Keeping Bait Alive

Has anyone ever fed bait while trying to keep them alive? I know some people will say you don’t need to do anything but thought maybe it would keep them alive longer or in better shape.

I ask because pretty much since the beginning of January I’ve been able to keep my bait alive with just changing out the water. My bucket also does not have an aerator which surprises me that these things are still alive. I have obviously added bait in the bucket as the season has gone on but I know there has been some crappie minnows in there that are almost 2 months old. I wonder how they are staying alive with me just changing the water?

When you add water you add oxygen, if they are kept cold they need less O2 and the water holds more so double positive-you get a double negative as it warms like over 50. they do not need food and food would probably mess up your water. You could dissolve some Kosher or sea salt to help them or add conditioner from a pet store.

I have no science behind this but keeping bait alive definitely seems easier in the winter months.

Sorry to hijack your thread KP but on a related note, I most of the time find waxies in cooler, yet I find they stay alive much better when I just leave them on m counter, anyone else?

they last a long time in winter. i never feed mine and maybe they eat the dead ones? key to having them last is obviously change the water with fresh water. keeping it the same temp will prevent them going into shock too. I fish a lot in fall and winter and rarely waste bait. I just bring it back home and dump it back in my bait tank. saves me a stop every time I need bait.

Dan wrote:

I have no science behind this but keeping bait alive definitely seems easier in the winter months.

Sorry to hijack your thread KP but on a related note, I most of the time find waxies in cooler, yet I find they stay alive much better when I just leave them on m counter, anyone else?

I have also have had the same experience with waxies.

I’ve been able to keep shiners alive as well and I swear sometimes those things die within an hour out of the bait store. I guess they must like my water softener.

I melt snow for my bait and don’t use tap water – seems to work ok for a couple weeks anyway. I don’t have a tank, just keep them in an insulated cooler in the fridge in snowmelt water

There should be no need to feed bait if kept cool.

The reason bait stays alive easier in colder temps is because the bait’s metabolism decreases to the point food is not necessary. Colder = more lethargic = less energy consumption.

Yup-cold blooded.

KP wrote:

I’ve been able to keep shiners alive as well and I swear sometimes those things die within an hour out of the bait store

The shiners I use die if I look at them wrong. Ain’t using those over priced sensitive things anymore.

Dan wrote:

I have no science behind this but keeping bait alive definitely seems easier in the winter months.

Sorry to hijack your thread KP but on a related note, I most of the time find waxies in cooler, yet I find they stay alive much better when I just leave them on m counter, anyone else?

Spikes should be kept in the fridge. Waxies should just be kept cool. My brother and I have our best luck keeping waxies by a basement window.

A nice big fat minnow is definitely more desirable than an emaciated one,but at what cost. A scoop of fatheads will live a long time with no food and cold clean water. I keep a large bait tank all spring and summer and I feed them. The problem with feeding them is the water becomes toxic a lot faster. You need biological filters and lots of oxygen. Not really worth it for a scoop or two of cheap minnows.

Getting bait for me is way out of my way to the lake. I was keeping a minnow bucket in the fridge but it took up alot of space. In the fridge, my minnows never seemed to die. I fish multiple days every other week and change out the water for the minnows with lake water when I go. Tap water can kill minnows. I recently bought a glass paned beverage cooler mini fridge, with no freezer. Its perfect for all my bait and drinks. It also makes a good night light.

Don’t put tap water in…that will kill them. If it’s all you have, put a gallon in a bucket and let it sit for a couple days. That will allow the chemicals to evaporate.

I regularly keep minnows in a small bucket in the fridge for 6 weeks or so at a time. Keep them cold and do 50/50 water changes and they’ll last. About every 3 days I remove any dead ones. When the water really starts to stink I change half of it.

Then when they die…salt them

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After having issues getting my hands on spottails early season last year, I now have a good collection swimming in Vodka in the freezer. Ive tried salting but alcohol has worked better keeping them on the hook.

This is my first attempt, it’s a mixture of kosher salt and borax

Matt Moen wrote:

Don’t put tap water in…that will kill them.

I think that depends on if your tap water is from the a source where it is treated or a well where it is not treated. I use tap water but it is from a shared well. Have not had a problem.

My Shiners go in my little 8 can beer cooler and my Fatheads/Rainbows in regular Styrofoam bucket in a pail. I change ALL the water out Sunday, Tuesday, & Thursday Back to the lake Friday & they last all weekend. Kept at home in my foyer where its not heated but it is insulated. Have lost about 9 minnows, total, since New Years. Only 1 was a Shiner. Change water every two days & keep them cold, but not frozen. When the ice starts forming, it takes the oxygen out of the water, So don’t let them freeze! I don’t use a bubbler either. No need if you change the water.

Every Year this topic comes up. Is the struggle that real!?

We spend a fortune on our boats and gear, but dammit I’m not paying ten bucks for bait that’s crazy!

muskie-tim wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Matt Moen wrote:</div>
Don’t put tap water in…that will kill them.

I think that depends on if your tap water is from the a source where it is treated or a well where it is not treated. I use tap water but it is from a shared well. Have not had a problem.

I’ve been using tap water and they seem to like it. For me its nice to not have to make a trip to the bait store. I’d rather take the time to keep them alive than show up to the bait shop and find out they are out of bait. That has happened when looking for shiners late in the year.

I buy tap water conditioner from pet store and use cold city water 50% water change every couple days, aerate 24/7 have had big shiners since beginning of January

Also, a cap full of hydrogen peroxide will give the water a boost of O2 if the water doesn’t look like it needs to be changed

I exclusively use tap water in my minnows. When I lived in Hastings, MN it was city water, now I’m on my own well. Even when Hastings started injecting chlorine to kill the e.coli that came in from a farm field runoff, and you could actually smell and taste the chlorine, it didn’t do my crappie minnows one bit of harm.

Keep the water ice cold and clean. That’s the most important thing.

Shiners need more water to stay healthy it seems, and keep them by themselves. Suckers do fine with crappie minnows or fat heads in my experience. I can get 2-3 weeks with only about 5% loss. Mine are typically all used up by then. If I know I won’t be out for 2+ weeks I usually toss them out for nature to feast on though since I don’t feel like changing the water every 2 days if I can’t fish.

Also keep in mind- aerating in the summertime brings the hot, ambient air into the water. So if you put ice in, then your aerator, the ice will be gone quickly

I have some minnows I caught from last November which have been on the basement floor with a regular aquarium tank 110v aerator. The water has been rarely changed with non chlorinated water used with a cap full of a stress conditioner. Didn’t feed them for a long time but once in a blue moon now give them a pinch of goldfish flakes which they really gobble up. Had one die the other day after water change but can’t remember any others croaking.
Yes I’m leaving my waxworms out in the basement instead of the refrigerater now a days with better luck.