Live bait transporting

Hi all,

I was looking for a way to keep shiners alive and kicking during the ice fishing season. I hate dropping cash for bait that floats–it irks me. Sometimes I’m out on the ice for 3-4 days and I don’t want to be running to get bait everyday once, twice, three times is sickening.

I would like to know if any one has that frabill aqua-life system with the aerator and foam insert in a 5 gallon bucket. It looks and sounds great, but 55 bucks??? I would like to hear someone’s experience or answers to my problem before I shell out 55 bucks.

Let me know what works because I like many of you would rather fish than have to worry about where and when to make a bait run! Thanks.

TGIF,

I have the same prob with suckers to Musky fish with. They are big and use a lot of oxygen.

First is , water temp will kill the minnows if it is too far off from the tank they come from at the bait shop. Fill a big cooler with lake water (city water may kill your minnows). I suggest you have the shiners “bagged” at the bait shop. Lay the bag in your ice chest full of lake water, to let the temps equil (over about an hour). Empty the bagged minnows in the ice chest water. I use two aireators at the same time (case one goes down) that I bought from Walmart (about $5.00 ea. on sale) that are little black boxes (about the size of a box of kitchen wooden matches) that hold a single C size battery. The battery lasts about 12 hours. The cooler can keep your minnows alive for weeks, but if in the sun you’ll have to add a bit of ice (not a bumch at a time) to keep the temps down. When changing water, do 1/4 of the content at a time as not to shock the fish with a temp change.

Hey, works foir me! Hawger

Hawger is right. We can keep our shinners alive for a couple of weeks with this method. Only difference is we use a regular AC bubblers. Put a depth finder on the end of the hose and let that sit at the bottom. Once in a while we through some food in for them to eat too. Only thing to remember is OXYGEN. They need lots of it.

I buy one little can of some stuff called bait saver, it will keep crappie minnows alove for weeks and shinners for a good amount of time over a week. it only costs about 2 bucks, best 2 bucks you’ll spend on ice gear all year.

Fishhunter,

Is the AC bubbler different from other aerators. Do you run them off regular “C” or “D” batteries? And what do you feed shiners? How much? How often? If I can keep them good and lively for two weeks I will have made a huge improvement over my current results and save some bucks in the process–can’t beat that! Thanks for your help!

Hawger,

What type of cooler did you use? Was it a standard plastic box with hinged lid say 16″ W x 20″ long x 12-15 ” deep with 2 aerators?

Do you encounter any problems with freeze ups with that system? I’m wondering if I would have problems with the thing freezing up on me or if the aeration would keep the thing ice free enough to still access bait?

Thanks!

TGIF

TRZ,

Does that fish-saver additive have a scent or do you know if it needs dissolved oxygen to work? Thanks. TGIF

I use a giant one. The inside is about 2 1/2 ‘ long, by 1 1/2 ‘ wide, by 2’ deep (has a drain plug and a closing lid…. for at home to keep bait (his one I use for taking suckers to Bone Lake too).

Transporting fathead minnows, I scale it down to a smaller cooler. Coleman type, 1′ square aprox.

The key is volume of water and available oxygen. Use two aireators (in case one goes down) so you don’t loose your bait and chance out some fresh water regular.

Freeze up? Your battery opperated aireators are on the outside with a hose running into the water pumping air to a water-stone making bubbles. It does not freese. Use an aquarium pump where you have 110 volts.

The cooler insulates the water so It doesnt freeze very fast. Keep it in the truck when ice fishing or in the fish house. Add ice if the water seems to get too warm (or cups of lake water are better yet – no clorine). Treat it the same as you would a case of beer! Don’t want that to freeze either! Hawger

A cooler with oxygen tablets seems to work very well and is vary affordable. Keep the cooler outside, unless it is 30 below of course, and they should be fine for the allotted time mentioned!

Jim W

TGIF, bait saver adds oxygen to the water, it gives it a blue tint but does not have a scent certainely dosen’t seem to effect the minnow negatively. I’ve had crappie minnows in my basment for probably near 2 months and you couldn’t see 1/8 inch into the water but all the minnows were alive. so it’s very low maintiance that’s the plus, it’s also very cheap. i buy it at fleet farm early in the year, god knows how fast that place is ravaged of fishing supplies.