anything like that any help would be appreciated, thanks

Think Tex is on track with this. A layer of finer grained salt would layer, cover and "seal" better than the coarser grained salt that you are using.

Could be all wrong on this - never used the coarse water softener salt, nor have added water.

Jonathan

Drill drain holes in the bottom of the bucket so the liquid that forms will drain off. Collect the liquid for use as an attractant.

NO---------------------Dont drain off the liquid

this might be more than ya really want to know or nothing at all ... but you might find it interesting

not sure if you are talking about shad minnows or larger "fish size" shad lol

i personally would not choose water softener salt for salting fish ... i find that the non iodized fine grain table salt is best ... just as if you were doing it for fish you plan on eating

i wash and gut them ... chunk, fillet or whole ... layer of salt in the bottom of bucket ... well coat each piece of fish in salt ... pack in buckets ... with each layer lightly covering with salt ... layer after layer ... making sure you get salt into and all over each piece then lightly covered ... until bucket is almost full ... seal buckets with tight lids

it aint rocket science but it can be done wrong ... and you don't want that!

like newt said ... don't drain or drill holes in your bucket!!!

i salt a lot of croakers (good eatin) and end up with a good amount of oil ... a bonus

croaker oil


salted carp


salted catfish with oil

PM sent TownMaN

is it a big deal to cover the slated shad? my bucket didnt have a lid, never tryed salting them before, but i love frozen shad for bait, both for big catfish, and on the trap line, caught several thousand the last 2 weeks only salted a few pounds, most were under 4 inches, should i have gutted them? i just coverd them up whole, used 2 whole things of salt

After one week, pour off the liquid and re-cover the top with a layer of salt.

thanks for the replies guys i think we are goin to try and get some more and maybe use some finer grained salt

i realize it's more than one way to skin this cat ... but i've put up enough salted fish over the years ... that i just gotta ask

i don't understand why you guys feel ya need to drain of the liquid??? and re-cover with salt ... huh? if it's done up right ... initially covering them ... they need no maintenance ... just time

the liquid and the amount of salt you should be using will make ya a mighty fine brine

have fun

I have reused the brine the following year after fish have been removed. Salt is salt.

Guys, I'm getting ready to try this with some big saltwater shad. Does the fish get mushy or does it stay firm? Does it smell bad? Thanks.

No..firms up as the water comes out of it. They have a smell but not bad. Very good bait and so is the brine. Make sure the barrel or bucket is covered and tight. Don't want any rain in it and I have gotten skippers in them before if not tight.

Whats a skipper?

Are they mosquito larvae?

nah...same bug that eats country hams sometimes....

lol, i thought you ment water skippers