keeping minners alive

[birdartist]

whats the best bet on keeping them frisky.i have always used a foam bucket but seem to always have to change out the water fairly frequently.thanks

[Fishnbuddy]

Hi, birdartist. I've been able to keep my minnows alive best by keeping them cool. I mean adding ice to the water. Heat seems to be their worst enemy. I bought a little aerator from Walmart for about 10 bucks. It's run by a D size battery with room for a spare. It works OK. I don't let it run constantly, but enough during the day and even overnight to do the job. The real key though is keeping the water cool.

Back in early April I went fishing on a Tuesday and used most of the minnows. There were two left when I went in. I left them in the bucket, gave them a shot of air for 30 or so minutes and then left them in the boat. The next morning the temperature here in Florence was about 58-60 if I remember right. The two minnows were still swimkming around the next morning.

That afternoon I again aerated them for half an hour and them closed them up. I forgot about them after that. The temps never did get over 65 during the day with the evenings dropping down to the low 50's.

The following Tuesday I was going out again and when I took the cover off the boat I looked in on my two minnows expecting them to be dead, but they were still alive and really active. The only thing I noticed was what looked like minnow crap floating throughout the water.

All I can figure is the cold. Any way that's my advice and I'm sticking to it!

[CrappieLips]

whats the best bet on keeping them frisky.i have always used a foam bucket but seem to always have to change out the water fairly frequently.thanks

Fishnbuddy right keeping them cool is the trick I take a 20oz plastic bottle full of water, freeze it stick it in the minnow bucket, when i'm out fishing.

[Mopar Matt]

Try the Frabill Min-02-Life Personal Bait Station. Been using one for three years now. Lid closes water tight, no spillage, stays cool, I have kept 12 dozen minnows for two days without changing water. The rectangular design keeps it from tipping over, and it carries like a tackle box. Regularly priced at Bass Pro for $39, you can catch it on sale for $29 during spring and fall sales.

[michael holden]

Before I bought a nicer minnow bucket I used to drop enough ice to cover the bottom of a five gallon bucket and then put my styrofoam bucket on top w/minnows in it--worked real well along w/areator.

[buflew]

Hey Im new to the board but have always been a avid crappie fisherman .As far as minnows go I have found the best way to keep them alive is to put them in a good cooler .I sit a 36 quart cooler in the bottom of the old boat you may get some sloush out but its not bad all the lively minnows make up for it .On hot days put jugs of ice in it

[Fishnbuddy]

Hi buflew. Welcome to the site. Lots of helpful things to both learn and share.

[turkeyfootnc]

I use an aerator that can be found at Wal-Mart or any tackle shop that clamps onto a 12-volt battery. When I'm in the boat, I'll hook up the aerator from time to time. Also works well if you catch fish and want to keep them alive.

[slabbandit]

We use "Cool Bubbles" minnow buckets from Bass Pro. They cost a little over 30 bucks but the money saved over time in not losing minnows to heat will pay for the bucket.

We average taking a 1/2 pound or more of minnows out at a time. During the summer we don't hardly lose any bait as the process of the pump putting air bubbles in the minnows actual cools the water.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you take a minnow out of this cooler water and dunk it into 85 to 90 degree water he ain't going to last long before he goes into temp. shock.

What some guys do to get around this is to take 5 or 6 out at a time and put them in a cheap styrofoam minnow bucket with the lid off. This allows them to slowly raise their body temp before they take the big plunge!

2 "D" sized batteries will run the pump for 130 hours. I went to Academy Sports and purchased a super quiet 12 volt pump for my boat that will run 2 buckets at one time. All I do is unplug the tubing from the pump on the side of the bucket and plug in the 12 pump. I think it was around 24 bucks but well worth it and the savings in "D" batteries will eventually pay for the pump.


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