Shoepeg Pros - Need Advice

OK, I'm an admitted lucky newbie who landed a limit of 10 kokanee on my first attempt at open water fishing for this quarry. For the record it took 10 hours in up to 30 kt winds!  So I started on the right 'foot' so to speak. No sense in changing horses in the middle of the stream or fixing a technique that isn't broke. So I plan to continue with my same tackle, with a few experimental mods, and stick with a variety of flavored SHOEPEG corn to add some zip to the hooks like the 1st trip.

I've watched vids on kokanee fishing that mentioned shoepeg corn could be froze, thawed and used, froze again, over many "cycles." I could use some advice on insuring my 'preservation method' will not result in containers of mush.

Tips had said add a pinch or two of salt to each of your batches as a means to toughen up the corn. Obviously salt will also act as a preservative as well as an antifreeze that lowers the freeze point of the salted corn.

How do you reuse your batches of flavored corn? When using just a spoonful of kernels in a day of fishing means most bait will return home unused. Does everyone refreeze their bait or refrigerate?  Or....

Thanks in advance.

You can freeze thaw over and over several times with no issues. If it start to soften add salt. OR just use Berkley Gulp maggots. Throw it on the shelf and not worry about it.

Thanks Tyler.

I thought I might have caught that comment in one of your videos but couldn't recall if it was a one freeze or could handle multiple cycles. I've learned a lot from your videos that made my first attempt a success. I'll have to track down a jar of those gulp maggots at Sportsmans.

This next batch of fish I catch will be heading into the smoker along with a couple racks of their 'big brothers' from the ocean that are starting to pack our rivers here on the Kenai. Will be interesting to have a genuine Side By Side Taste Test of identical brining, smoking, and drying.

Sounds like a good idea for a video....



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Sounds like a good idea for a video....



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I've been wanting to do an Upper Columbia Sockeye vs local Kokanee taste test video for a while.

This next batch of fish I catch will be heading into the smoker along with a couple racks of their 'big brothers' from the ocean that are starting to pack our rivers here on the Kenai. Will be interesting to have a genuine Side By Side Taste Test of identical brining, smoking, and drying.

You won't want to brine kokanee or kokanee fillets for the same amount of time as fillets from full sized salmon, because kokanee fillets are a lot thinner than the fillets from full sized salmon.  How long you brine either depends on how salty your brine is, as measured in degrees Salometer.  You will probably need to brine full sized salmon fillets about twice as long as typical kokanee fillets.

The kokanee fillets shown below were from 11.5"-12.5" kokanee, and the lake trout fillets were from 20"-25" lake trout.  I prefer to smoke medium sized lake trout rather than large lake trout.

You won't want to brine kokanee or kokanee fillets for the same amount of time as fillets from full sized salmon, because kokanee fillets are a lot thinner than the fillets from full sized salmon.  How long you brine either depends on how salty your brine is, as measured in degrees Salometer.  You will probably need to brine full sized salmon fillets about twice as long as typical kokanee fillets.

The kokanee fillets shown below were from 11.5"-12.5" kokanee, and the lake trout fillets were from 20"-25" lake trout.  I prefer to smoke medium sized lake trout rather than large lake trout.

Those are some top quality looking batches you have there. Indeed the brining of those thin fillets will be experimental so I plan to try two different soak times.  I only soak my sockeye strips for 60 to 75 minutes using the Little Chief basic brine recipe of 1/2 cup of non-iodized salt to a quart of water ratio. Some batches will get a bit of brown sugar or terriyaki to change it up. Best thing I ever did was buy the Big Chief smoker after wrestling with two Little Chiefs for 40 years. Between the 3 I can do a 60 pound batch at one time and take care of my Lower 48 care packages to relatives in one shot.

The constant rain and wind has laid down today. I bought another 100 vac bags the other day. Truck and boat loaded up for my second trip to kokaneeville! With a fresh can of corn doctored up this trip. Already got the sockeye thawing from the freezer in anticipation of first smoker batch of the summer. Come on kokes! Don't let me down. Ha

Those are some top quality looking batches you have there. Indeed the brining of those thin fillets will be experimental so I plan to try two different soak times.  I only soak my sockeye strips for 60 to 75 minutes using the Little Chief basic brine recipe of 1/2 cup of non-iodized salt to a quart of water ratio. Some batches will get a bit of brown sugar or terriyaki to change it up. Best thing I ever did was buy the Big Chief smoker after wrestling with two Little Chiefs for 40 years. Between the 3 I can do a 60 pound batch at one time and take care of my Lower 48 care packages to relatives in one shot.

My first smoker was a Little Chief. The best thing I ever did, as for as smoking is concerned, was to give away the Little Chief and buy a thermostatically controlled smoker.  The problem with the Little Chief and Big Chief smokers is that you have no idea what the temperature is inside the smoker and no convenient way to control the temperature, and if you add a thermometer and/or a temperature probe to a Little Chief or Big Chief smoker, you discover that in cold weather the heating element can't get what you are smoking hot enough to produce safe smoked fish.  I currently have a Masterbuilt smoker, and get better and more reliable results with it than I did with my Little Chief.

My first smoker was a Little Chief. The best thing I ever did, as for as smoking is concerned, was to give away the Little Chief and buy a thermostatically controlled smoker.  The problem with the Little Chief and Big Chief smokers is that you have no idea what the temperature is inside the smoker and no convenient way to control the temperature, and if you add a thermometer and/or a temperature probe to a Little Chief or Big Chief smoker, you discover that in cold weather the heating element can't get what you are smoking hot enough to produce safe smoked fish.  I currently have a Masterbuilt smoker, and get better and more reliable results with it than I did with my Little Chief.

I am definitely a COLD SMOKE kinda processor. I run my smokers at 100°F to max. of 115°F. I found that I can insert a long stem candy thermometer into the top loading lid cracked open or in the front loading door cracked open and regulate the heat very precisely. I rely on heavy smoke and the salt to preserve the fish. I really don't care for cooking the fish to make kippered salmon. Too wet for me. I take up to 3 days to finish a batch.

I did steal the thermostatic controller from my garden greenhouse and put it to use turning the Big Chief element on and off at a precise temperature range after the smoke cycle is completed. But I still go with 3 pans of smoke which takes a constant on element to keep the 'fire' burning so watching the inside temp is critical.

Unfortunately last night's trip results only produced 3 kokes for dinners and none for the smoker.  I do have a Masterbuilt propane smoker but mainly use it for ribs and pork loins and "finish drying" my salmon batch cheaper than electricity. Your photos make my mouth water!