Shad Question???????

[saltyh20]

You know sometimes it’s hard as heck to catch shad, I have saved it before but even when you freeze it, it is of course not as good as fresh, it tears apart, does not stay on the hook good, my question is: Is there a secret to making shad tougher by adding something like salt or what have ya to it for the next day or so?[/font]

[rambunctious]

Salt them down. Next to fresh that is all you can do.
Terry

[brazman]

If you know you're going to be saving the shad to freeze, try this. Right when you catch them, I mean wiggling fresh, throw em into a ziplock and cover them with NON-iodized salt. Catch more shad, throw em in, cover with salt. The slime that comes off the shad will mix with the salt to make a kind of briny slurry. After you've caught and salted all you need, throw those bad boys on ice until you can get them in the freezer. The salt will prevent them from freezing solid, it's kinda wierd. Not fresh, but better than fishing with a hotdog. Unless you soak said hotdog in garlic AND anise oil ;-)

[deepfried]

We sell frozen shad in our store and they hold together alright but not as good as fresh. Our bait man says his supplier, who has done this for years, puts them while still alive in salty water in a bag or cup and freezes them as fast as possible. The main key fresh and freeze fast.
Once they thaw use them as refreezing makes them real mushey.

[saltyh20]

thanks i will try the salt thing

[chumbuck]

great question and great reply i knew this lounge was for me!

[brazman]

THIS JUST IN!!!
I was checking out another fishing board (I know, shame on me) that suggests using borax on shad to keep them literally bleeding fresh after freezing. It says to lay out the shad you're going to freeze on newspaper until it's kinda dry, maybe 10 minutes or so. Using more newspaper on the top and pressing down on top of the shad would help too. Shake some Borax (yep, laundry soap) on one side of the shad, let set for a few minutes and then turning the shad and dusting the other side, let set few more minutes. Place in ziplock bags flat, press out air, and you can stack a whole lotta bags in the freezer like that. They claim that the shad is almost as tough on the hook as fresh caught, and actually bleeds when thawed. They also say the borax does not affect the bite, and he uses them for crappie and catfish. I'm buying a box of Borax next time I'm at the store! Here's a link to the thread if ya wanna check it out.
http://www.crappie.com/gr8vb3/showthread.php?t=47908&highlight=borax

[HEADSHAKER]

You can use borax to tan a hide ,i guess it will work.

[Nick Smith]

Just a thought, never tried, but... wonder if you could put them little suckers in a dehydrator and dry them. Tossing them into the water to fish would re-hydrate them. Somebody got an old dehydrator that can try it?

Just got through putting some deer meat on the dehydrator to make jerky, which is why this occured to me.

[FISHGUTS]

Saltwater shrimp is the best bait i found for any type of catfish.

[johnmyjohn]

Try mixing the shad with a generous amount of cornmeal and then freeze it , I know it makes shrimp dry and rubbery but not mushy.

[KIKO]

Fillet them or cut the in chunks, add salt and lay them out to dry in the sun for about a day and then freez them. The bait will stay in the hook longer than fresh caught shad or mullet.

I do this for reds and trout in salt water and have caught several fresh water species as well including catfish and bass.

Good luck!

[tngbmt]

fresh catch, drop them in a salt water ice slurry (they stay straight & firm). when you get home, drain & then dry them immediately in your freezer (wont cause the shad freezing together). pack them by zip or vac before they experience freezer burn. i have some 10x12 inch strainers that i use for drying and it makes 3# slabs of shads using a vac seal. either i'm re-inventing the wheel or i'm so getting a patent for this freeze dry method :)

[TripleGrip]

food saver vac sealer. 1 year later they are like you just cought them.

[TripleGrip]

Iforgot to say that the shad should be put on ice from the net to the bucket or keep alive with a good pump like a burgess then vac seal