Live/Fresh Versus Frozen Bait
Live/Fresh Bait — There is no comparison between fresh fish used as bait and frozen fish. Although it’s true that there are times when any bait seems to work (as during a “mac attack”), generally you need good bait and fresh bait out performs frozen bait.
By fresh I mean bait caught and used the same day or bait used within a day or so after capture. If saving bait, put it in a bait cooler immediately after being caught and when you get home put it in a sealable bag in your refrigerator. Do not freeze it.
Scent, blood and natural oils. The main advantage of fresh versus frozen bait is that fresh fish bait retains its natural scent, blood, and oils. Frozen bait sees a decrease in all of these things.
Fish contain cells full of amino acid proteins that attract other fish. That’s an important fact for those species that primarily rely upon their sense of smell, their olfactory system, to find their prey (aka food). Many of these species have poor eyesight but will follow “chemical signatures” in the water (such as blood scent trails) to find their prey. Sharays, sharks and rays, are the prime examples of this but it is true of many species, most being bottom feeders.
Unfortunately the freezing process negatively impacts these important cells. The why is seen in Kitchen Science by Howard Hillman. Osmosis is the natural passing of liquid through the cell walls to equalize the concentration of liquid inside and outside the cells. The process helps maintain the rigidity of the cells (and food). Unfortunately, “freezing diminishes the osmotic capability of the cells and their capacity to absorb and retain water.” Ice crystals form inside and around the cells when frozen, ”these crystals take up more space than the original water, and the expansion bursts many of the cell walls and pushes cells apart giving the seeping liquid an easy escape route.”
When thawed, the liquid flowing out of these ruptured cell walls carry some of the original flavors and nutrients. Less nutrients and scent mean less fish.
Frozen Bait. However, unless planning to fish within a few days of getting your bait you will need to freeze it. Can the frozen bait be improved? Although fish oil is often put on lures, it may seem somewhat ridiculous to put fish oil on fish used as bait. However, if the frozen fish is lacking in fish attracting oils, why not spice up the fish with additional oil? There are many different brands with Pro-Cure and Gulp! Alive being just a couple. Be willing to experiment and see if they help. Do match the oil to the fish you are using, i.e., anchovy oil for anchovies.
Additional problems can occur if the bait is stored for a long time in the freezer. One problem is that the bait may pick up foreign odors from the freezer. Secondly, if stored poorly, the bait can actually turn yellow and appear freezer burned. Neither situation makes for good bait.
Texture. Generally when frozen bait is thawed it has a softer, mushier consistency than fresh bait. This is especially true with the delicate anchovies but also is true with sardines, herring and mackerel.
The best approach is to keep the frozen bait in a semi-frozen state where it is still firm. Semi-frozen bait can generally be hooked and cast without losing the bait. You just need a bait cooler and a little ice or frozen plastic ice blocks, i.e., Igloo Maxcold Ice Blocks. However, remember that the bait will thaw in the water so frequently check to make sure you still have bait on your hook.
If the bait is thoroughly thawed out—and mushy, you will need to carefully cast out your bait and you may need to use something like “Magic Thread” to keep the bait on the hook. Of course the thread detracts from the appearance of the bait.
Salting Bait. I have long salted down my leftover bait before placing it into the freezer. Lately I have also been using sugar, three parts salt to one part sugar, trying to copy the old sugar-cured bait. The bait in the freezer remains in in a partially frozen state. Not sure how it meets the above Kitchen Science criteria but it seems to still be very good when later used for bait (and stays well on the hook).