Fire Brine For “Tributary Springer’s”

Early in our winter steelhead season, I wrote an article explaining how well Fire Brine will work to produce an amazing steelhead egg. It was well received by many fishermen who put that information to use. Those who took advantage of this "free info" and put forth a little curing effort, boasted great success and posted many photos all attributed to the Fire Brine Eggs they had created..  

Although growing up I watched my dad cure eggs in borax, wet-brining eggs has been a staple of salmon and steelhead fishermen for as long as I've been alive. However, it wasn't until I was about 20 that I discovered information on how to wet-brine baits. Through trial and error, I finally was wet brining eggs with good success. As my fishing evolved, I switched to Pautzke's "sprinkle cure" line-up and found a dry cure that was easy to use and flat out produces fish. Since then I've been teaching others how to create the ultimate salmon and steelhead baits using our Fire Cure and BorX O' Fire.

That being said, once I got our new Fire Brine I had no doubt it'd be great to cure eggs for steelhead and salmon fishing. I quickly headed back to the bait lab to create the perfect salmon or steelhead egg. The truth of the matter is it didn't take long. Curing eggs with Fire Brine is fool proof, even for beginners.

Using Fire Brine is a simple way to produce a steelhead bait with perfect texture, color and fish-ability. It also can produce a fantastic salmon egg, ideal for Springer’s, by simply adding one or two additional ingredients. 

Now pay attention, I'm going to tell you exactly how simple it is to create this perfect Springer bait to add to your egg arsenal. For me, curing eggs in gallon Ziploc baggies is an easy, clean operation. With five color choices, plus natural, Fire Brine gives you options when deciding what color you want to create.

The wet brine formula is simple. I like to pour a 1/2 bottle of Fire Brine into a gallon Ziploc freezer bag and then add 1/8 of Natural Fire Cure. I use Natural Fire Cure, so I don't change the color of the dye in Fire Brine and the color it puts on my eggs. That's not to say that I couldn't mix some of the colored Fire Cure to create additional colors I may discover work well, though.

The number one Go-To for me when it comes to tributary Springer’s is a deep red egg. I can get the exact egg that I want by mixing the Red Fire Brine and 1/8 cup of our dark Red Fire Cure.

It’s just this easy;

Place your egg skeins in the bag, seal it and gently tumble the eggs in the wet brine to mix the contents. Much like curing with our sprinkle-on cures, you'll want to gently tumble the contents every 15 minutes for the first hour. After that you can let your eggs bathe in the Fire Brine for a total of two to four hours. This will be completely dependent on the number of skeins you intend on curing. Check the eggs about every ½ hour checking for that rubbery consistency. At this point you will have achieved maximum color absorption and the eggs will be completely cured. Keep in mind; this varies a bit depending on if you put two, four or six skeins in the bag. This will dictate the length of time needed to get them completely cured. If you put your eggs in the bag and walk away, checking on them about six hours later, they may perhaps be over-cured. You do need to stay involved at some level, and remember this is a sulfite cure when using the Fire Cure.

Are you ready for the next step? There isn't one. That's it.

When I feel the eggs are cured to the texture I am trying to achieve, I'll take the eggs out of the Fire Brine and place them into a container lined with a few layers of paper towels. I like to make sure the container is long enough that I can lay the skeins out flat, egg side down, skin side up. Once on the paper towels I place them in the bait fridge overnight. They'll be ready to fish the next day. I put them on paper towels to help draw off the extra moisture from the wet brine. It helps get the skeins to a fishable consistency sooner. These eggs will be a bit wetter than the Fire Brine/ BorX O Fire eggs I create for Steelhead. However, they will be ideal for Chinook as they contain the sulfites that you need and will milk out just as a good salmon bait should.

One additional bit of info I am willing to share. “Fire Power”, which we all know is Pautzke’s Krill Powder is a no-brainer, go-to, have-to-have in most of my bait cures. The Fire Power krill powder definitely goes into my wet brine Springer bait recipe. I simply add one teaspoon into the bag and seal it up. That gentle tumble process I use for the first hour does a great job mixing that krill powder throughout all the eggs in the bag. As the eggs absorb the brine and cure elements, they also absorb the krill.

As far as choosing which color – that's up to you. We have provided the opportunity to challenge any water condition. The natural, red and orange are automatic go-to's. However, don't discount chartreuse. Chartreuse eggs look similar to orange or natural, depending on the color of the eggs when you started. Don't be misled. Chartreuse eggs out perform in low light conditions and dirty water. "Why?" It's simple UV. I don't really need to expound on this topic. This photo proves my point.

The UV's with red and chartreuse are amazing. Meanwhile, purple also has value as a darker presentation with a bit of UV. Remember, at times, Springer’s can be attracted to a darker color presentation in clear water. 

The 1/2 bottle of Fire Brine and 1/8 cup of Fire Cure is the ratio I settled on. That's not to say that if I had a good number of skeins to cure, I could simply double the ratios and use a full Bottle of Fire Brine. Also, consider adding 1/8 cup of refined white sugar to produce a sweeter bait. Some of our Chinook are drawn to sweeter baits, lower in the system. Guys who fish these systems pretty much know which ones they are. If you take advantage of the opportunity to chase Springer’s low in a tributary, consider a couple options. Take some Fire Brine/Fire Cure eggs with you and maybe even some that have a slight sugar tweak. You may find the sugar tweak ends up as your Go-To bait for that fishery..
 
Good luck on your wet brining endeavors.

Duane Inglin
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com