A stupid question about Spam, saveloy and other meat baits...

[Bjp]

i found the freeezing meat baits can make them float, or is that just me?

regards

bjp

[Kev D]

Quite possibly in some cases . Freezing expands the water inside the cells of foodstuff. It's why the texture of some food changes upon defrosting .
If the cells remain expanded they can take in air which may increase buoyancy. Also ,a frozen bait with high ice content may well bob about like an ice cube in a glass of water.

[Santiago]

Depends on the weather and how long your fishing session is. If it was a warm day and you'd been fishing most of it, then it would be foolhardy to take a meat bait home to use another day. By the time it's re-thawed it will be covered in bacterial toxins that you really would not want on your sandwiches. But if your first visit was on a cold day then refreezing won't make any difference.

The use of a garlic or spice coating will, however, help stop bacteria growing on the meat, and slightly reduce the hazards, depending on the ambient temperature during your trip.

Best would be to keep the meat in a cool pack at the bank, and limit the amount of refreezing to no more than twice. Otherwise, best avoided. Other wildlife like swans could die from food poisoning and you could get quite ill.

[BoltonBullfinch]

I used to refreeze my deadbaits for piking, but found that the pike didn't seem to bother with the old baits, most of them took the fresher baits. Since then I have read that refreezing fish many times can be deadly.

Thanks
BB

[Stathamender]

I have a bait only fridge freezer and freeze and refreeze lots of baits.
I would be surprised if the fish were at risk as they are essentially scavengers and all scavengers have evolved to cope with much higher levels of nasty bacteria than we can. Our downfall was the invention of cooking and as such our ability to cope with bacteria in food declined drastically.
The reason many fish (and dogs!) find cheese so attractive is the presence of butanoic acid (old name butyric acid) which is a protein decay product and a such all scavengers are strongly drawn to it whereas we often find it repulsive (it is also the smell of vomit and sweaty feet).

Explains why pre-grated Parmesan smells the way it does. I always thought it was just an olfactory illusion on my part that it smelled like sweaty socks (I used to share a flat with two runners so I am familiar with that odour). Also why I refuse to eat camembert, Brie or St Marcellin before they start to get properly whiffy. This may also explain why cheeses made from unpasteurised milk (much easier to get in France - where they can be made only from milk from herds that have been free from TB for several generations - than in the UK) taste so much better than the pasteurised kind. When handling 'stuff' that might contain bugs, I'm a strong advocate of regular use of things like Dettol Spray.

[Nobby]

I've seen diced up Spam change colour in just a few hours in the shade at the bankside. I wouldn't personally use any left-overs as a result. In theory it should keep, it is cured with sodium nitrite ( E250) just like bacon, but somehow I don't trust it not to 'turn'.

[Olly]

Regarding bacon ---- it turns very very quickly now even if in the fridge!! Once opened eat within a day ot two at most.

Even ham is now "slimy" after two/three days of the pack being opened.

Not like 'ham on the bone' I had as a youngster!

[Ally]

Wouldnt risk it myself. Anyhow its cheap meat. But I dont use meat at all now as bait. Not good for the enviroment.