Submersing bait

I tried to search for this but could not find any guidance so I’m turning to the good & knowledgeable people of IDO. I’m headed to rainy lake in late August for the first time. Camping at a frontcountry spot. I’ve read that some fellers will sink their bait bucket down maybe 10 ft or so so that the bait stay in the cold water thus extending the life of the bait. Just how does one do that? It’s a known fact that I would be the worst engineer on this planet. My brain often struggles trying to figure out how items form together and or function. I’ve gotten as far as determining you would need a rope and some sort of weight on one end to hold the bait down. How do you go about retrieving the bait when you want to use it?

Put a rock in the bottom of your bait bucket. Don’t forget your rope. Put a marker buoy on the other end if you really want to be classy

I do this the the bwca. Take an anchor (or a rock) tie a carabiner about 5 feet up from the anchor, clip your bait bucket to the carabiner, and put a float at the top of the rope (dependent on depth). I usually use a milk jug for the float.

In the bwca, usually you can get pretty deep right off shore, so rather than a float, i would tie off the anchor line to a tree. You could probably use your boat cleet.

We modified 5 gallon buckets.
Cut a few holes in the sides and lid. Drill small holes around large holes and use zip ties to fasten metal screen to the bucket over the holes.
Add a rock for weight and a rope for retrieving and you’re golden.
It’s a great way to keep a lot minnows healthy for an entire week of fishing.
Honestly though it’s getting to the point of the summer where even this may not work if we get more hot weather. Generally once water temps reach 70° keeping minnows healthy becomes a challenge. Personally, I’d bring crawlers and leeches and not mess with minnows.

grubson wrote:

We modified 5 gallon buckets.
Cut a few holes in the sides and lid. Drill small holes around large holes and use zip ties to fasten metal screen to the bucket over the holes.
Add a rock for weight and a rope for retrieving and you’re golden.
It’s a great way to keep a lot minnows healthy for an entire week of fishing.
Honestly though it’s getting to the point of the summer where even this may not work if we get more hot weather. Generally once water temps reach 70° keeping minnows healthy becomes a challenge. Personally, I’d bring crawlers and leeches and not mess with minnows.

This….we tried for years on flyin trips to keep minnows alive when it’s hot. Had ok success sinking them but wait til an otter gets in your bucket. Leeches and crawlers are way easier and in the hot summer months I think they work better. Salted minnows are also a good bet.

If you are dead set on it, I’d get a small bait tamer bag. Since you are camping they fold up small. Easy to sink like everyone else has pointed out.

We did this years ago. Otters got into the bait bucket and ate all the minnows. You need to really wire close the bucket. Good luck.

Minnows or crawlers. Or ice in your bait seem easier in my mind.

Sylvanboat wrote:

We did this years ago. Otters got into the bait bucket and ate all the minnows. You need to really wire close the bucket. Good luck.

Yes the otters are professionals at stealing bait.
I have not had one get into a 5 gallon bucket with a the lid snapped on yet.
If you use a bucket with the flap style door or a mesh bag your minnows are fair game.
Wiring the door/ lid shut would definitely do the trick as well.

How long are you going for? I can keep minnows for 4 days no problem in an Engel as long as you replace the water regularly. Never tried longer. On opener this year when it was really hot I had shiners and only started to lose a couple at the end. Rainbows shouldn’t be an issue at all.

Not what you asked but I’d end up having no bait if I tried sinking it. I think you could also just get bait at Sha Sha whenever you want, it’s not very far.

I was on Rainy last week. Almost no current, and the water seemed a little low. Had the water warmer than we usually see in the bays. Fish seem to be moving out to deeper water. That usually turns to a crawler bite for me. My brother fished minnows all week. I used almost all artificial, with good luck. Didn’t find keeping minnows worth the hassle. If you loose your minnows after a few days, don’t panic. Give plastics and cranks a try. By the end of the week. Most of my group switched. Even though we still had a few minnows left. Otters can cause you fits like mentioned.