preserve bait in formalin and then sugar water

anyone any experience preserving fish baits in this way? Aparently the fish's flesh stays a lot firmer than when frozen..

where would you get the formalin, i wonder is that the same mix they use for that lazy lug

What you are essentially doing is marinating the bait.

I have not done this myself.
But I know a chef on a cruise ship, he tells me this story everytime I see him. He was ordered to take captain fishing. On The first day they were using shrimps that wouldn't stay on the hook. That night he marinated them, the next day he took the captain fishing again and they caught loads of fish.

isn't formalin like formaldhyde? article in [url ="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formalin"]wikipedia here[/url]

are you sure it is safe to be handling that stuff as I know formaldehyde is carcenogenic it can pass through the skinn and stays in the body also wouldn't the smell put the fish off?

i read that it was poisonous alright, it states you shouldn't get in contact with it. The process I read about was only leaving it overnight in Formalin/formalahyde and then washed with sugar water and finally stored in sugar water. Apparently this leaves the bait untainted by the formalin or formaldahyde but preserved perfectly. It was an old book so perhaps it hasn't been done in years, just wondering if anyone has ever tried it..

I couldn't tell ya if it's the same stuff as the lazy lug though. Interesting comment on marinating there, my oul' lad says they used to put garlic in with the lug for added scent. I saw fellas in Liverpool spraying WD40 on their lug before aswell, for an oil trail. Couldn't tell ya if either of them work though

Just follow your wiki link there, seems formalehyde has been banned in europe since 2007. I think the formalin was used to kill all the bacteria etc and the sugar water then preserved it. Might give the sugar water a try on it's own for a month and see what it's like vs freezing..