Topic: I’m having issues keeping my minnows alive. I hear stories of fisherman and anglers keeping minnows alive for weeks and I can’t even keep mine going for a couple of days. What’s the issue here or what is going on? What does a guy have to do to keep some bait minnows alive? It’s all different types of minnows too for me that die.?
*Awarded Answer
Reply from Kevin J.
I did a lot of research on this year ago because due to how much I was fishing, the price of bait was really starting to add up. I go fishing almost everyday so it was getting expensive as heck for me to buy them. With some in depth research, I’m happy to say that my minnows are staying alive a lot better.
Keeping Water Temperature Low
This is the most crucial factor. What happens is bait buckets only hold a small amount of water and that water becomes hot very easily in the summertime with the sun shinning on it. You need to strive to keep this water temperature at what the lake would be or if not cooler.
Pour Old Water Out, Then Add
People think that if they just toss the bait pale into the lake that new water will filtrate into that bucket. It doesn’t assure new water in the bucket just by putting it in the water. Pour out old water and put some new water in manually. Most bait buckets have screens in the side that make it really easy to do this. This makes sure your bait has new water.
Add a Bubbler Aerator to Bait
A main killer to minnows is lack of oxygen in that small amount of water in the bait bucket. You can little aerators that plug in for $10 and they have a little stone at the end where bubbles come out and its very powerful! Don’t ever underestimate an aerator for your bait fish.
Keep Up with Water Changes
When your not fishing on the off days, you still have to go change the water in the bait bucket. If your using it straight out of faucet, look at getting a water drop conditioner to rid the chlorine of the faucet water so it doesn’t kill the fish.
Hopefully that helps! It has helped me incredibly.
Related Threads:
Whats the Best Bait for Crappies?
Topic: I have been told that this water hole down the road from me has crappies that are biting really hot right now. I want down there with a daredevil but didn’t catch anything. What is the best bait for crappie when it is spring time? I’m not really a crappie guy but if they are biting.. I will have fun catching them. Thanks for the help.
Reply from Tony L.
Your going to have the best luck with smaller baits since it is spring time. I’m sure they are in shallow water breeding and they strike anything that comes near their nest so the fishing is probably amazing. If you fillet a crappie up and cool it you will love their white juicy taste. I would compare it to sunfish and even walleye and perch.
Reply from Donny Z.
Go buy some small worms like larvae wax worms an small minnows. In Minnesota here, we have actual crappie minnows that are used for these fish but maybe you don’t have them. They will strike on smaller jigs with springtime. In the fall they will bite on larger baits. You Bette hurry though because when the fish are biting, you want to be there as quick as possible. Anything in the weather could change it. I used to have an oscar in a tank but it died years later.
Reply from Larry N.
Crappies are my favorite fish to catch and eat. They have the panfish taste like a sunfish but much bigger fillets. A super large sunfish is 1 lb and a super big crappie is around 2 lbs if that gives you and idea. I’m looking to catch a couple 2 pounders to have them mounted together on my wall together. I have one d them bit still need to catch the other two so I have 3 total around a large piece of driftwood.