Curing Salmon eggs or more commonly referred to as skein is a hot topic and many people have their “secret cure” that is the best. However, the reality of the situation is the best skein cure is the one they are biting that day. There isn’t just one cure that I can run day after day and get great results out of it. That being said you want to have a few options.
There is two major parts to a skein cure, scent and color. I find bites by running the exact same cure but using a different color, some days It’s the same color and a different scent that gets them fired up. Sometimes it’s a combination of both a different color and a different scent. The best thing to do is carry a few different options in your boat.
Pick a few different base cures to experiment with to get started. There isn’t a best one to start with that I can offer as that will vary greatly on the river you fish and even the stretch you are fishing. Start with 3 different base cures and find one that catches fish and you find confidence in. After you have one confident cure, start playing with additives (borax, slamola, etc.) When I am experimenting with additives I usually apply them on the boat. Take an extra container and cut a few pieces of skein and apply your additives, let them sit for 15 minutes or so and fish them. These pieces are usually my last pieces through the hole, that way when I get bites I can determine if the additive was a factor. After having one confident cure and some additives, start looking for the next best, before you know it you’ll have a couple cures that consistently catch fish.
Color is also very important. Red is always the go to Skein color but there is an endless variety of reds. Color can be manipulated by buying different colors of cure, adding more or less cure and even mixing colors or shades of red. Have fun with this process and take note of what you are using and how much! There is nothing worse than having a killer cure and not knowing exactly how you did it.
Start simple and expand as you go, this can be a fun, frustrating and extremely rewarding process. Be patient and takes notes of what you are using, be calculated in testing a new cure or product. Most importantly have fun and enjoy the process. For a simple and effective process for curing skein visit https://www.getbentguideservicemi.com/post/how-to-cure-salmon-skein
John Wielinga
269-277-9293
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