How many minnows will fit?

[Spawn]

Okay so what the max that you guys use for the smaller sized yellow fabrbill trolling minnow bucket. Im fishing of a dock and when i get about 2 dozen bearly any seen to die but if i add like 4 dozen they seem to die very quick.

Any help to keep alive or how many to add?

[Rees Guide]

Spawn, try a regular 5 gallon bucket with an aireater (sp) in it, shade it and add some frozen bottles of water all along. Dont add just ice cause sometimes the ice has too much chemicals in it and kills em. I got a friend that never uses a lined bucket and does very well doing it the way I have described, good luck.

[Spawn]

Good idea rees, i also have a pond out back so i will fill it with that water so just incase they leak its pond water so it wont kill them like tap sometimes can.

[Rees Guide]

Thats a good idea as well, too if you are fishing on a dock one of those floating buckets might do well. Something about having bait from the same water makes a difference some times.

[G.Gordon]

Water at the surface is hot, hot water contains little oxygen. Make you a minnow bucket like the blue one you see here. I did it for less than $20 from WalMart. 4 dz. alive all day in 100+ temps.

I didn't go into the lid, I drilled a hole just under the threads for the lid, works great.

[Spawn]

Im hopping to get one soon but im fishing at night and last time when i bought 4 doz the were sholder to shoukder with each other so mabey that was what killed them but im adding a waterbottle thats frozen and adding weight so it sink better for more oxygen.

[Eagle 1]

a $5.00 liner that will fit a 5 gallon bucket (any) . Once you get it in it's difficult to take out . (clay's bait ?tackle in tupelo has them or will give you the brand name ) will hold 3 dozen easily . I use double drop rigs but only one minnow per pole . No use having one shaken off when you catch a fish . Jmo . This is my set up . I also have a blanket of insulation ( actual home insulation ) in a pillow case that i use when my son does not borrow it ! DRILL A HOLE FOR THE HOSE ABOVE THE BUCKET LINER AND YOU READY TO GO .

[Corker]

Minnow mortality is affected by the volume, temperature, and quality of the water. Water quality includes O2 saturation (higher is always better), waste level (lower is always better), and chemical content (except for the blue stuff the bait shops use, ZERO is the best level.)

Generally, if one of the mortality factors worsens, you can make up for it by improving the others. To some extent, you can compensate for a small volume minnow bucket by changing the water frequently (water from your pond, lake, river, or rain barrel are all good.) Keep the bucket in the shade and the water cool, but don't make sudden temperature changes.

After trying lots of minnow storage methods, I settled on a well-insulated 18 Qt. cooler (it would have been larger if space permitted.) I cut a groove under the lid so the bubbler hose won't get pinched when the lid is closed tight (keeping the heat out.) In the hottest part of summer, I freeze tap water in .5 liter pop bottles, carry a few in my lunch cooler, and drop one into the minnow cooler if the water starts to warm. (The bottle's lid stays on so the chemicals stay in.) If minnows start to die, I change the water and add ice again.

[Cane Pole]

Hydrogen peroxide helps.