Northwest Fishing Reports

From what Ive heard Steelhead and salmon "LOVE eggs". Problem is I dont have very much confidence in fishing them. Ive fished them plenty times at the Skookhmchuck, Skokomish and cowlitz rivers but Ive never get bit. Ive been using Borax O' Fire and Pro Glow eggs maybe Im curing them wrong or fishing them in the wrong water. Any ideas ? Also what is your favorite cure for Steelhead eggs.

I never had much confidence in eggs until a friend let me in on a simple egg curing recipe. 3parts borax 2parts sugar and 1 part salt. This recipe is simple and leaves a lot of room to mess around and create your own scent and color combinations. I have never gotten a bite on any store bought cure, bad luck I suppose cause many people swear by them. The only other eggs I have gotten salmon on is the xfactor eggs from Oregon, and they are fake. The kings really liked those.

ive caught over 500 steelhead in the last few years and over 400 of them have been on eggs, in every river from oregon to canada. I cure them with nothing but borax to dry and firm them up, nothing else.

KK I have the same problem that is why I stick with prawns haha literally I have only hooked 2 steelhead on eggs in my life. But salmon on the other hand PM me and I will give you my secret recipe that slays kings and silvers.

I appreciate the help alot guys. Sounds like im picking up some borax from the grocer tommorow. Funny you would bring up the X Factor Eggs schu, I just bought a pack of them not 10 minutes ago. Would drifting them be the preferd method ? Haha your like the prawn king Brat. I just might have to hit you up on that seacret recipe.

yeah those x factor baits look sweet especially there shrimp tail ones, and yeah KK them chico chum like dem prawns too haha.

If you're not getting bit on eggs, there is really two options: 1 the eggs aren't fresh, which happens a lot with store bought roe, or 2 you're not putting them in front of the fish. A nasty batch of roe won't even get bit by a sculpin, but the good stuff will get hit every time. Fire cure for salmon, borax for steelhead and you'll knock 'em out. When you're looking to buy roe in the store, smell 'em. If they smell fishy, or burnt they're old news. The good ones won't be glazed over or glassy, they're going to be bright and moist looking. If you can ever find 'em, the boraxed eggs are the best from the store.

Yep what Nate said. I have used Borax-o-Fire, Fire Cure, Fire Brine, and Nectar from Pautzke's, plus added stuff like sulfites, nitrites, and metabisulfites, SlamOla powder, Wizard Cure, Last Supper from ProCure. The problem is that most salmon like a totally different style of egg/cure than steelhead do when using these type of products. If you add too much product the eggs get too 'hot' and they won't bite, or they get over cured and the eggs won't 'milk' when they hit the water. Believe me eggs can be incredibly productive when prepared and fished properly.

I agree 100% with FF. Boraxed eggs are really easy to cure and they work really well! Something to keep in mind though is that if you catch a hen steeely or salmon, make sure to bleed it immediately. cut its kills on both sides as soon as you bonk it.This ensures there isn't any blood in the eggs. When you get home cut them into clusters and roll em in borax. When you put em on your hook and fish em you will be impressed with how they look in the water, then they will get bit.

O.k sounds like borax is #1 right now. With boraxed eggs will they still milk out good ?

I believe steelhead prefer a more plain egg with less sulfites than the salmon like, the borax just helps keep the eggs together and tougher.

I've seen ~15 steelhead caught so far since i started over a year ago, all were on eggs. I've hooked and landed 4 with guides and all were on eggs. Have yet to see another method hook a steelhead. Plain borax or Borax O Fire were the main cures, for a dirtier water fishery add a little color and scent (shrimp/krill). For low/clear water just plain borax or Borax O Fire to get a nice natural orangish-pinkish egg.
That's what I know so far, it isn't much but definately going to inform how i go about steelheading in the future.
Good luck to you!

Thanks for the reply JD

You can catch steel head on eggs that are moldy, they dont have to be fresh.

http://www.pro-cure.com/eggcuring.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.pautzke.com/mixologist.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

2 really good resources to look at from the links above. Salmon like the extra 'hotness' of sulfites in their cures. Oregon DFW agrees but thinks that dumping your leftover eggs cured with sulfites can harm juvenile fry that may eat them. WDFW does not share the same opinion as Oregon. Steelhead seem to like a sweeter cure. Most of the guides I have fished with over the years prefer the hot pink/fluorescent red dyed eggs over natural colored eggs. That is just my experience and I almost always dye my eggs even if fishing in clear water conditions. I also routinely scent my eggs after curing. After I take them out of the freezer I usually put them in disposable plastic containers I buy @ Cash n Carry like what you get deli salads in at the grocery store. Anise, sand shrimp, herring, sardine, and garlic scents added to eggs have in my experience increased effectiveness over the unscented egg. I have also used products like Pro Cure's Monster Bite (amino acids), Slam-Ola powder, and Pautzke's Nectar (thickened egg juice) and Fire Power (powdered krill) and find they can enhance the bite as well. These additives can be used on already cured eggs by sprinkling some on defrosted refrigerated eggs the morning of or the night before your fishing trip, and are ready to go when you hit the water. If unable to cure your own eggs (you can buy raw/lightly salted but uncured eggs from a number of local sources and have them shipped to you), you can use the scents and bite enhancers on store bought eggs to wake them up and increase their effectiveness.

One cure that I like to use is "Alaska Premier Bait" by Atlas Mike's. Worked pretty good but only used them once.

fear_no_fish wrote:You can catch steel head on eggs that are moldy, they dont have to be fresh.

True, but i wouldnt recommend it

Anyone ever use the Pro glow Natural ?

That's a BeauMac product right? I think I've seen it in stores once or twice but I never used it. I did a quick google and didn't find much on it. Doesn't seem to be too popular, but from what I saw it seems ok for salmon, but some comments not the best for steelhead as its a sulfite based cure. Salmon like sulfites (to a point) but steelies seem to prefer a low salt, high sugar, borax based cure.

fishenfreak wrote:

fear_no_fish wrote:You can catch steel head on eggs that are moldy, they dont have to be fresh.

True, but i wouldnt recommend it

Well not everyone gets to fish a much as you, so sometimes a little mold on the eggs is better then no eggs haha