I found a way to keep my shiners alive to fish thru the day

[Rojo]

"Biggest problem right now is the difference in surface water temps and the holding tank temps. I catch my shiners out of the tank before daylight. That gives the water time to slowly warm up. Still it takes a very long time for the water to warm up so if I drop the shiner in the water it dies almost immediately. This is the reason I have my chiller set to 68 degrees but with surface water temps in the low 90's a shiner won't survive the first dip. Tuffy Minnows will survive but I can only get those in Rosey Reds at the Hatchery."

I posted this comment really in the wrong place so I copied here as I had a break thru this morning. So today with my bride returning I decided to go fishing this morning for Taco meat if that's all that will play. I removed the Styrofoam liner in the smallest bait bucket I have. Figured it would allow the water to warm the fastest. Adding 30 or so shiners to the bucket I set it outside on the boat deck while I did other chores. Leaving about 7:30am this morning the bucket still felt cold on the outside (my chiller is 68 degrees). By the time I got to the first spot the water felt too cold still so I just fish with jigs for another hour. Well a hour had past with not much to show for it, keeper fish in the cooler I mean. I moved again fishing thru a solid 365 day a year recruitment spot without a bite. Now I told myself the shiners had to put up with the hot water. Well when I put my hand in the water it felt slightly cool. My shiners were still frisky too. I need to add I use Sure Life BAIT BUDDIES, a pack was in the bucket since I caught my shiners out of the tank. One by one I put live shiners on the hook and within seconds of them hitting the water the cork went down. Over 20 shiners in a row. I started using the dead shiners the fish slung on the deck, some a bit dried, same thing, one right after the next Crappie. I had fished that spot for a good 15 minutes with several artificial offerings. I caught Crappie till I was too hot to stay. Moral of the story if your bait bucket is insulated remove the liner & get yourself some Bait Buddies, the combination worked along with letting the water warm up. Best of Luck Fishing.

[SuperDave336]

Thanks for sharing

[BuckeyeCrappie]

[Jamesdean]

Thank you for sharing some invaluable info. Now to figure out the bait buddies, lol. Like most others, when I use minnows, I buy a couple dozen the night before. I keep them in a Styrofoam bucket in-side a 5 gallon pail with a bubbler over night on the front deck of the house. If there's any left over, they're still pretty frisky. Any left, I usually replace about 70% water volume before leaving the lake, with the two buckets separated, I can take extra lake water home with me to change out water in the bait bucket. Have kept the fish for about a week like this, keeping the bubbler going and water changed out.

Ok, I see what it is. I looked it up. I'll have to go by BPS and get me a bottle for when I happen to use minnows. Thank you for the info Rojo...

[Rojo]

BAIT-BUDDIES™ Oxygen And Water Conditioning Tablets For Use In Minnow Buckets With Live Baits

[Jamesdean]

Yep, found shortly after my post. Thank you John...

[Rojo]

This last week I used a KDF / Carbon water filter and filtered the campground water then added a tablespoon of Finer Shiner for my water changes. It worked so well my shiners got friskier each day. Still dropped fresh bait buddies daily after the water change. Bought the water filter at Walmart in the RV/Camper section.