Storing Minnows at Home

[Tommy2268]

Unfortunately, I can only buy minnows by the dozen. They are priced at $3 per dozen. I'm thinking about buying minnows by the pound and storing them at home. I can meet the fishery at the bait shop that sells their minnows at $3 per dozen and pay $16 per pound. I'm seeing how others store their minnows during the week at home. Been looking at a large cooler with a good filter and air supply. Any help and pictures would be greatly appreciated.

[deathb4disco]

This topic comes up frequently here:

https://www.crappie.com/crappie/live-bait/

[Crappkid]

100 gal tank from tractor supply,
2 filter pumps for aquariums from Walmart & a 110 bubbler
Used the blue bait savor chem to remove chlorine & protect there slim, was good for couple pounds depend on there size
& a screen to keep them in the tank, worked great for us till it just got to hot to deal with.


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[Nutbush]

I have the same minners I bought in October in an old deep freezer outside. I just let the rain refresh them. Now during the summer it’s nearly impossible for me to keep them like this. I do have an aerator that I put in there which helps some, but I usually just use jigs during the hot months.


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[BuckeyeFishing]

100 gal tank from tractor supply,
2 filter pumps for aquariums from Walmart & a 110 bubbler
Used the blue bait savor chem to remove chlorine & protect there slim, was good for couple pounds depend on there size
& a screen to keep them in the tank, worked great for us till it just got to hot to deal with.


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This was my exact setup also. I kept mine outside and I would keep minnows from early Spring until late Fall. All I ever did was add water in the summer if we hadn't gotten any rain recently. I also trapped all my minnows so they tend to be heartier than store boughts. I would set 3 traps, once a week and it would be enough to last me the week plus extras. Once I had enough built up, I would quit trapping and only trap once I got down so far. I used screen material with weights on the ends to keep them from jumping out. In the winter, I would drain the water, take the filter inside, and flip the trough upside down. Super easy clean up and storage.

[Tman53]

[QUOTE=Tommy2268;3778711]Unfortunately, I can only buy minnows by the dozen. They are priced at $3 per dozen. I'm thinking about buying minnows by the pound and storing them at home. I can meet the fishery at the bait shop that sells their minnows at $3 per dozen and pay $16 per pound. I'm seeing how others store their minnows during the week at home. Been looking at a large cooler with a good filter and air supply. Any help and pictures would be greatly




The only thing I see wrong with that is you need to buy your bait from where the man that sells to your bait shop gets his. You can order minnows from Anderson in Arkansas and get them fed X Ed to you. Or make the trip for about 1/3 the price
We give $16 a lb at the bait shop here and I think that’s a bit high

[bfish]

Rounded corners are important. The bigger the tank the better too.

[scout-j-m]

Ive been thinking about setting one up on my screened in porch. We have a well which waters our garden and I could easily run plumbing to it. I've pondered putting a timer paired with a pressure regulator on it and allowing the pump to kick on for a set amount of time each day to pump in fresh water, allowing old water to overflow to a drip line to some shrubs or something. I would pair it with an aerator/filter as well. I'm not sure if this is a good idea though as the well water may be too much of a shock as it is very cold compared to what the ambient tank water temp would be in the peak of summer. It's something I may toy around with though.

[Snubby]

Simple but effective, 55 gallon drum was free. Added an aerator and a 75 gph external bio canister filter. Can hold 5 pounds of #12 minners with this setup. I order from Anderson's in Lonoke, AR and pay $115 total for overnight shipping. That's $23 a pound, much cheaper than driving to get them for me.

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[BuckeyeFishing]

Ive been thinking about setting one up on my screened in porch. We have a well which waters our garden and I could easily run plumbing to it. I've pondered putting a timer paired with a pressure regulator on it and allowing the pump to kick on for a set amount of time each day to pump in fresh water, allowing old water to overflow to a drip line to some shrubs or something. I would pair it with an aerator/filter as well. I'm not sure if this is a good idea though as the well water may be too much of a shock as it is very cold compared to what the ambient tank water temp would be in the peak of summer. It's something I may toy around with though.

If you have a filter on it, you shouldn't need to change out the water, just add water as it evaporates. Just make sure to spray off the filter pads every couple of weeks. Once they get all clogged up they won't filter anything. I added an extra piece of PVC tube so that the filter arm went all the way to the bottom. Thats the only modification I made. Water was always crystal clear and being outside, the water temp was close to that of the rivers and lakes so no worry of shock to the bait.