Curing minnows, Leftovers

Any good methods for salting/curing your unused minnows for later use?
I know I could google - but wondering if anyone has a method they would like to share here.

I like to brine mine with different colors of fire brine for 24 hours then lay them flat on paper to dry, sprinkle a 50/50 mix of salt and borax over them. Don't let the dry put too much, then I freeze them.

add salt is all I do.
The key is to remember to bring them inside or pull them out of the freezer to thaw them out the night before! sucks trying to chip away at a frozen block of bait to get minnow or at least piece of minnow.

I believe they made this illegal in Ontario. You now have to toss your left overs in the garbage. Not down the hole. No freezing and salting allowed.

You also have to buy the minnow from the same zone. And you have to keep the receipt.

Times have changed.

Regarding "You also have to buy the minnow from the same zone":

Please note this does not refer to the fishing zone (I mean the 20 zones in total such as Lake Simcoe in Zone 16)

"You also have to buy the minnow from the same zone" refers to the new FOUR (4) Bait Management Zones (BMZs), where for example:

* Fishing Zones 16, 17 and 18 form one single Bait Management Zone (BMZ), that is, you are free to transport minnows in between Fishing Zones 16, 17 and 18

* Fishing Zone 15 alone happens to be one of these four (4) Bait Management Zones (BMZ), where you can not transport minnows into or out of Fishing Zone 15

Per Ontario 2022 Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary, Page 18:

thanks for the info

Thanks for clarifying that.

I had friends come in from fishing cooks bay that ran into MNR at the edge of the lake.

The MNR office gave a heads up about the new regulations.

There are different regs depending on whether you're fishing in or outside of the bait management zone you reside in.

The disposal of bait within two weeks only applies to bait purchased outside the bait management zone you live in.

See:. https://www.ontario.ca/page/sustainable-bai...tario#section-4

Please send link to the regulation which states salting is not allowed. Thanks.

Edit to add: you also only need a receipt if you are fishing outside the BMZ you live in.

This post has been edited by mikeg44 on Jan 27, 2022 - 01:15 pm

You can salt whatever you want but you can't use them.
It is illegal to (or attempt to) deposit or release
into, or within 30 m of, any waters:
• live or dead bait or baitfish, including fish eggs,
gametes or fish parts
• the water, soil or other materials used to hold
any of these items Page 19 of 2022 regs.

Chumming (baiting an area to attract fish) is
allowed for Common Carp and for attracting
other fish species, but only with plant-based
baits. Page 21.

Not to be argumentative here, but I thought salted minnows from the same bait zone are fine if you are just tipping a hook with them or dead sticking.

I think using salted minnows as bait is fine but not as chum.

That is how I use salted and interpret the new regs.

Didn't mean to imply chumming with them.

I will start keeping my salted minnows in my lunch box with the crackers and jerky, it’s not illegal to possess snacks on the ice is it ?

Interpretations and opinions aside, if you can't "deposit" them, on a hook or not, I would think it is covered under that umbrella.

The wording you provided notes you can not ‘deposit’ live/dead baitfish.

This has to mean something other than actively fishing with salties as a hooked bait. If depositing was the same as fishing then using any live bait would also not be allowed which goes against the entire rationale of having the rules.

I would have to go with allowing salties in the BMZ you live in. No chumming or disposing unused near waterbody.