After the Spanish mackerel leave in April we get the boats ready for selling live bait. The live bait of choice in our area is cigar minnows and herring. We catch the bait in cast nets and keep it in holding pins tied to the side of the boat. After we are through selling live bait in the morning we take the live cigar minnows we have left and put them in cold saltwater brine in 80-pound coolers.

Putting them in small coolers allows us to go straight to the vacuum machine without having to transfer them again, which could cause heat or damage to the product. I vacuum them in one and two pound packages using five mil bags to ensure the vacuum holds, allowing you to keep them in your freezer for long periods of time without losing quality. We will also package large cigar minnows six to a pack upon request. They immediately go to the blast freezers and are frozen within two to three hours at forty degrees below zero. If you are trolling cigar minnows for king fish these are the ones you want. I don't believe you can find a better quality cigar minnow anywhere.