Thread: Hot Tip! Cigar Minnows at BUC-EES!

The tip came to me from Sunshine. I went there today and bought a box. I'll be back for more, I'm sure!

Anybody wanting to buy cigar minnows in advance of the King Mackerel season will want to check out the frozen cigar minnows at BUC-EES in Robertsdale. They're $14.99 and WAY-FRESH, just out of the water! Beautiful, not like the zombie-cigs I've gotten elsewhere.

I'm separating them and putting them into quart-sized bags now. I'm ready for the king bite!

Wish I was closer....oh well, usually only use maybe a 1/2 box anyway(if that much), when live bait is present

is there a best way to preserve the minnows? vac sealed or just simply frozen in water? any tips would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by j. gravy

is there a best way to preserve the minnows? vac sealed or just simply frozen in water? any tips would be appreciated.

Cigar minnows come not packed in ice, just bagged loose and boxed. So I put them in quart bags, five to a bag where they're straight and I pushed the air out of the bag (not having a vacuum sealer). Since ice crystals break down tissue, my theory is that it's best to not use water to freeze them. Historically, I've just bought zombie-cigs at bait shops, whether in 5 lb boxes or 1 lb bags. This box produced 9 or 10 quart bags of cigs so I'm thinking that they may last as long as 9 or 10 fishing days, if I only use five cigs each day. What I'm saying is that they probably won't be in my freezer long at all. And I'm just experimenting with what seems to be the best short-term storage strategy. I'm sure that other folks have their favorite methods.

Info you freeze them in water make sure it’s a brine solution. If not the will absorb water and get mushy

Originally Posted by j. gravy

is there a best way to preserve the minnows? vac sealed or just simply frozen in water? any tips would be appreciated.

I just bash the box down on concrete like you would a bag of ice (pretty hard, once per side) and that breaks them loose. Then bag them in quart freezer bags and put the quart baggies back in another bag. They've lasted several months that way in the past.

Don't let them thaw until ready for use.